US officials meet Niger’s junta as Biden weighs options in Africa to steady counterterrorism agenda

US officials meet Niger’s junta as Biden weighs options in Africa to steady counterterrorism agenda

On Saturday, following the meeting, the junta’s spokesperson, Col-Maj Amadou Abdramane, said US flights over Niger’s territory in recent weeks were illegal. Meanwhile, Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who assists Niger’s military rulers with their communications, criticised US efforts to force the junta to pick between strategic partners.

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West calls Russia’s ‘election was an election without choice’ but China, India back Putin

West calls Russia’s ‘election was an election without choice’ but China, India back Putin

Arriving in Brussels on Monday, EU foreign ministers roundly dismissed the election result as a sham ahead of agreeing sanctions on individuals linked to the mistreatment and death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

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China’s military and state media rap US following explosive report on SpaceX spy satellite plans

China’s military and state media rap US following explosive report on SpaceX spy satellite plans

Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge, a magazine overseen by the ruling Communist Party, was quoted in an interview as saying the SpaceX satellite project posed “a challenge to global security and stability”.

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Counterterrorism: US plans in Sahel region in disarray after Niger ends military cooperation

Counterterrorism: US plans in Sahel region in disarray after Niger ends military cooperation

Niger had been seen as one of the last nations in the restive region that Western nations could partner with to beat back growing jihadi insurgencies. The US and France had more than 2,500 military personnel in the region until recently, and together with other European countries had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance and training.

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UNICEF estimates over 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza in Israel offensive

UNICEF estimates over 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza in Israel offensive

Israel’s military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has displaced nearly its entire 2.3 million-person population, caused a starvation crisis, flattened most of the enclave, and killed over 31,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry. It has also led to accusations of genocide being probed in the World Court.

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Integrity issues emerge after billion-dollar Jewish Communal Fund bars donations to Jewish group

Integrity issues emerge after billion-dollar Jewish Communal Fund bars donations to Jewish group

A donor-advised fund is a philanthropic innovation that provides donors with significant tax advantages relative to their charitable contributions. By giving to a donor-advised fund, someone can immediately write off the entire amount of their donation, even while the money sits in the fund. When the donor has identified an organisation they wish to support, the donor directs the fund to transfer the money, much as one would with a bank account.

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Putin shocks world with landslide win in Russia poll West says was not free and fair

Putin shocks world with landslide win in Russia poll West says was not free and fair

First official results indicated the polls were accurate. The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and other nations have said the vote was neither free nor fair due to the imprisonment of political opponents and censorship.

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Looming Armageddon: Putin warns America and allies Russia is ‘technically ready’ for nuclear war

Looming Armageddon: Putin warns America and allies Russia is ‘technically ready’ for nuclear war

Putin’s nuclear warning came alongside another offer for talks on Ukraine as part of a new post-Cold War demarcation of European security. The US says Putin is not ready for serious talks over Ukraine.

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Biden-versus-Trump rematch on the cards after they clinched party nominations setting off bruising campaign

Biden-versus-Trump rematch on the cards after they clinched party nominations setting off bruising campaign

The last repeat presidential matchup took place in 1956, when Republican President Dwight Eisenhower defeated former Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, a Democrat, for the second time. This year, voters have expressed little enthusiasm for a repeat of the bitter 2020 election, with Reuters/Ipsos public polls showing both Biden and Trump are unpopular with the majority of voters.

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Kenya halts deployment of police to Haiti in the absence of legal authority in the Caribbean nation

Kenya halts deployment of police to Haiti in the absence of legal authority in the Caribbean nation

Under the plan, the UN-backed multinational police led by Kenyan officers was to help quell gang violence that has long plagued Haiti. But violence escalated sharply since February 29, with gunmen burning police stations, closing the main international airports and raiding the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

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