Ecuador, Haiti set to become main sources of refugees fleeing insecurity and climate change
In Ecuador, conflict between government forces and criminal groups is escalating, the IRC said. Last month, a wave of violence resurged after a gang leader escaped from prison, shown most dramatically when an armed group stormed into a live TV news broadcast.
Haiti reveals it is fine tuning deal with Kenya for deployment of police as 800 die gang warfare
The deployment was requested by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October 2022 and approved by the UN Security Council a year later. But it has since encountered multiple legal obstacles as gang warfare in Haiti’s capital and beyond continues to rise.
Japan’s unexpected slip into recession elevates Germany to world’s third biggest economy
While many analysts still expect the Bank of Japan to phase out its massive monetary stimulus this year, the weak data may cast doubt on its forecast that rising wages will underpin consumption and keep inflation durably around its 2 per cent target.
Report: World has entered era of instability as Africa becomes key market for new arms exporters
The combination of Russia’s war on Ukraine and rising tensions between China and Western countries have been principal drivers of military spending. Global defence spending is up 9 per cent to a record $2.2 trillion from the previous year and poised to rise further in 2024, based on already announced spending commitments.
South Africa asks UN court to urgently examine Israel’s targeting of Rafah in ongoing genocide case
South Africa already alleged Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in its war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza and filed a case with the world court in December. A ruling on the genocide allegation could take years.
US House Republicans win impeachment of Biden’s top border official, but only temporarily
The vote marked just the second time in US history, and the first time in almost 150 years, that the House has impeached a member of a president’s Cabinet. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office said that senators would be sworn in as jurors shortly after they return from a break on February 26.
Normally restrained Joe Biden sheds ‘gentle’ tag, adopts more offensive line against Trump
Democrats plan to answer the widespread questions about the 81-year-old president’s age and readiness by affirming that Biden is capable of being commander-in-chief and trying to discredit people who portray him as enfeebled. Key to that strategy is drawing a core contrast with former President Donald Trump, the heavy Republican front-runner who is himself 77
Biden versus Trump: How investigations of two classified documents came to different endings
Former President Donald Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, slammed the decision not to charge Biden, saying: “THIS IS A TWO-TIERED SYSTEM OF JUSTICE!” Biden, late on Thursday, angrily lashed out at Hur for unflattering characterisations of his memory in the report and said he never shared classified information.
Classified papers probe clears President Biden of wrongdoing, but turns his memory and age into election issues
Biden’s lawyers said his memory lapses were not unusual for someone trying to describe events that took place years ago. “Such comments have no place in a Department of Justice report,” they wrote in comments included in Hur’s report.
Glimmer of hope for Republicans as Trump ballot disqualification gets sceptical US Supreme Court reception
Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts told Jason Murray, representing four Republican voters and two unaffiliated voters who sued to keep Trump off the Colorado ballot, that if the Colorado decision is upheld, other states will proceed with disqualification proceedings of their own for either Democratic or Republican candidates.
