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EU ‘not there yet’ on sanctioning Georgia over crackdown

EU ‘not there yet’ on sanctioning Georgia over crackdown
Anti-government demonstrators protest outside the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi after the parliament members elected a new president on Dec. 15, 2024. (AFP)
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EU ‘not there yet’ on sanctioning Georgia over crackdown

EU ‘not there yet’ on sanctioning Georgia over crackdown
  • Georgia has been in turmoil since the governing party claimed victory in contested parliamentary elections
  • Georgian Dream party-run government also announced it would delay EU membership talks for four years
Updated 1 min ago
AFP
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BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday Brussels had put forward a list of Georgians to sanction over a crackdown on pro-Western protesters, but Hungary was set to block the measures.
“We have proposed the list for sanctions for these people who are... using really force and violence against the opposition,” Kallas said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
“But everybody needs to agree to the list, and we are not there yet.”
Georgia’s authorities have forcefully clamped down on pro-EU demonstrators taking to the streets in recent weeks to protest the government’s decision to shelve its push to join the bloc.
The Black Sea nation has been in turmoil since the governing Georgian Dream party claimed victory in contested October parliamentary elections and then announced it would delay EU membership talks for four years.
Riot police have used tear gas and water cannons against largely peaceful demonstrators who fear that Georgian Dream is dragging the country back into Russia’s orbit.
Brussels says there are “credible concerns” of torture and has called for the immediate release of detainees after more than 400 were arrested.
But despite a raft of EU states seeking to take a tougher line, Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban — a staunch supporter of Georgia’s government — has rejected attempts to sanction Tbilisi.
The EU has already suspended some support for the Georgian government and said in June the country’s membership bid had “de facto” been frozen after authorities pushed through Kremlin-style laws targeting NGOs.
EU officials said the bloc was also eyeing the possibility of imposing restrictions on Georgian diplomatic passport holders.
But there was not yet consensus on what would be a largely symbolic move.

Topics: EU Georgia

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At least 30 N. Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine

At least 30 N. Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine
Updated 7 sec ago
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At least 30 N. Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine

At least 30 N. Korean soldiers killed and wounded in Russia’s Kursk region: Ukraine
Updated 7 sec ago
AFP

KYIV: Ukraine said Monday that its troops killed or wounded at least 30 North Korean soldiers who had been deployed by Russia to its western Kursk region, where Ukraine has seized territory.
Thousands of troops from North Korea have come to reinforce Russian forces, including in the Kursk border region where Russia has been clawing back territory after a surprise offensive from Ukrainian forces this summer.
“On December 14 and 15, army units from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) suffered significant losses near the villages of Plekhovo, Vorozhba, Martynovka in the Kursk region of Russia — at least 30 soldiers were killed and wounded,” Ukraine’s military intelligence said.
The units are “being replenished with fresh personnel” from North Korea, which Western officials estimate has sent at least 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow.
Russia and North Korea have boosted their military ties since Moscow’s invasion.
Russia has begun deploying “a noticeable number” of North Koreans in assaults to push Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, Zelensky said on Saturday.
He said that according to his information, “the Russians include (North Koreans) in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” where Ukraine launched an incursion in August.
Zelensky said he has also heard the North Koreans “may be used in other parts of the front line,” and that “losses among this category are also already noticeable.”
Russia’s defense ministry said last week its troops recaptured some small settlements in the Kursk region.
Last month a Ukrainian army source told AFP that Kyiv controls 800 square kilometers of territory there, down from previous claims it controlled around 1,400 square kilometers.

Topics: Ukraine Russia war N. Korea Kursk

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Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte

Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte
Updated 15 min 1 sec ago
AFP
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Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte

Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte
  • The cyclone has left French Indian Ocean territory’s health services in tatters
  • Officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas
Updated 15 min 1 sec ago
AFP

SAINT-DENIS DE LA REUNION: Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead.
Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and ruled from Paris, showed scenes of devastation, with homes reduced to piles of rubble.
The crisis, which erupted at the weekend the day after President Emmanuel Macron appointed Francois Bayrou as the sixth prime minister of his mandate, poses a major challenge for a government still only operating in a caretaker capacity.
The cyclone has left health services in tatters, with the hospital extremely damaged and health centers knocked out of operation, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq told France 2.
“The hospital has suffered major water damage and destruction, notably in the surgical, intensive care, maternity and emergency units,” she said, adding that “medical centers were also non-operational.”
Macron was due to chair a crisis meeting in Paris at 1700 GMT, the Elysee said.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, whose super ministry is responsible for Mayotte, arrived on the island.
Cyclone Chido caused major damage to Mayotte’s airport and cut off electricity, water and communication links when it barreled down on France’s poorest territory on Saturday.
Asked about the eventual death toll, Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville, the top Paris-appointed official on the territory, told broadcaster Mayotte la Premiere “I think there will definitely be several hundred, perhaps we will come close to a thousand or even several thousand.”
With roads closed, officials fear that many could still be trapped under rubble in the inaccessible areas.
The mayor of Mayotte’s capital Mamoudzou, Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, said the storm “spared nothing.”
“The hospital is hit, the schools are hit. Houses are totally devastated,” he said.
Some 160 additional soldiers and firefighters to reinforce the 110 already deployed.
The nearby French island of La Reunion was serving as a hub for the rescue operations.
Chido was packing winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour when it slammed into Mayotte, which lies to the east of Mozambique.
At least a third of the territory’s 320,000 residents live in shantytowns, where homes with sheet-metal roofs were flattened by the storm.
One resident, Ibrahim, said of “apocalyptic scenes” as he made his way through the main island, having to clear blocked roads himself.
As authorities assessed the scale of the disaster, a first aid plane reached Mayotte on Sunday.
It carried three tons of medical supplies, blood for transfusions and 17 medical staff, according to authorities in La Reunion.
Patrice Latron, prefect of Reunion, said residents of Mayotte were facing “an extremely chaotic situation, immense destruction.”
Two military aircraft are expected to follow the initial aid flight, while a navy patrol ship was also due to depart La Reunion.
There have been international pledges to help Mayotte, including from the regional Red Cross organization PIROI.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is “ready to provide support in the days to come.”
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the WHO “stands ready to support communities in need of essential health care.”
With around 100,000 people estimated to live clandestinely on Mayotte, according to France’s interior ministry, establishing how many people have been affected by the cyclone is proving difficult.
Ousseni Balahachi, a former nurse, said some people did not dare venture out to seek assistance, “fearing it would be a trap” designed to remove them from Mayotte.
Many had stayed put “until the last minute” when it proved too late to escape the cyclone, she added.
Chido is the latest in a string of storms worldwide fueled by climate change, according to experts.
The “exceptional” cyclone was super-charged by particularly warm Indian Ocean waters, meteorologist Francois Gourand of the Meteo France weather service said.
Chido blasted across the Indian Ocean and made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday, where officials said the death toll stood at three.
The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, warned 1.7 million people were in danger and the remnants of the cyclone could also dump “significant rainfall” in Malawi through Monday.

Topics: France Mayotte

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Bangladesh polls could take place end-2025, interim government chief says

Bangladesh polls could take place end-2025, interim government chief says
Updated 25 min 21 sec ago
Reuters
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Bangladesh polls could take place end-2025, interim government chief says

Bangladesh polls could take place end-2025, interim government chief says
  • Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government since PM Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India amid mass protests
  • Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman said in September that democracy should be restored within 12 to 18 months
Updated 25 min 21 sec ago
Reuters

DHAKA: Elections in Bangladesh could be held by the end of 2025, the head of the country’s interim government said on Monday, provided that electoral reforms are carried out first.
Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government led by its only Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus since August, when then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India amid mass protests.
“If there is political consensus and the voter list is prepared accurately with only minor reforms, it may be possible to hold elections by the end of 2025,” Yunus said in a televised speech.
Bangladesh’s army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman, whose refusal to support Hasina during the deadly student protests led to her departure, told Reuters in September that democracy should be restored within 12 to 18 months.
In his address, delivered on the 53rd anniversary of Bangladesh winning independence from Pakistan following a nine-month war, Yunus said elections would only be possible after electoral reforms.
“If additional reforms are needed, and taking into account national consensus, it may take at least another six months,” the 84-year-old added.
Opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, one of two dominant parties in the country alongside the Awami League, have called for elections to be held as soon as possible.

Topics: Bangladesh elections

US Navy ship makes a port call in Cambodia, first in eight years

US Navy ship makes a port call in Cambodia, first in eight years
Updated 16 December 2024
AP
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US Navy ship makes a port call in Cambodia, first in eight years

US Navy ship makes a port call in Cambodia, first in eight years
  • The USS Savannah docked at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand for a five-day visit
  • The US and others suggest China’s navy is establishing a permanent base at Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base
Updated 16 December 2024
AP

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia: A US Navy warship arrived Monday in Cambodia, the first such visit in eight years to a nation that is China’s close ally in Southeast Asia. Cambodia’s government has suggested the port call reflects an upgrade in often-strained relations.
The USS Savannah docked at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand for a five-day visit. The Savannah, classed as a Littoral Combat Ship, carries a crew of 103.
“It’s great to be back, returning US presence to here after eight years,” the ship’s commanding officer, Daniel A. Sledz, said in brief remarks to reporters. He was given a bouquet of flowers by a Cambodian officer and shook hands with a line of her colleagues.
The United States for many years has had rocky relations with Cambodia, criticizing its government for political repression and human rights violations. There is particular concern about its close ties with China, which Washington fears may get exclusive access to a Cambodian naval base on the Gulf of Thailand, not far from where the Savannah docked.
Recently, there seem to have been moves to patch up relations.
Cambodia’s Ministry of National Defense said last week that the visit was scheduled after a US request for a port call, and would “strengthen and expand the bonds of friendship as well as promote bilateral cooperation” between the two nations.
Two days before that, Cambodia’s foreign ministry noted “positive momentum of bilateral ties and cooperation” and “the reinvigoration of military-to-military cooperation” between Cambodia and the US
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Cambodia in early June, where he held talks with Prime Minister Hun Manet and other senior officials. He also met with Cambodian alumni of US military training programs. Hun Manet himself is a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point.
The US Defense Department said at the time that Austin’s discussions concerned “opportunities to strengthen the US-Cambodia bilateral defense relationship in support of regional peace and security,” and other matters.
But Washington remains concerned that the upgrading of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base near Sihanoukville will serve Beijing’s strategic interests in the region.
The US and others suggest China’s navy is establishing a permanent base at Ream, which would give it easier access to the Malacca Strait, a critical shipping route between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Controversy over the Chinese activity at Ream initially arose in 2019 when The Wall Street Journal reported that an early draft of an agreement seen by US officials would allow China 30-year use of the base, where it would be able to post military personnel, store weapons and berth warships.
Cambodia’s government has denied such an agreement or any intention to grant China special privileges at the base, though Beijing has funded its expansion.
In September, Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said that China is giving its navy two warships of the type it has had docked there for months. China is set to hand over two newly built Type 56 corvettes — smaller vessels typically used for coastal patrols — next year at the earliest, after Cambodia requested China’s support.
Cambodia’s defense ministry said the Savannah’s port call will include “a working meeting with the commander of the Ream Naval Base,” as well as meetings with provincial officials and “a friendship sports competition between the crews of the US Navy and the Cambodian Navy.”
Cambodian Navy Capt. Mean Savoeun, deputy commander of the Ream Naval Base, was among those dockside welcoming the Savannah to Sihanoukville. He said he was happy to see the good relationship between Cambodia and the US, especially their navies, and believed the visit will bring closer diplomatic cooperation.

Topics: Cambodia US China

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EU diplomat to make contact with new Syria leaders in Damascus

EU diplomat to make contact with new Syria leaders in Damascus
Updated 4 min 35 sec ago
AFP
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EU diplomat to make contact with new Syria leaders in Damascus

EU diplomat to make contact with new Syria leaders in Damascus
Updated 4 min 35 sec ago
AFP

BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday the bloc’s envoy to Syria was going to Damascus to talk to the new Islamist-led rulers, as Western powers stepped up engagement after the ouster of Bashar Assad.
The outreach from Brussels comes after the United States and Britain said they had made contact with the new authorities in Damascus, spearheaded by rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
Regional and international powers are jostling for influence in Syria after Assad was toppled in a lightning offensive, ending five decades of his family’s rule.
“Our top diplomat in Syria will go to Damascus today. We’ll have the contacts there,” Kallas told journalists ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
EU nations — like others in the West — are wary of the new leadership in Damascus, given that HTS had its roots in Al-Qaeda and is listed as a terror group by a number of governments.
The EU cut ties with the Assad regime in Damascus during the country’s civil war, but has remained a major donor of humanitarian aid to help local populations.
Kallas said EU foreign ministers in Brussels would discuss “how we engage with the new leadership of Syria, and on what level we engage.”
“We can’t leave a vacuum,” Kallas, who took over as the EU’s top diplomat this month, said.
International players have expressed cautious optimism as the nascent authorities in Damascus have vowed to protect minorities and form an inclusive government.
Diplomats say some EU member states are pushing to step up ties with Syria after Assad’s ouster, while others are more cautious.
“For us, it’s not only the words, but we want to see the deeds going to the right direction. So not only what they are saying, but also what they are doing,” Kallas said.
“I think the coming weeks and months will show whether it goes to the right direction. And I think then we are also open to discuss next steps,” she said.

Topics: Fall of Assad Syria EU

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