World News

Ukraine should focus on preparing offensive, not Bakhmut battle: US official

Ukraine should not fixate on defending the city of Bakhmut at all costs and instead use a window of opportunity to prepare a major counter-offensive against Russian forces, a senior US official said Friday.. However, a senior official in President Joe Biden's administration said the focus on Bakhmut is hampering Ukraine in the more important task of preparing a widely expected spring offensive to make major gains against Russian occupation in the south.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 2 mins read

World News

US charges two for protecting Russian oligarch's super yacht

The US unveiled criminal charges Friday against two men who it said sought to protect sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg's $90 million superyacht from seizure.. It said that after billionaire Vekselberg, the head of conglomerate Renova Group and a close associate of Russian president Vladimir Putin, was sanctioned in 2018, the two men used shell companies to hide Vekselberg's continued ownership and use of the yacht.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 1 mins read

World News

Canada to repatriate 19 women, children from Syria

Canada will repatriate six women and 13 infants who have been detained in northeast Syria in camps for family members of Islamic State Group fighters, Ottawa announced Friday.. Since the destruction of the Islamic State "caliphate" across Syria and Iraq in 2019, more than 42,400 foreign adults and children with alleged ties to the Islamic State have been held in camps in Syria, according to Human Rights Watch. 

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 2 mins read

World News

Yellen contrasts US-Africa relations with China, Russia on Senegal visit

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday touted the fruits of a new "mutually beneficial" economic strategy towards Africa, contrasting the damage caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's practices.. - Russia - Yellen cited the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine as major economic headwinds for Africa.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 3 mins read

World News

Bolsonaro asks court to disregard controversial draft decree

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has asked investigators probing his election campaign to disregard a document found at the home of his justice minister that called for a review of the results of the vote.. The draft document found at the home of Anderson Torres -- who is currently in detention and being investigated over the January 8 storming of Brasilia's seats of power by Bolsonaro supporters -- proposed taking federal control of the supreme court, which is responsible for elections.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 1 mins read

World News

Brazil begins first operations to protect Amazon

Brazil this week began the first operations against Amazon deforestation since veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, the Ibama environmental agency said Friday.. "The deployment of teams for the start of inspection operations began on January 16, 2023," Ibama told AFP. Average Amazon deforestation soared by 75 percent during Bolsonaro's presidency, compared with the previous decade.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 1 mins read

World News

From tanks to subsidies: the main topics at Davos

The World Economic Forum in Davos wrapped up Friday after a week that featured feverish discussion of the war in Ukraine, rifts over global trade and Greta Thunberg crashing the party of the global elite.. - Greta - Three years after attending as a teenager and facing off with then US president Donald Trump, Greta Thunberg returned, but this time without a visitor's badge.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 4 mins read

World News

French-Irish citizen held in Iran suspends hunger strike: sister

A French-Irish citizen held in Iran has suspended his dry hunger strike at the request of his family, who fear for his life, his sister told AFP on Friday.. "Bernard has agreed to read our messages and has suspended his hunger and thirst strike," she said Friday.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 1 mins read

World News

German tank slow-pedalling may hit Kyiv's fightback: analysts

German hesitation over sending tanks to Ukraine was likely driven by reluctance to take a leading military role rather than practical considerations, but may damage Kyiv's fightback against Moscow, analysts warned.. But analysts could see no major technical or practical barriers to stop a coalition of European allies transferring the tanks, pointing instead to German's reluctance to "go it alone" when it comes to supplying arms to Ukraine.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 3 mins read

World News

Progress on POW visits 'urgent', Red Cross says after Moscow visit

The International Committee of the Red Cross urgently needs more access to prisoners of war on both sides in the Ukraine conflict, the organisation said Friday after its president visited Moscow.. The visit followed her trip to Ukraine in December, where she also met with government officials, the Ukrainian Red Cross, as well as families of POWs and members of communities impacted by the war.  

Fri, Jan 20, 2023 2 mins read