After Dodgy Election, New Nicaraguan Congress Sworn In

After Dodgy Election, New Nicaraguan Congress Sworn In

Freedomist Editor January 10, 2022

Nicaragua congress takes office after questionable elections – CBS17.com

From www.cbs17.com
2022-01-09 20:44:30

Excerpt:

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Members of Nicaragua’s new congress have taken office, one day before President Daniel Ortega is to be sworn following highly questionable elections.

Of the 90 legislators sworn in Sunday, 75 belong to Ortega’s Sandinista party and the other 15 are from tiny parties considered collaborators with the regime.

The legislators elected Gustavo Porras, a long-time Sandinista and congress member, as leader of the unicameral legislature.

The congressional members, like Ortega, were elected in Nov. 7 elections that drew condemnation internationally.

Ortega was elected to a fourth consecutive term in the elections, which were broadly criticized as a farce after seven likely challengers to Ortega were arrested and jailed in the months prior to the vote.

Nicaragua’s government announced in November it will withdraw from the Organization…

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US Olympic Pairs Skater Joins China Protest

Freedomist Editor January 10, 2022

Timothy LeDuc, US pairs skater, calls out human rights abuses in China

From www.usatoday.com
2022-01-09 17:54:20

Excerpt:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the months and weeks leading up to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, U.S. athletes have been repeatedly asked about human rights abuses in China and, for the most part, tiptoed around them.

Pairs skater Timothy LeDuc did not do that Sunday.

Hours after they were named to Team USA, LeDuc fielded a question about human rights abuses in China, whether athletes have a responsibility to use their platform to speak about them and whether they plan to do so. They called it “a really hard question to answer.”

“There’s no simple answer to this question,” said LeDuc, who will become the first openly non-binary athlete to compete at an Olympic Winter Games.

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No Easing Tensions in Ukraine Affair

Freedomist Editor January 10, 2022

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: Breakthrough with Putin unlikely as Ukraine tensions mount

From www.washingtontimes.com
2022-01-09 18:29:05
Guy Taylor
Excerpt:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday downplayed prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough with Moscow ahead of high-stakes U.S.-Russia talks this week aimed at staving off a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I don’t think we’re going to see any breakthrough,” Mr. Blinken said of the talks officially slated to begin Monday in Geneva between Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

…

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Solomon Islands Media Reporting Taiwanese Behind 2021 Riots

Mark Clouse January 4, 2022

Did Taiwan Engineer Solomon Islands Riots?

Taiwan island ‘sponsored premeditated riots’ in Solomon Islands: nation’s media

From www.globaltimes.cn
2022-01-04 10:42:56

Excerpt:

Local media in the Solomon Islands recently reported that Taiwan island allegedly sponsored the “premeditated” anti-government riots in Honiara with the purpose of trying to pull down the government of the Solomon Islands and sabotage relations between China and the Solomon Islands.

“The acts of violence directed against the democratically-elected government of the Solomon Islands, the ethnic Chinese business community in Honiara and the majority of peace-loving Solomon islanders was at its very core a premeditated, cold-blooded and cowardly Taiwan-sponsored attempt to pull down the national government and undermine Solomon Islands-People’s Republic of China relations,” Solomon Star, a local English media, reported on December 17, quoting a writer given the name of George Belau.

The newspaper said the riots resulted in the destruction of the livelihoods of…

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Haitian Prime Minister Survives Assassination Attempt

Mark Clouse January 4, 2022

Haiti PM’s Would-Be Assassin Identifed as Columbian

Colombian suspected of involvement in killing of Haiti president held in Panama – sources

From www.news24.com
2022-01-04 11:59:03

Excerpt:

On Monday, Panama authorities arrested a former member of the Colombian military wanted for questioning in connection with the assassination last year of Haiti president Jovenel Moise, two people familiar with the matter said.

The suspect, Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, was detained during a stopover of a flight on which he was being deported from Jamaica to Colombia, the sources said.

Haitian authorities have accused Palacios of forming part of a mercenary group that assassinated Moise in July in an assault on his residence, during which his wife was also wounded.

Palacios was detained during a stopover in Panama and asked to “voluntarily” board a flight to the United States, a Colombian immigration source said.

In case he resisted, Panamanian officials said they would enforce an Interpol red notice issued by the United States, which is in addition to one that Haiti had already issued, the source said.

Haiti has also issued an Interpol red notice for Palacios.

It was not clear if he had gone to the United States.

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Sudan’s PM Resigns

Mark Clouse January 4, 2022

Struggle for democracy in Sudan continues as PM Hamdok resigns

From www.csmonitor.com
2022-01-03 16:58:49
Samy Magdy
Excerpt:

Cairo

Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok announced his resignation Sunday amid political deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests following a military coup that derailed the country’s fragile transition to democratic rule.

Mr. Hamdok, a former U.N. official seen as the civilian face of Sudan’s transitional government, had been reinstated as prime minister in November as part of an agreement with the military following the October coup. In that time he had failed to name a Cabinet and his resignation throws Sudan into political uncertainty amid uphill security and economic challenges.

In a televised national address Sunday, Mr. Hamdok called for a dialogue to agree on a “national charter” and to “draw a roadmap” to complete the transition to democracy in accordance with the 2019 constitutional document governing the transitional period.

“I decided to return the responsibility and declare my resignation as prime…

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Somaliland Appeals to Canada for Aid Against Rising Threats

Mark Clouse January 4, 2022

Somaliland asks Canada for help amid superpower rivalry in Horn of Africa

From www.theglobeandmail.com
2022-01-04 11:00:00

Excerpt:

Somali’s breakaway Somaliland region is asking Canada for international recognition and aid, saying it’s important for Western countries to support a functioning democracy that’s resisting China’s influence in the Horn of Africa.

The self-declared state, which split from Somalia 30 years ago, sent its Foreign Minister, Essa Kayd, to Washington, London and Ottawa recently as part of a campaign to refashion its external relationships. A U.S. congressional staff delegation later visited Somaliland.

Mr. Kayd, 61, who also holds Canadian and U.S. citizenship, met with officials at Canada’s Department of Global Affairs in December. He’s asking countries to provide aid directly to Somaliland instead of giving it through Somalia. He also hopes for recognition as a separate country, a measure that Canada would not likely take unless it was part of a concerted effort…

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IOC Won’t Address China’s Slave Labor Problem

Ivo Fysic January 4, 2022

Faced With Questions About Forced Labor in China, the I.O.C. Is Tight-Lipped

From www.nytimes.com
2022-01-04 11:13:47
Vivian Wang
Excerpt:

Informal efforts to arrange a conversation between the I.O.C. and the Coalition to End Forced Labor in the Uyghur Region — a group of more than 300 organizations established last year — began in May, according to Mr. Freeman. Finally, in the fall, the I.O.C. invited the coalition to send a formal request to meet, which it did, on Oct. 8.

Officials at first offered a written response instead. In an email on Oct. 29, Ms. Martowicz, the head of human rights, replied to Mr. Freeman to say that the I.O.C.’s sourcing policies banned forced labor. But she did not say how the I.O.C. enforced that ban, other than “from time to time” “engaging with our suppliers” — in other words, the companies themselves — “to request evidence of compliance.”

Third-party checks, she added, were something the I.O.C. “will be looking at” in “coming months.”

Critics say the I.O.C. has been slow to adopt a human rights framework, compared with corporations or even other global sports…

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Italians to Elect New President

Mark Clouse January 4, 2022

Italy sets Jan 24 to start voting for new Italian president

From abcnews.go.com
2022-01-04 11:25:59

Excerpt:

ROME — Italy’s lower chamber of Parliament on Tuesday set Jan. 24 as the start date to begin voting for a new president, officially kicking off a campaign that is expected to see Premier Mario Draghi and ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi vie for the prestigious job.

The victor, who is chosen by around 1,000 “big electors” among lawmakers and regional representatives, will replace President Sergio Mattarella, whose seven-year term ends Feb. 3. The voting is expected to last several rounds over several days.

The Italian presidency has limited powers and is largely ceremonial. But the president plays a key role in resolving political impasses, which aren’t uncommon in Italy. And this election comes before a new season of campaigning before the 2023 parliamentary election.

During Italy’s political…

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Biden Commits to “Act Decisively” If Russia Touches Ukraine

Parker Davis January 3, 2022

President Joe Biden is alleged to have told Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, that the United States and its allies will “act decisively” if Russia invades his country. The comment came through a phone call the President made to the Ukrainian President from his Wilmington, Delaware home, where he headed after he had declared that there was no federal solution to the covid problem.

Joe Biden vows US to act decisively if Russia invades Ukraine

From timesofindia.indiatimes.com
2022-01-03 01:37:02

Excerpt:

WILMINGTON: President Joe Biden conferred on Sunday with Ukraine‘s leader over the Russian troop buildup near its border, promising that the US and allies will act “decisively” if Russia further invades the Eastern European nation.
Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy‘s call came as the US and Western allies prepared for a series of diplomatic meetings to try to de-escalate a crisis that Moscow said could rupture ties with Washington.
“President Biden made clear that the United States and its allies and partners will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement following the call.
Psaki added that Biden underscored his commitment to the principle of “nothing about you without you,” the tenet that it won’t negotiate policy that impacts Europe without its allies’ input.
Biden has spoken of hitting Russia with economy-jarring sanctions if it moves on Ukraine’s territory, but he said last month that US military action is not on the table.

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