French defence minister visits Armenia amid Azerbaijan tensions

By Marina DE RUSSÉ Paris, Feb 22, 2024 (AFP) - France's Sebastien Lecornu is due to travel to Armenia on the first trip by a French defence minister to the South Caucasus nation, as tensions rise with Yerevan's historic rival Azerbaijan. Lecornu's trip comes after French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concern about a "risk of escalation" between Armenia and Azerbaijan as he received Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan on […]

February 22, 2024 12

World

Israel strikes Gaza’s Rafah as truce talks under way

Israel launched air strikes Thursday on southern Gaza's Rafah after threatening to send troops against Hamas militants in the city where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge. Global powers trying to find a way to end the Israel-Hamas war have so far failed, but a US envoy was expected in Israel on Thursday in the latest attempt to secure a truce deal. The war has also […]

February 22, 2024 31

Business / Economics

How apartheid, European racism and Pelé helped cultivate a culture of diversity in US soccer that endures into Messi-era MLS

Patrick ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe in action for the Toronto Blizzard. Tony Bock/Toronto Star via Getty Images By John M Sloop, Vanderbilt University North America’s most diverse professional league kicks off on Feb. 21, 2024, as Major League Soccer returns after a winter break. The league, commonly known as the MLS, has long prided itself as a standard-bearer for racial and national diversity: Last season saw players from 81 countries […]

February 22, 2024 21

World

Biden Administration cancels $1.2 billion in student loans

About 150 thousand student loans will be cancelled by the Biden Administration. President Joseph Biden last year pledged to find alternative ways to tackle student debt relief after the Supreme Court blocked his broader plan to write off some $400 billion in student loans. Jody Jacobs reports.

February 22, 2024 13

Business / Economics

Young people are lukewarm about Biden – and giving them more information doesn’t move the needle much

Young voters in Ann Arbor, Mich., fill out applications to cast their ballot in the midterm elections in November 2022. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images By Neil O'Brian, University of Oregon and Chandler James, University of Oregon Recent polling for the November 2024 election shows that President Joe Biden is struggling with young voters, who have traditionally supported Democrats. A December 2023 poll showed that 49% of […]

February 22, 2024 2

World

Armourer trial ongoing in killing of cinematographer on movie set of ‘Rust’………

Jury selection has begun in the U.S. state of New Mexico for one of the trials in the killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust" in 2021. Actor Alec Baldwin was holding the gun that let off live ammunition, which was not supposed to be in the gun. The film set's armourer is being tried in this case in Sante Fe. Caroline Malone reports.

February 22, 2024 8

Videos

Brazil pushes for stronger representation of developing nations as G20 FM meeting opens

Foreign ministers of the G20 gathered Wednesday (Feb. 21) in Rio de Janeiro to discuss poverty, the climate crisis and heightened global tensions. Brazil which took on the annual presidency of the bloc, laid out its priorities. It notably pushed for stronger representation of developing nations in global governance institutions and multilateral banks. “Brazil's presidency of the G20 focuses on three main priorities: The fight against hunger, poverty and inequality; […]

February 22, 2024 21

World

Free movement in west Africa: three countries leaving Ecowas could face migration hurdles

By Franzisca Zanker, Arnold Bergstraesser Institute; Amanda Bisong, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Leonie Jegen, University of Amsterdam For Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, a recent decision to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has thrown up questions about how they will navigate regional mobility in future. Ecowas covers a variety of sectors, but migration is a major one. The bloc’s protocols since 1979 […]

February 22, 2024 7

World

Ukraine Warns the World: It’s Now or Never for Prosecuting Putin

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Feb. 14, 2024. A hard-core group of countries headed by Ukraine has been trying to set up a special court to try Putin for the crime of aggression. But a larger group of countries, led by the United States, wants a lesser version of such a tribunal. Frustrations are mounting in the first camp as Russia’s full-on war in Ukraine grinds into its third year. […]

February 22, 2024 5

World