Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video-teleconference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and briefed her on COVID-19 vaccine development in India, while also assuring her of the country's commitment to deploy its capacities for the benefit of the world.

A Prime Minister's Office statement said Modi appreciated the long-standing role of Chancellor Merkel in providing stable and strong leadership at the European and global stage, and thanked her for guiding the growth of the India-Germany Strategic Partnership.

The two leaders discussed key issues of mutual importance including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral ties, regional and global issues, particularly India-EU relations.

The prime minister briefed Chancellor Merkel on the developments in India with regard to vaccine development and assured the chancellor of India's commitment to deploy its capacities for the benefit of the world, the statement said.

"He conveyed his best wishes for early containment of the new wave of infections in Germany and other European countries," it said. 
Prime Minister Modi also welcomed Germany's decision to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and expressed his desire to further strengthen cooperation with Germany under the platform of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of setting up of bilateral relations between India and Germany and 20th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership, the two leaders agreed to hold the sixth Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) at an early date in 2021 and to set an ambitious agenda for the same, the statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video-teleconference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and briefed her on COVID-19 vaccine development in India, while also assuring her of the country's commitment to deploy its capacities for the benefit of the world.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a video-teleconference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and briefed her on COVID-19 vaccine development in India, while also assuring her of the country's commitment to deploy its capacities for the benefit of the world. A Prime Minister's Office statement said Modi appreciated the long-standing role of Chancellor Merkel in providing stable and strong leadership at the European and global stage, and thanked her for guiding the growth of the India-Germany Strategic Partnership. The two leaders discussed key issues of mutual importance including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral ties, regional and global issues, particularly India-EU relations. The prime minister briefed Chancellor Merkel on the developments in India with regard to vaccine development and assured the chancellor of India's commitment to deploy its capacities for the benefit of the world, the statement said. "He conveyed his best wishes for early containment of the new wave of infections in Germany and other European countries," it said. Prime Minister Modi also welcomed Germany's decision to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and expressed his desire to further strengthen cooperation with Germany under the platform of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of setting up of bilateral relations between India and Germany and 20th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership, the two leaders agreed to hold the sixth Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) at an early date in 2021 and to set an ambitious agenda for the same, the statement said.

PM Modi-Angela Merkel hold video-teleconference

A court in London denied bail to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday. He will now remain in custody with US appeal towards his extradition from UK. Alibaba's Jack Ma has shut its musing streaming app under Chinese pressure. EU has approved use of Moderna vaccine. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, 3 children were killed after they played with a grenade found in a field near Peshawar. Read this and more in out top 10 world news brief!

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/london-court-denies-bail-to-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-354858">London court denies bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/london-court-denies-bail-to-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-354858"><img alt="Assange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="89f72939-b1c3-4e83-8018-392fa35e22e3" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Assange_0.JPG" /></a> 
 
Assange will now remain in custody pending a US appeal that blocked his extradition. The US government has charged the whistleblower of leaking secret military documents.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/under-pressure-from-china-jack-mas-alibaba-group-to-shut-down-its-music-streaming-app-354834">Under pressure from China, Jack Ma's Alibaba Group to shut down its music streaming app</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/under-pressure-from-china-jack-mas-alibaba-group-to-shut-down-its-music-streaming-app-354834"><img alt="Alibaba" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c384ae86-a593-4140-b9a2-1b10141269dd" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Alibaba.JPG" /></a> 
 
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group, which is currently under scrutiny by the Chinese government for alleged monopoly practices is set to shut its music streaming service in a bid to scale down its businesses

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-records-several-coronavirus-cases-near-beijing-imposes-new-restrictions-354849">China records several coronavirus cases near Beijing; imposes new restrictions</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-records-several-coronavirus-cases-near-beijing-imposes-new-restrictions-354849"><img alt="China" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b555a033-52b8-401e-84ab-c96cda7211e6" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/China_8.JPG" /></a> 
 
Reports said residents had visited village events in Xiaoguozhuang, Shijiazhuang as state-run Xinhua news agency reported the provincial capital had moved to suspend train service in order to combat the fast-spreading virus.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/eu-regulator-approves-moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-amid-surge-in-cases-354874">EU regulator approves Moderna coronavirus vaccine amid surge in cases</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/eu-regulator-approves-moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-amid-surge-in-cases-354874"><img alt="Moderna" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="24abd21a-a85f-4f29-8826-65145ee91393" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Moderna.JPG" /></a> 
 
The European Medicines Agency had earlier approved the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine last month as the EU began vaccinating citizens across countries from December 27.

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-children-find-a-grenade-it-explodes-killing-3-as-they-play-with-it-354883">Pakistan: Children find a grenade, it explodes killing 3 as they play with it</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-children-find-a-grenade-it-explodes-killing-3-as-they-play-with-it-354883"><img alt="Pakistan" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9fe29c38-a86e-4970-9457-c94cbfcffea6" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Grenade.JPG" /></a> 
 
Accidents involving discarded ordnance are common in northwestern Pakistan which has a border with Afghanistan

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shortage-of-oxygen-kills-every-coronavirus-patient-in-egyptian-hospitals-icu-354861">Shortage of oxygen kills every coronavirus patient in Egyptian hospital's ICU</a>

<img alt="Oxygen" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0f0eb60a-6fc2-4f56-8fd0-a2cc6a735f9a" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Oxygen%20shortage_1.JPG" /> 
 
Every coronavirus patient who was kept in the intensive care unit the Al-Husseiniya Central Hospital in Egypt reportedly died on Saturday owing to the lack of oxygen in the ward

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/eu-threatens-china-of-more-sanctions-wants-hong-kong-opposition-figures-released-354875">EU threatens China of more sanctions, wants Hong Kong opposition figures released</a>

<img alt="EU China" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="80011189-61bc-497e-9954-7b7af03e14ec" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/EU.JPG" /> 
 
European Union had previously imposed sanctions on China in July 2019 when China had passed the controversial National Security Law

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-pm-johnson-says-end-of-lockdown-in-england-will-be-slow-unwrapping-354863">UK PM Johnson says end of lockdown in England will be slow unwrapping</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-pm-johnson-says-end-of-lockdown-in-england-will-be-slow-unwrapping-354863"><img alt="Boris Johnson" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0e979e8d-e433-4f70-94a9-2f36a4a31604" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Boris%20johnson.JPG" /></a> 
 
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday any end to the latest lockdown in England will be a "gradual unwrapping" when the regions of the country will move out of stringent restrictions step by step.

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/whatsapp-updates-privacy-policy-asks-users-to-accept-terms-or-app-will-be-deleted-354815">WhatsApp updates privacy policy, asks users to accept terms or app will be deleted</a>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/whatsapp-updates-privacy-policy-asks-users-to-accept-terms-or-app-will-be-deleted-354815"><img alt="Whatsapp" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c6ef167f-ddfc-4a6b-b2e9-22dd5e839ba3" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Whatsapp.JPG" /></a> 
 
The in-app notification did not elicit much details but clicking on the links clearly mentioned the key changes in how WhatsApp will collect and process users' information going forward, and the partnership with Facebook, its parent company, as part of a larger unification drive between the family of apps.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/why-is-earth-spinning-faster-than-it-has-in-50-years-354845">Why is Earth spinning faster than it has in 50 years?</a>

&nbsp;

<img alt="Why Earth" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b3186bc8-5e48-4bae-a16e-bc96a6ae2273" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Earth.JPG" /> 
 
Our planet Earth may be spinning faster than it has in over 50 years! 
&nbsp;

A court in London denied bail to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday. He will now remain in custody with US appeal towards his extradition from UK. Alibaba's Jack Ma has shut its musing streaming app under Chinese pressure.

A court in London denied bail to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday. He will now remain in custody with US appeal towards his extradition from UK. Alibaba's Jack Ma has shut its musing streaming app under Chinese pressure. EU has approved use of Moderna vaccine. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, 3 children were killed after they played with a grenade found in a field near Peshawar. Read this and more in out top 10 world news brief! London court denies bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Assange will now remain in custody pending a US appeal that blocked his extradition. The US government has charged the whistleblower of leaking secret military documents. Under pressure from China, Jack Ma's Alibaba Group to shut down its music streaming app Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group, which is currently under scrutiny by the Chinese government for alleged monopoly practices is set to shut its music streaming service in a bid to scale down its businesses China records several coronavirus cases near Beijing; imposes new restrictions Reports said residents had visited village events in Xiaoguozhuang, Shijiazhuang as state-run Xinhua news agency reported the provincial capital had moved to suspend train service in order to combat the fast-spreading virus. EU regulator approves Moderna coronavirus vaccine amid surge in cases The European Medicines Agency had earlier approved the Pfizer-BionTech vaccine last month as the EU began vaccinating citizens across countries from December 27. Pakistan: Children find a grenade, it explodes killing 3 as they play with it Accidents involving discarded ordnance are common in northwestern Pakistan which has a border with Afghanistan Shortage of oxygen kills every coronavirus patient in Egyptian hospital's ICU Every coronavirus patient who was kept in the intensive care unit the Al-Husseiniya Central Hospital in Egypt reportedly died on Saturday owing to the lack of oxygen in the ward EU threatens China of more sanctions, wants Hong Kong opposition figures released European Union had previously imposed sanctions on China in July 2019 when China had passed the controversial National Security Law UK PM Johnson says end of lockdown in England will be slow unwrapping British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday any end to the latest lockdown in England will be a "gradual unwrapping" when the regions of the country will move out of stringent restrictions step by step. WhatsApp updates privacy policy, asks users to accept terms or app will be deleted The in-app notification did not elicit much details but clicking on the links clearly mentioned the key changes in how WhatsApp will collect and process users' information going forward, and the partnership with Facebook, its parent company, as part of a larger unification drive between the family of apps. Why is Earth spinning faster than it has in 50 years? Our planet Earth may be spinning faster than it has in over 50 years!

Top 10 world news: No bail for Assange, WhatsApp's new policy, and more

A grenade killed 3 children as it exploded while they played with it in Pakistan. The incident took place near Peshawar and killed 2 others. The four brothers and a neighbour were playing when they found the rusty grenade near a village.

Local police official confirmed the casualties and said that the children played with the grenade they found.

"The children first played with it and later hit it with a stone causing it to explode," Mansoor Aman, a local senior police official, told AFP.&nbsp;

Accidents involving discarded ordnance are common in northwestern Pakistan which has a border with Afghanistan. Old mortar shells, grenades etc are often smuggled across the border. Some of these munitions date back to the Soviet war in the 80s.

The area was also once a hub of anti-Taliban activities, with locals forming militias to fight against the insurgents.&nbsp;

Last year, five people were killed when a worker at a scrap metal shop tried to recycle an old mortar shell that exploded as he tampered with it.&nbsp;

(With AFP inputs)

A grenade killed 3 children as it exploded while they played with it in Pakistan. The incident took place near Peshawar and killed 2 others. The four brothers and a neighbour were playing when they found the rusty grenade near a village.

A grenade killed 3 children as it exploded while they played with it in Pakistan. The incident took place near Peshawar and killed 2 others. The four brothers and a neighbour were playing when they found the rusty grenade near a village. Local police official confirmed the casualties and said that the children played with the grenade they found. "The children first played with it and later hit it with a stone causing it to explode," Mansoor Aman, a local senior police official, told AFP. Accidents involving discarded ordnance are common in northwestern Pakistan which has a border with Afghanistan. Old mortar shells, grenades etc are often smuggled across the border. Some of these munitions date back to the Soviet war in the 80s. The area was also once a hub of anti-Taliban activities, with locals forming militias to fight against the insurgents. Last year, five people were killed when a worker at a scrap metal shop tried to recycle an old mortar shell that exploded as he tampered with it. (With AFP inputs)

Pakistan: Children find a grenade, it explodes killing 3 as they play with it

European Union on Wednesday called for release of dozens of opposition figures in Hong Kong. The EU also said that it was eyeing imposing more sanctions on China over its crackdown on pro-democracy activists, leaders and businessmen.

"We are currently analysing the situation to see how we might need to react. There are other possibilities open to us, sanctions for example," European Commission spokesman Peter Stano told journalists.

He said that the sanctions if imposed, will have to be unanimously agreed by EU's 27 member states. The states had come together in July 2019 to slap sanctions on China when it passed the controversial National Security Law. The law was invoked by China to stamp out dissent in Hong Kong.

Under a treaty China signed ahead of it taking back Hong Kong from British colonial rule in 1997, Beijing committed to maintain a "one country, two systems" approach guaranteeing relative autonomy in the territory for 50 years.

(With AFP inputs)

European Union on Wednesday called for release of dozens of opposition figures in Hong Kong. The EU also said that it was eyeing imposing more sanctions on China over its crackdown on pro-democracy activists, leaders and businessmen.

European Union on Wednesday called for release of dozens of opposition figures in Hong Kong. The EU also said that it was eyeing imposing more sanctions on China over its crackdown on pro-democracy activists, leaders and businessmen. "We are currently analysing the situation to see how we might need to react. There are other possibilities open to us, sanctions for example," European Commission spokesman Peter Stano told journalists. He said that the sanctions if imposed, will have to be unanimously agreed by EU's 27 member states. The states had come together in July 2019 to slap sanctions on China when it passed the controversial National Security Law. The law was invoked by China to stamp out dissent in Hong Kong. Under a treaty China signed ahead of it taking back Hong Kong from British colonial rule in 1997, Beijing committed to maintain a "one country, two systems" approach guaranteeing relative autonomy in the territory for 50 years. (With AFP inputs)

EU threatens China of more sanctions, wants Hong Kong opposition figures released

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking regulation of Twitter and other social media platforms through guidelines making them culpable under criminal and civil laws until a specific law is passed by Parliament.

The petition, likely to come up for hearing in the coming days, claimed that due to the lack of government control and intervention Twitter acts as it deems fit.

Advocate Mahek Maheshwari, who filed the plea in personal capacity, has sought a direction to the Centre to formulate a framework or guidelines to appeal against any kind of grievances against Twitter and all such social media platforms within designated time frame till a proper law comes into force.

The plea has also sought directions to frame guidelines to entrust responsibility on the officers of ministries of electronics and IT and Information &amp; Broadcasting to deal with grievance/complaint against social media platforms.

"Due to lack of the government control and intervention on the social media platform Twitter, act the way they fit their way, ideology and desires."

"Twitter is not having government control so it freely act unethically and shadow ban many accounts which does not suit its ideological inclination," the petition said.

He added that "there should be no parallel ecosystem act to undermine the highest judiciary of the nation and creation of unrest, dissatisfaction among the masses."

The petition alleged that Twitter crossed all limits of lawlessness when it "supported the mocking of the highest judiciary of nation that is also institutionally of Supreme Court of Nation and individually of the judges as well".&nbsp;

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking regulation of Twitter and other social media platforms through guidelines making them culpable under criminal and civil laws until a specific law is passed by Parliament.

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking regulation of Twitter and other social media platforms through guidelines making them culpable under criminal and civil laws until a specific law is passed by Parliament. The petition, likely to come up for hearing in the coming days, claimed that due to the lack of government control and intervention Twitter acts as it deems fit. Advocate Mahek Maheshwari, who filed the plea in personal capacity, has sought a direction to the Centre to formulate a framework or guidelines to appeal against any kind of grievances against Twitter and all such social media platforms within designated time frame till a proper law comes into force. The plea has also sought directions to frame guidelines to entrust responsibility on the officers of ministries of electronics and IT and Information & Broadcasting to deal with grievance/complaint against social media platforms. "Due to lack of the government control and intervention on the social media platform Twitter, act the way they fit their way, ideology and desires." "Twitter is not having government control so it freely act unethically and shadow ban many accounts which does not suit its ideological inclination," the petition said. He added that "there should be no parallel ecosystem act to undermine the highest judiciary of the nation and creation of unrest, dissatisfaction among the masses." The petition alleged that Twitter crossed all limits of lawlessness when it "supported the mocking of the highest judiciary of nation that is also institutionally of Supreme Court of Nation and individually of the judges as well".

Plea in SC seeks to regulate social media platforms

Indonesian police on Wednesday shot down two Indonesian militants linked to 2019 Philippine church blast, said the authorities. The officers arrested scores of pro-Islamic State radicals. Indonesia's counter-terrorism squad Densus 88, raided a hideout of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an extremist group. The hideout was located in Makassar city on Sulawesi island.

Two suspects were gunned down when they "resisted arrest" and attacked officers, police said, adding that a third suspect suffered gunshot injuries and was being treated in hospital.&nbsp;

Another 17 militants were detained.&nbsp;

The police said later on Wednesday that two dead suspects were linked to financing Philippines's worst terror attack in years. The bombing had killed 21 and injured many in 2019.

The pair were later identified as an Indonesian militant and his wife.&nbsp;

"The two were involved in transferring money to the bombers of the church in Jolo, Philippines," national police spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan told reporters, without elaborating.&nbsp;

In early 2019, two explosions ripped through a Catholic church on the Philippines' Muslim-majority island of Jolo, killing worshippers at Sunday mass and security forces -- raising fears about growing links between militants in Southeast Asia.&nbsp;

IS claimed responsibility for the cathedral blast, saying two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts.&nbsp;

The Jolo attack was carried out days after voters approved expanding Muslim self-rule in the south aimed at ending a decades-old rebellion for independence or autonomy for the sizeable Islamic minority of the mainly Catholic Philippines.&nbsp;

(With AFP inputs)

Indonesian police on Wednesday shot down two Indonesian militants linked to 2019 Philippine church blast, said the authorities. The officers arrested scores of pro-Islamic State radicals.

Indonesian police on Wednesday shot down two Indonesian militants linked to 2019 Philippine church blast, said the authorities. The officers arrested scores of pro-Islamic State radicals. Indonesia's counter-terrorism squad Densus 88, raided a hideout of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an extremist group. The hideout was located in Makassar city on Sulawesi island. Two suspects were gunned down when they "resisted arrest" and attacked officers, police said, adding that a third suspect suffered gunshot injuries and was being treated in hospital. Another 17 militants were detained. The police said later on Wednesday that two dead suspects were linked to financing Philippines's worst terror attack in years. The bombing had killed 21 and injured many in 2019. The pair were later identified as an Indonesian militant and his wife. "The two were involved in transferring money to the bombers of the church in Jolo, Philippines," national police spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan told reporters, without elaborating. In early 2019, two explosions ripped through a Catholic church on the Philippines' Muslim-majority island of Jolo, killing worshippers at Sunday mass and security forces -- raising fears about growing links between militants in Southeast Asia. IS claimed responsibility for the cathedral blast, saying two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts. The Jolo attack was carried out days after voters approved expanding Muslim self-rule in the south aimed at ending a decades-old rebellion for independence or autonomy for the sizeable Islamic minority of the mainly Catholic Philippines. (With AFP inputs)

Indonesian police gun down two militants linked to 2019 Philippine church bombing

France is understood to be considering to exit Mali, the country in which it sent troops to prevent jihadists from taking over. It faces tough choices over how to keep pursuing Islamist extremists without becoming bogged down in a potentially unwinnable war.

In past 10 days, five French soldiers have been killed in roadside bombs. This brought to 50 the number of troops killed across the Sahel since France launched a campaign to clear northern Mali of jihadists in January 2013

Latest victims included Sergeant Yvonne Huynh, the first female soldier killed since the French intervention began. 
Her death Saturday, claimed by a group linked to al-Qaeda, coincided with a massacre across the border in western Niger, where unidentified gunmen killed around 100 villagers in one of the region's worst atrocities.

Shifting public mood

In the past year, the French have killed the leader of the notorious al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group, Abdelmalek Droukdel, as well as one of the military leaders of the al-Qaeda affiliated Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM).

Anxious to avoid becoming mired in a long Afghan-style conflict, Paris is preparing to announce a withdrawal of the 600 additional troops it deployed to the Sahel last year.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-massive-rave-party-with-little-social-distancing-causes-concern-353915">France: Massive rave party with little social distancing causes concern</a> 
 
Defence sources have told AFP that President Emmanuel Macron would like to go further in reducing the number of French troops in the Sahel region before the next presidential election in April/May 2022.

"Up until now the French have not really questioned France's role in the Sahel. But you have to be very careful. Public opinion can change very quickly," a government source told AFP.

Buying time

In a sign that the Sahel mission could become a domestic political football, some opposition politicians have already begun to question the wisdom of staying the course.

"War in Mali: for how much longer?" the hard-left France Unbowed party queried on Monday.

"The more we help Mali the more it collapses," said Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos of France's Institute of Development Research (IRD).

(With AFP inputs)

France is understood to be considering to exit Mali, the country in which it sent troops to prevent jihadists from taking over. It faces tough choices over how to keep pursuing Islamist extremists without becoming bogged down in a potentially unwinnable war.

France is understood to be considering to exit Mali, the country in which it sent troops to prevent jihadists from taking over. It faces tough choices over how to keep pursuing Islamist extremists without becoming bogged down in a potentially unwinnable war. In past 10 days, five French soldiers have been killed in roadside bombs. This brought to 50 the number of troops killed across the Sahel since France launched a campaign to clear northern Mali of jihadists in January 2013 Latest victims included Sergeant Yvonne Huynh, the first female soldier killed since the French intervention began. Her death Saturday, claimed by a group linked to al-Qaeda, coincided with a massacre across the border in western Niger, where unidentified gunmen killed around 100 villagers in one of the region's worst atrocities. Shifting public mood In the past year, the French have killed the leader of the notorious al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group, Abdelmalek Droukdel, as well as one of the military leaders of the al-Qaeda affiliated Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM). Anxious to avoid becoming mired in a long Afghan-style conflict, Paris is preparing to announce a withdrawal of the 600 additional troops it deployed to the Sahel last year. Also Read | France: Massive rave party with little social distancing causes concern Defence sources have told AFP that President Emmanuel Macron would like to go further in reducing the number of French troops in the Sahel region before the next presidential election in April/May 2022. "Up until now the French have not really questioned France's role in the Sahel. But you have to be very careful. Public opinion can change very quickly," a government source told AFP. Buying time In a sign that the Sahel mission could become a domestic political football, some opposition politicians have already begun to question the wisdom of staying the course. "War in Mali: for how much longer?" the hard-left France Unbowed party queried on Monday. "The more we help Mali the more it collapses," said Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos of France's Institute of Development Research (IRD). (With AFP inputs)

France seeks exit strategy from Mali after eight-year campaign

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte faces a showdown with his coalition partner and former premier Matteo Renzi this week that could bring down his government even as it struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Long-strained relations between the two men have deteriorated markedly in recent weeks, with Renzi calling for radical changes to plans to reboot the economy while also demanding that Conte cede his control over the secret services.

The prime minister has resisted the pressure, saying last week he was prepared to confront Renzi in parliament, effectively challenging him to act on his recent threats and abandon the coalition, thereby triggering an ill-timed crisis.

Renzi told Il Messaggero newspaper at the weekend he would not back down and dismissed suggestions that Conte could persuade a limited number of opposition politicians to prop up the government if his small Italia Viva party walked away.

"If he has decided to go to parliament and see the numbers, we accept the challenge," Renzi said. "If ... he goes under, we have several different solutions that can be assessed by parliament and the head of state," he added.

A political source said matters could come to a head at a cabinet meeting expected for Jan. 7, when Conte was expected to ask ministers to support his economic recovery plan. If Italia Viva`s two ministers refused, the prime minister would go to parliament and start work on trying to find a new consensus.

Conte`s two main coalition allies, the 5-Star Movement and centre-left Democratic Party (PD), have both urged restraint, but appeared resigned to an eventual face-off with Renzi, who is looking to carve out a strong identity for his group which is struggling in the opinion polls on around 3%.

"At this point, it is difficult to move ahead without a real clarification, in terms of the content and structure of the government," Luigi Zanda, a senior PD senator, told Corriere della Sera on Sunday.

If the government falls, the coalition parties could seek to draw up a new pact and agree on a new team of ministers, with or without Conte as prime minister. Alternatively, the head of state could try to put together a government of national unity to confront the health and economic crisis.

If all else fails, national elections would have to be held some two years ahead of time, but such an outcome would appear highly unlikely given the COVID emergency in Italy, which has registered 74,985 COVID-19 deaths, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte faces a showdown with his coalition partner and former premier Matteo Renzi this week that could bring down his government even as it struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte faces a showdown with his coalition partner and former premier Matteo Renzi this week that could bring down his government even as it struggles to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Long-strained relations between the two men have deteriorated markedly in recent weeks, with Renzi calling for radical changes to plans to reboot the economy while also demanding that Conte cede his control over the secret services. The prime minister has resisted the pressure, saying last week he was prepared to confront Renzi in parliament, effectively challenging him to act on his recent threats and abandon the coalition, thereby triggering an ill-timed crisis. Renzi told Il Messaggero newspaper at the weekend he would not back down and dismissed suggestions that Conte could persuade a limited number of opposition politicians to prop up the government if his small Italia Viva party walked away. "If he has decided to go to parliament and see the numbers, we accept the challenge," Renzi said. "If ... he goes under, we have several different solutions that can be assessed by parliament and the head of state," he added. A political source said matters could come to a head at a cabinet meeting expected for Jan. 7, when Conte was expected to ask ministers to support his economic recovery plan. If Italia Viva`s two ministers refused, the prime minister would go to parliament and start work on trying to find a new consensus. Conte`s two main coalition allies, the 5-Star Movement and centre-left Democratic Party (PD), have both urged restraint, but appeared resigned to an eventual face-off with Renzi, who is looking to carve out a strong identity for his group which is struggling in the opinion polls on around 3%. "At this point, it is difficult to move ahead without a real clarification, in terms of the content and structure of the government," Luigi Zanda, a senior PD senator, told Corriere della Sera on Sunday. If the government falls, the coalition parties could seek to draw up a new pact and agree on a new team of ministers, with or without Conte as prime minister. Alternatively, the head of state could try to put together a government of national unity to confront the health and economic crisis. If all else fails, national elections would have to be held some two years ahead of time, but such an outcome would appear highly unlikely given the COVID emergency in Italy, which has registered 74,985 COVID-19 deaths, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world.

Italian government totters as Conte, Renzi divide deepens

Norway will impose fresh restrictions to prevent a resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Sunday, including a nationwide ban on serving alcohol in restaurants and bars and not inviting guests home.

The Nordic country has seen a rise in cases over the past month and now estimates that one sick person infects 1.3 person on average, authorities have said.

"We see more signs of a new wave of infections," Solberg told a news conference, citing Christmas and New Year`s Eve celebrations and the emergence of the more contagious variant of the virus first identified in Britain among the reasons.

So in order not to have an epidemic that is "out of control", Norwegians must suspend their social lives for the next two weeks, Solberg said

Already on Saturday, the government said lectures at universities would be suspended until Jan. 18, with the government asking students to stay home and not return to their campuses during that time.

And on Thursday, Oslo imposed mandatory COVID-19 tests for all people arriving in Norway upon arrival or within 24 hours to stop the spread of the coronavirus variant detected first in Britain.

Small border crossings have been shut as they do not have capacity to have COVID-19 test centres and more military personnel will man the border with Finland in the Arctic.

Norway`s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants was at 113.6 in the week Dec. 21-27, the fourth lowest in Europe behind Iceland, Greece and Finland, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said.

Norway will impose fresh restrictions to prevent a resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Sunday, including a nationwide ban on serving alcohol in restaurants and bars and not inviting guests home.

Norway will impose fresh restrictions to prevent a resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Erna Solberg said on Sunday, including a nationwide ban on serving alcohol in restaurants and bars and not inviting guests home. The Nordic country has seen a rise in cases over the past month and now estimates that one sick person infects 1.3 person on average, authorities have said. "We see more signs of a new wave of infections," Solberg told a news conference, citing Christmas and New Year`s Eve celebrations and the emergence of the more contagious variant of the virus first identified in Britain among the reasons. So in order not to have an epidemic that is "out of control", Norwegians must suspend their social lives for the next two weeks, Solberg said Already on Saturday, the government said lectures at universities would be suspended until Jan. 18, with the government asking students to stay home and not return to their campuses during that time. And on Thursday, Oslo imposed mandatory COVID-19 tests for all people arriving in Norway upon arrival or within 24 hours to stop the spread of the coronavirus variant detected first in Britain. Small border crossings have been shut as they do not have capacity to have COVID-19 test centres and more military personnel will man the border with Finland in the Arctic. Norway`s 14-day cumulative number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants was at 113.6 in the week Dec. 21-27, the fourth lowest in Europe behind Iceland, Greece and Finland, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has said.

Norway imposes new restrictions to prevent new wave, says PM

Black civic leaders in Oregon heard the alarm bells early in the pandemic.

Data and anecdotes around the country suggested that the coronavirus was disproportionately killing Black people. Locally, Black business owners had begun fretting about their livelihoods, as stay-at-home orders and various other measures were put into place. Many did not have valuable houses they could tap for capital, and requests for government assistance had gone nowhere.

After convening several virtual meetings, the civic leaders proposed a bold and novel solution that state lawmakers approved in July. The state would earmark $62 million of its $1.4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money to provide grants to Black residents, business owners and community organizations enduring pandemic-related hardships.

“It was finally being honest: This is who needs this support right now,” said Lew Frederick, a state senator who is Black.

But now millions of dollars in grants are on hold after one Mexican American and two white business owners sued the state, arguing that the fund for Black residents discriminated against them.

The dispute in Oregon is the latest legal skirmish in the nation’s decadeslong battle over affirmative action, and comes in a year in which the pandemic has starkly exposed the socioeconomic and health disparities that African Americans face. It has unfolded, too, against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement, with institutions across America — from corporations to city councils — acknowledging systemic racism, and activists demanding that meaningful steps be taken to undo racial inequities.

Politicians, social scientists and jurists have long clashed over how far the government and institutions should go to repair the harm caused by racial discrimination — and the extent to which past racism should influence today’s decisions. In creating the Oregon Cares Fund, lawmakers took the rare step of explicitly naming a single racial group as the beneficiary, arguing that Black residents have been subjected to unique discrimination that put them at a disadvantage during the pandemic.

Over the decades, various remedies to address discrimination have been met with legal challenges. Supreme Court rulings have established that race-based policies are constitutional only if they achieve a compelling governmental interest and are narrowly tailored to do so. The court has most notably allowed race to be used as a factor in college admissions to achieve student diversity. But the court in recent decades has also sided against one of the original rationales for affirmative action policies — to undo past discrimination and its lingering effect.

“You have to show that there’s this really close nexus between why you’re using race and the outcome you’re seeking,” said Melissa Murray, a professor of law at New York University. “And I think here it’s going to be a real question as to whether funding just Black businesses through this Cares fund is actually the only way that you could address the problems that Black Oregonians have experienced during this particular period.”

In Oregon, the stakes are dire. Nearly $50 million worth of grants have been awarded, but a court has frozen $8.8 million, the remaining amount minus administrative costs, until the litigation is resolved, a process that could take years.

With the Dec. 31 deadline having passed for states to spend their CARES Act funds or return what remains to the federal government, the litigation could mean the money is lost for good. The fund’s administrators say they hope the Treasury Department grants them an extension for disbursing the money.

Oregon’s long history of anti-Black racism has fueled much of the advocacy for the state’s fund. And while other racial groups have said they supported it, critics have argued that Black people are not the only ones who have faced discrimination in the state.

Some Black residents, who make up about 2% of the state’s population, said that argument was a distraction.

“As a state, as a country, it is unusual for us to provide adequate resources to Black people,” said Nkenge Harmon Johnson, president and chief executive of the Urban League of Portland. “For some folks, it’s shocking, it’s distasteful.”

But Edward Blum, a white conservative activist whose organization, Project on Fair Representation, is underwriting one of two lawsuits challenging the fund, said the opposition was about preventing racial exclusion.

“It is like, in the employment arena, going to apply for a job and seeing a sign on the employment office that reads, ‘No Asians need apply,’” said Blum, who has led efforts to challenge race-based admissions policies at universities, including a high-profile case against Harvard. “Your race and your ethnicity should not be used to help you or harm you in your life’s endeavors.”

Walter Leja, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, said he might be on the verge of laying off employees from Dynamic Service Fire and Security, the small electrical services company he started in Salem in 2007, if he did not receive relief money soon. An earlier loan of about $20,000 from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, he said, was just enough to cover payroll for about two months.

Leja, who is 64 and white, said he could not say whether historic discrimination put Black business owners at a disadvantage. But a particular fund, he said, was not warranted.

“It’s discriminatory,” he said. “It’s locking up a bunch of funds that can only be used by Black businesses when there’s a ton of other businesses out there that need access to those funds. It’s not a white or Black thing. It’s an everybody thing.”

That lawsuit — a class-action case led by Leja and the white owner of a logging company, Great Northern Resources, based in the city of John Day — is one of two that challenges the fund. The other, underwritten by the Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit law firm advocating limited government, involves a Mexican American owner of the Revolucion Coffee House, in Portland, who has claimed discrimination.

Many of today’s economic and health disparities stem from past policies and practices that were explicitly racist, some social scientists say, arguing that measures aimed at particular races were necessary to undo the damage. But courts have set a high bar for allowing the clear use of race in legislation. To get around the legal hurdles, policymakers tend to rely on proxies for race — like ZIP codes and socioeconomic status — when designing measures they hope will benefit marginalized racial groups.

But Akasha Lawrence Spence, a state representative, said subtle measures were not enough for the current crisis. Specifically targeting Black Oregonians for relief was an important step in forcing people to grasp the effects of racism, she added.

“This fund says that we understand that for no other reason than the color of your skin, you have been restricted and prohibited from accessing the tools to economically mobilize,” she said. “For that reason, we’re not going to create any veiled language. We as the Black community are tired of that.”

Supporters of the fund argued that the $62 million accounted for about 4.5% of what the state received, leaving plenty for residents who are not Black. They also noted that other COVID-19-related funds were tailored in a way that allowed them to almost exclusively benefit particular racial or ethnic groups — a $10 million fund created by the state that largely benefits Latino immigrants in the country without permission and one created by Portland officials to aid a district of largely Asian-owned businesses.

Designing measures in that way to target Black residents would be difficult and fail to have a significant impact, they said.

Oregon’s history of racism predates its statehood. As a territory in 1844, it passed a law banning African Americans from settling there.

The state’s Black population ballooned in the 1940s as many Southerners migrated West for jobs in the wartime industries. Like in many other parts of the country, the new Black settlers in Oregon were restricted to certain areas. In 1990, 80% of the state’s Black population was confined to two ZIP codes in Northeast Portland, according to Stephen Green, a Portland native and former banker.

Banks and other investors largely avoided doing business in those communities. Residents were also displaced when parts of those neighborhoods were razed at different times to build a highway, a sports arena and a hospital.

That history robbed many African Americans of opportunities to build wealth, historians say, a legacy that continues. The racial wealth gap in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, is larger now than it was 40 years ago, with Black residents holding fewer assets than other racial groups.

In 2019, Black Oregonians received four of the 984 loans that the Small Business Administration issued statewide, according to The Portland Business Journal.

Without traditional banking relationships, Black business owners often have had to reach into their own pockets or seek other avenues to finance startup costs, civic leaders said. That left many unable to get pandemic relief loans offered by the federal government because the loans required going through lending institutions.

Early in the pandemic, various indicators appeared to show that Black businesses were suffering more severely than others. A Stanford University study found that the number of Black business owners nationwide dropped by 41% from February to April, compared with a 32% decrease for Latinos, 26% for Asians and 17% for white owners.

Lawyers defending the Oregon Cares Fund have argued that the state has a duty to ensure that the distribution of COVID-19 relief funds does not perpetuate the disparities Black residents face. That means targeting Black residents for relief because other efforts to address inequality have failed, said Janelle Bynum, a state representative who is Black.

“Without that intentionality, without them actually caring that the money flows through our communities, they’ll never have to do anything to change the status quo,” she said. “I’m not OK with that.”

But some legal scholars and a lawyer for the state Legislature said the fund could violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantees.

Clark D. Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, was dubious of the 14th Amendment claims. About a month after the amendment passed Congress in 1866, those same politicians reauthorized the Freedmen’s Bureau, an agency meant to primarily help formerly enslaved African Americans, he said.

“The idea that, in this case, a lumber company could use the 14th Amendment as a weapon to prevent the descendants of slaves from receiving an economic benefit in a time of disaster is utterly inconsistent with the historical context,” Cunningham said.

In Portland, Joy Mack said the pandemic rekindled the stress she felt when she opened the Jayah Rose Salon in 2008. She and her husband, an engineer, are both Black and solidly middle class. But after visiting more than 10 lending institutions to try to get startup funding, she received only two loans, she said. One of the lenders kept asking for more financial information, so they eventually walked away from the relationship.

In trying to keep her hair salon afloat amid the pandemic, Mack, 45, said she applied for a forgivable federal government loan but was turned down because she had about $5,000 in tax debt. She got a $5,000 grant from the city and a $10,000 disaster loan from the federal government. She also has had to take out lines of credit.

Mack eventually received a grant from the Oregon Cares Fund. Although she would not say how much she received, she said it saved her from having to close down under the weight of tens of thousands of dollars of debt.

“Honestly,” she said, “that is what just helped us get over that COVID hump.”

Black civic leaders in Oregon heard the alarm bells early in the pandemic. Data and anecdotes around the country suggested that the coronavirus was disproportionately killing Black people.

Black civic leaders in Oregon heard the alarm bells early in the pandemic. Data and anecdotes around the country suggested that the coronavirus was disproportionately killing Black people. Locally, Black business owners had begun fretting about their livelihoods, as stay-at-home orders and various other measures were put into place. Many did not have valuable houses they could tap for capital, and requests for government assistance had gone nowhere. After convening several virtual meetings, the civic leaders proposed a bold and novel solution that state lawmakers approved in July. The state would earmark $62 million of its $1.4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money to provide grants to Black residents, business owners and community organizations enduring pandemic-related hardships. “It was finally being honest: This is who needs this support right now,” said Lew Frederick, a state senator who is Black. But now millions of dollars in grants are on hold after one Mexican American and two white business owners sued the state, arguing that the fund for Black residents discriminated against them. The dispute in Oregon is the latest legal skirmish in the nation’s decadeslong battle over affirmative action, and comes in a year in which the pandemic has starkly exposed the socioeconomic and health disparities that African Americans face. It has unfolded, too, against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement, with institutions across America — from corporations to city councils — acknowledging systemic racism, and activists demanding that meaningful steps be taken to undo racial inequities. Politicians, social scientists and jurists have long clashed over how far the government and institutions should go to repair the harm caused by racial discrimination — and the extent to which past racism should influence today’s decisions. In creating the Oregon Cares Fund, lawmakers took the rare step of explicitly naming a single racial group as the beneficiary, arguing that Black residents have been subjected to unique discrimination that put them at a disadvantage during the pandemic. Over the decades, various remedies to address discrimination have been met with legal challenges. Supreme Court rulings have established that race-based policies are constitutional only if they achieve a compelling governmental interest and are narrowly tailored to do so. The court has most notably allowed race to be used as a factor in college admissions to achieve student diversity. But the court in recent decades has also sided against one of the original rationales for affirmative action policies — to undo past discrimination and its lingering effect. “You have to show that there’s this really close nexus between why you’re using race and the outcome you’re seeking,” said Melissa Murray, a professor of law at New York University. “And I think here it’s going to be a real question as to whether funding just Black businesses through this Cares fund is actually the only way that you could address the problems that Black Oregonians have experienced during this particular period.” In Oregon, the stakes are dire. Nearly $50 million worth of grants have been awarded, but a court has frozen $8.8 million, the remaining amount minus administrative costs, until the litigation is resolved, a process that could take years. With the Dec. 31 deadline having passed for states to spend their CARES Act funds or return what remains to the federal government, the litigation could mean the money is lost for good. The fund’s administrators say they hope the Treasury Department grants them an extension for disbursing the money. Oregon’s long history of anti-Black racism has fueled much of the advocacy for the state’s fund. And while other racial groups have said they supported it, critics have argued that Black people are not the only ones who have faced discrimination in the state. Some Black residents, who make up about 2% of the state’s population, said that argument was a distraction. “As a state, as a country, it is unusual for us to provide adequate resources to Black people,” said Nkenge Harmon Johnson, president and chief executive of the Urban League of Portland. “For some folks, it’s shocking, it’s distasteful.” But Edward Blum, a white conservative activist whose organization, Project on Fair Representation, is underwriting one of two lawsuits challenging the fund, said the opposition was about preventing racial exclusion. “It is like, in the employment arena, going to apply for a job and seeing a sign on the employment office that reads, ‘No Asians need apply,’” said Blum, who has led efforts to challenge race-based admissions policies at universities, including a high-profile case against Harvard. “Your race and your ethnicity should not be used to help you or harm you in your life’s endeavors.” Walter Leja, a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, said he might be on the verge of laying off employees from Dynamic Service Fire and Security, the small electrical services company he started in Salem in 2007, if he did not receive relief money soon. An earlier loan of about $20,000 from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, he said, was just enough to cover payroll for about two months. Leja, who is 64 and white, said he could not say whether historic discrimination put Black business owners at a disadvantage. But a particular fund, he said, was not warranted. “It’s discriminatory,” he said. “It’s locking up a bunch of funds that can only be used by Black businesses when there’s a ton of other businesses out there that need access to those funds. It’s not a white or Black thing. It’s an everybody thing.” That lawsuit — a class-action case led by Leja and the white owner of a logging company, Great Northern Resources, based in the city of John Day — is one of two that challenges the fund. The other, underwritten by the Center for Individual Rights, a nonprofit law firm advocating limited government, involves a Mexican American owner of the Revolucion Coffee House, in Portland, who has claimed discrimination. Many of today’s economic and health disparities stem from past policies and practices that were explicitly racist, some social scientists say, arguing that measures aimed at particular races were necessary to undo the damage. But courts have set a high bar for allowing the clear use of race in legislation. To get around the legal hurdles, policymakers tend to rely on proxies for race — like ZIP codes and socioeconomic status — when designing measures they hope will benefit marginalized racial groups. But Akasha Lawrence Spence, a state representative, said subtle measures were not enough for the current crisis. Specifically targeting Black Oregonians for relief was an important step in forcing people to grasp the effects of racism, she added. “This fund says that we understand that for no other reason than the color of your skin, you have been restricted and prohibited from accessing the tools to economically mobilize,” she said. “For that reason, we’re not going to create any veiled language. We as the Black community are tired of that.” Supporters of the fund argued that the $62 million accounted for about 4.5% of what the state received, leaving plenty for residents who are not Black. They also noted that other COVID-19-related funds were tailored in a way that allowed them to almost exclusively benefit particular racial or ethnic groups — a $10 million fund created by the state that largely benefits Latino immigrants in the country without permission and one created by Portland officials to aid a district of largely Asian-owned businesses. Designing measures in that way to target Black residents would be difficult and fail to have a significant impact, they said. Oregon’s history of racism predates its statehood. As a territory in 1844, it passed a law banning African Americans from settling there. The state’s Black population ballooned in the 1940s as many Southerners migrated West for jobs in the wartime industries. Like in many other parts of the country, the new Black settlers in Oregon were restricted to certain areas. In 1990, 80% of the state’s Black population was confined to two ZIP codes in Northeast Portland, according to Stephen Green, a Portland native and former banker. Banks and other investors largely avoided doing business in those communities. Residents were also displaced when parts of those neighborhoods were razed at different times to build a highway, a sports arena and a hospital. That history robbed many African Americans of opportunities to build wealth, historians say, a legacy that continues. The racial wealth gap in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, is larger now than it was 40 years ago, with Black residents holding fewer assets than other racial groups. In 2019, Black Oregonians received four of the 984 loans that the Small Business Administration issued statewide, according to The Portland Business Journal. Without traditional banking relationships, Black business owners often have had to reach into their own pockets or seek other avenues to finance startup costs, civic leaders said. That left many unable to get pandemic relief loans offered by the federal government because the loans required going through lending institutions. Early in the pandemic, various indicators appeared to show that Black businesses were suffering more severely than others. A Stanford University study found that the number of Black business owners nationwide dropped by 41% from February to April, compared with a 32% decrease for Latinos, 26% for Asians and 17% for white owners. Lawyers defending the Oregon Cares Fund have argued that the state has a duty to ensure that the distribution of COVID-19 relief funds does not perpetuate the disparities Black residents face. That means targeting Black residents for relief because other efforts to address inequality have failed, said Janelle Bynum, a state representative who is Black. “Without that intentionality, without them actually caring that the money flows through our communities, they’ll never have to do anything to change the status quo,” she said. “I’m not OK with that.” But some legal scholars and a lawyer for the state Legislature said the fund could violate the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantees. Clark D. Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, was dubious of the 14th Amendment claims. About a month after the amendment passed Congress in 1866, those same politicians reauthorized the Freedmen’s Bureau, an agency meant to primarily help formerly enslaved African Americans, he said. “The idea that, in this case, a lumber company could use the 14th Amendment as a weapon to prevent the descendants of slaves from receiving an economic benefit in a time of disaster is utterly inconsistent with the historical context,” Cunningham said. In Portland, Joy Mack said the pandemic rekindled the stress she felt when she opened the Jayah Rose Salon in 2008. She and her husband, an engineer, are both Black and solidly middle class. But after visiting more than 10 lending institutions to try to get startup funding, she received only two loans, she said. One of the lenders kept asking for more financial information, so they eventually walked away from the relationship. In trying to keep her hair salon afloat amid the pandemic, Mack, 45, said she applied for a forgivable federal government loan but was turned down because she had about $5,000 in tax debt. She got a $5,000 grant from the city and a $10,000 disaster loan from the federal government. She also has had to take out lines of credit. Mack eventually received a grant from the Oregon Cares Fund. Although she would not say how much she received, she said it saved her from having to close down under the weight of tens of thousands of dollars of debt. “Honestly,” she said, “that is what just helped us get over that COVID hump.”

A COVID-19 relief fund was only for black residents. Then came the lawsuits

President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, Janet L. Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees over the past two years from major corporations and Wall Street banks that have a keen interest in the financial policies she will oversee after her expected confirmation to lead the Treasury Department.

Yellen’s paid speaking appearances — which included $992,000 from investment bank Citi for nine appearances — were among the lucrative payments from a range of Wall Street, Big Tech and corporate interests to three prominent prospective members of the incoming Biden administration.

The payments, revealed in disclosure statements covering the previous two years and released on New Year’s Eve, have caused consternation among progressive activists concerned about the influence of special interests around Biden, who they see as part of a Democratic establishment that has not sufficiently embraced liberal priorities.

Biden’s choice for secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, was paid nearly $1.2 million by a consulting firm he helped found, WestExec Advisors, where he advised a range of corporations including Facebook, Boeing, private equity giant Blackstone and asset management company Lazard.

Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, was paid $180,000 to consult for data-mining company Palantir, which has raised liberal hackles for providing data and surveillance services to law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Along with their disclosure statements, Yellen, Blinken and Haines each filed ethics agreements pledging to avoid involvement in specific matters that could affect any holding they still own, or with which they had worked in the past year, unless they receive a written waiver from ethics officials.

The three may have to extend the conflict of interest window beyond a year if Biden enacts an expected ethics policy barring officials in his administration from participating for two years in policies that could affect their former business interests.

Yellen and Blinken also indicated they would divest their interests in companies, including stock owned by Yellen in major corporations such as AT&amp;amp;T, ConocoPhillips, Dow, Pfizer and Raytheon. Blinken said he would sell his stake in WestExec Advisors as well as a venture capital firm linked to it.

Blinken indicated in his disclosure filing that those stakes are worth a total of $1.5 million to $6 million.

David Segal, the executive director of the progressive group Demand Progress, said that he still had concerns even though the officials had pledged to abide by conflict of interest rules.

“There are almost too many corporate clients to count who have relationships to the respective ambits these designees would steward if confirmed,” he said, adding that “this is an unfortunate circumstance,” particularly as Biden strives to strike a difference between his administration and President Donald Trump’s.

In the Trump administration, representatives from corporate America and Wall Street held prominent posts, and conflicts of interest abounded.

The filings by Biden’s team offer another glimpse of Washington’s longtime revolving door. Officials whose parties have lost power monetize their insider expertise and connections in the private sector, then head back into government when their party retakes the White House.

Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, started giving paid speeches in February 2018, which was within a year of the conclusion of her term at the Fed. She was also a consultant to Magellan Financial Group Ltd., an Australia-based investment fund manager, which paid her $125,000.

Haines left her position as deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama at the end of his term in 2017, and within about six months she was working as a consultant for Palantir. When Haines joined Biden’s transition team over the summer, a spokesperson sought to distance her from Palantir’s data collection and surveillance, saying that the vast majority of her work for the company was related to diversity and inclusion.

The biggest share of Haines’ income came from Columbia University, which paid her more than $440,000 to help run an international research project and to lecture at the university’s law school. She also was paid $150,000 to consult for the applied physics lab at Johns Hopkins University, and nearly $55,000 to consult and make introductions for WestExec Advisors, the firm Blinken helped found.

Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, formed WestExec Advisors about eight months after he left office with three other Obama administration officials.

The firm, which takes its name from the small street that runs between the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, was hired by clients looking for advice in navigating the federal government. The firm also paired with venture capital funds that helped companies it advised expand to take on federal contracts or other new work.

Blinken’s disclosure forms show that he worked with 17 WestExec clients, including Microsoft, Uber, AT&amp;amp;T, FedEx, LinkedIn, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences and McKinsey &amp;amp; Co., a global consulting firm.

WestExec said in a statement after Blinken emerged as the likely secretary of state pick that he helped business leaders “make the best decisions in a complex and volatile international landscape.”

Blinken also publicly defended tech companies, while Facebook was a client of WestExec. When tech companies came under fire for failing to adequately fight disinformation during the 2016 election — including Facebook posts that were part of a Russian effort to boost Trump’s presidential campaign — Blinken said the blame should be directed primarily at Russia.

Tech platforms “have to do better to defend against malicious actors, but let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees: The problem is Russia and other actors who use our openness against us, not the platforms,” Blinken said in an interview with Fast Company published in October 2017. “The biggest mistake we can make is to get into a circular firing squad with government and the tech companies,” Blinken told the publication, which identified him as an adviser to both Facebook and Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, said that the company hired WestExec for one month in 2018 to provide advice on tech policy, but added that the advice was “provided by others in the firm, not by Mr. Blinken.”

In 2009, Obama prohibited all of his appointees from participating for two years in “any particular matter” as a government official that “directly and substantially” related to a former employer or former client, including a federal regulation that might affect the former client.

Biden has not yet released details on what type of restrictions he will impose on his political appointees.

President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, Janet L. Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees over the past two years from major corporations and Wall Street banks that have a keen interest in the financial policies she will oversee after her expected confirmation to lead the Treasury Department.

President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for Treasury secretary, Janet L. Yellen, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees over the past two years from major corporations and Wall Street banks that have a keen interest in the financial policies she will oversee after her expected confirmation to lead the Treasury Department. Yellen’s paid speaking appearances — which included $992,000 from investment bank Citi for nine appearances — were among the lucrative payments from a range of Wall Street, Big Tech and corporate interests to three prominent prospective members of the incoming Biden administration. The payments, revealed in disclosure statements covering the previous two years and released on New Year’s Eve, have caused consternation among progressive activists concerned about the influence of special interests around Biden, who they see as part of a Democratic establishment that has not sufficiently embraced liberal priorities. Biden’s choice for secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, was paid nearly $1.2 million by a consulting firm he helped found, WestExec Advisors, where he advised a range of corporations including Facebook, Boeing, private equity giant Blackstone and asset management company Lazard. Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, was paid $180,000 to consult for data-mining company Palantir, which has raised liberal hackles for providing data and surveillance services to law enforcement, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Along with their disclosure statements, Yellen, Blinken and Haines each filed ethics agreements pledging to avoid involvement in specific matters that could affect any holding they still own, or with which they had worked in the past year, unless they receive a written waiver from ethics officials. The three may have to extend the conflict of interest window beyond a year if Biden enacts an expected ethics policy barring officials in his administration from participating for two years in policies that could affect their former business interests. Yellen and Blinken also indicated they would divest their interests in companies, including stock owned by Yellen in major corporations such as AT&amp;T, ConocoPhillips, Dow, Pfizer and Raytheon. Blinken said he would sell his stake in WestExec Advisors as well as a venture capital firm linked to it. Blinken indicated in his disclosure filing that those stakes are worth a total of $1.5 million to $6 million. David Segal, the executive director of the progressive group Demand Progress, said that he still had concerns even though the officials had pledged to abide by conflict of interest rules. “There are almost too many corporate clients to count who have relationships to the respective ambits these designees would steward if confirmed,” he said, adding that “this is an unfortunate circumstance,” particularly as Biden strives to strike a difference between his administration and President Donald Trump’s. In the Trump administration, representatives from corporate America and Wall Street held prominent posts, and conflicts of interest abounded. The filings by Biden’s team offer another glimpse of Washington’s longtime revolving door. Officials whose parties have lost power monetize their insider expertise and connections in the private sector, then head back into government when their party retakes the White House. Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, started giving paid speeches in February 2018, which was within a year of the conclusion of her term at the Fed. She was also a consultant to Magellan Financial Group Ltd., an Australia-based investment fund manager, which paid her $125,000. Haines left her position as deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama at the end of his term in 2017, and within about six months she was working as a consultant for Palantir. When Haines joined Biden’s transition team over the summer, a spokesperson sought to distance her from Palantir’s data collection and surveillance, saying that the vast majority of her work for the company was related to diversity and inclusion. The biggest share of Haines’ income came from Columbia University, which paid her more than $440,000 to help run an international research project and to lecture at the university’s law school. She also was paid $150,000 to consult for the applied physics lab at Johns Hopkins University, and nearly $55,000 to consult and make introductions for WestExec Advisors, the firm Blinken helped found. Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration, formed WestExec Advisors about eight months after he left office with three other Obama administration officials. The firm, which takes its name from the small street that runs between the West Wing of the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, was hired by clients looking for advice in navigating the federal government. The firm also paired with venture capital funds that helped companies it advised expand to take on federal contracts or other new work. Blinken’s disclosure forms show that he worked with 17 WestExec clients, including Microsoft, Uber, AT&amp;T, FedEx, LinkedIn, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences and McKinsey &amp; Co., a global consulting firm. WestExec said in a statement after Blinken emerged as the likely secretary of state pick that he helped business leaders “make the best decisions in a complex and volatile international landscape.” Blinken also publicly defended tech companies, while Facebook was a client of WestExec. When tech companies came under fire for failing to adequately fight disinformation during the 2016 election — including Facebook posts that were part of a Russian effort to boost Trump’s presidential campaign — Blinken said the blame should be directed primarily at Russia. Tech platforms “have to do better to defend against malicious actors, but let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees: The problem is Russia and other actors who use our openness against us, not the platforms,” Blinken said in an interview with Fast Company published in October 2017. “The biggest mistake we can make is to get into a circular firing squad with government and the tech companies,” Blinken told the publication, which identified him as an adviser to both Facebook and Alphabet, the parent company of Google. José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, said that the company hired WestExec for one month in 2018 to provide advice on tech policy, but added that the advice was “provided by others in the firm, not by Mr. Blinken.” In 2009, Obama prohibited all of his appointees from participating for two years in “any particular matter” as a government official that “directly and substantially” related to a former employer or former client, including a federal regulation that might affect the former client. Biden has not yet released details on what type of restrictions he will impose on his political appointees.

Washington has been lucrative for some on Biden’s team

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on Sunday agreed to hold further talks to settle dispute over Ethiopia's huge dam on Blue Nile, said Sudan's water ministry. Previous such three-way talks have failed to produce agreement on operation and filling of the vast reservoir behind Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The hydropower project broke ground in 2011.

Three countries held a new round of talks by video conference on Sunday in the virtual presence of South African officials, as well as other international observers. South Africa currently holds the African Union's rotating chair.&nbsp;

"The meeting concluded ... that this week will be devoted to bilateral talks between the three countries, the experts, and the observers," Sudan's water ministry said in a statement.&nbsp;

"The meeting concluded ... that this week will be devoted to bilateral talks between the three countries, the experts, and the observers," Sudan's water ministry said in a statement.&nbsp;

The ministry noted that this week's talks would pave way "for the resumption of tripartite negotiations on Sunday January 10 in the hope of concluding by the end of January"

Egypt, which depends on the Nile for about 97 percent of its irrigation and drinking water, fears Ethiopia's dam would severely cut its water share.&nbsp;

Sudan hopes the dam will help ameliorate flooding, but has also warned that millions of lives would be at "great risk" if no binding agreement was reached.&nbsp;

Ethiopia says the hydroelectric power produced at the dam is vital to meet the power needs of its population.

It insists downstream countries' water supplies will not be affected.&nbsp;

The Nile, the world's longest river, is a lifeline supplying both water and electricity to the 10 countries it traverses.

Its main tributaries, the White and Blue Niles, converge in the Sudanese capital Khartoum before flowing north through Egypt to drain into the Mediterranean Sea.

(With AFP inputs)

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on Sunday agreed to hold further talks to settle dispute over Ethiopia's huge dam on Blue Nile, said Sudan's water ministry. Previous such three-way talks have failed to produce agreement on operation and filling of the vast reservoir behind Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia on Sunday agreed to hold further talks to settle dispute over Ethiopia's huge dam on Blue Nile, said Sudan's water ministry. Previous such three-way talks have failed to produce agreement on operation and filling of the vast reservoir behind Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The hydropower project broke ground in 2011. Three countries held a new round of talks by video conference on Sunday in the virtual presence of South African officials, as well as other international observers. South Africa currently holds the African Union's rotating chair. "The meeting concluded ... that this week will be devoted to bilateral talks between the three countries, the experts, and the observers," Sudan's water ministry said in a statement. "The meeting concluded ... that this week will be devoted to bilateral talks between the three countries, the experts, and the observers," Sudan's water ministry said in a statement. The ministry noted that this week's talks would pave way "for the resumption of tripartite negotiations on Sunday January 10 in the hope of concluding by the end of January" Egypt, which depends on the Nile for about 97 percent of its irrigation and drinking water, fears Ethiopia's dam would severely cut its water share. Sudan hopes the dam will help ameliorate flooding, but has also warned that millions of lives would be at "great risk" if no binding agreement was reached. Ethiopia says the hydroelectric power produced at the dam is vital to meet the power needs of its population. It insists downstream countries' water supplies will not be affected. The Nile, the world's longest river, is a lifeline supplying both water and electricity to the 10 countries it traverses. Its main tributaries, the White and Blue Niles, converge in the Sudanese capital Khartoum before flowing north through Egypt to drain into the Mediterranean Sea. (With AFP inputs)

Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia agree to talk more to settle Nile dispute

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