War in Ukraine: which countries decided to send military aid to Kiev in the face of the Russian army?

No nation has so far announced the sending of troops to help the Ukrainian army, but several countries have made material resources available to Kiev.

War in Ukraine: which countries decided to send military aid to Kiev in the face of the Russian army?

« The Anti-War Coalition Works! » In a message posted on Twitter on Saturday morning, February 26, as the fighting reached Kiev , Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed a telephone exchange with Emmanuel Macron. « Weapons and equipment sent by our partners are on their way to Ukraine » , still satisfied the head of state. If no nation has so far announced the sending of troops to help Ukraine against the Russian army, three days after the start of the invasion, several countries have made material resources available to Kiev.

The United States offers 350 million dollars of defensive equipment

The United States announced on Saturday the sending of new military aid to Ukraine in the amount of 350 million dollars (about 310.5 million euros). « This aid will include new defensive military assets that will enable Ukraine to combat the armored, airborne and other threats it faces today » , detailed the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken.

« This is another clear signal that the United States stands with the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign, courageous, and proud nation, » the secretary of state added. Antony Blinken recalled that the United States had released 60 million dollars (53.2 million euros) in military assistance to Ukraine in the fall, then 200 million (177.4 million euros) in more in December, « as the [Russian] threat materialized » .

With the 350 million announced on Saturday, « this brings to more than a billion dollars the total security assistance that the United States has granted to Ukraine during the past year » .

Germany delivers anti-tank rocket launchers

Germany had so far promised « 5,000 helmets » to the Ukrainian military, according to Der Spiegel . The German government announced on Saturday that it had authorized the delivery to Kiev of 1,000 anti-tank rocket launchers, 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles and « several » howitzers, the government said.

This decision marks a political break. In Kiev, which criticized it for  not delivering arms, Germany argued that it had been its line since the post-war period: not to send lethal equipment to conflict zones. This position was however less and less tenable since the outbreak of the invasion of the country by the Russian army. « Russian aggression against Ukraine marks a change of era, it threatens the order established since the post-war period, » Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement. « In this situation it is our duty to help Ukraine as much as we can to defend itself against the invading army of Vladimir Putin » .

Concretely, these deliveries of rocket launchers will be made by the Netherlands, and the howitzers by Estonia. These two countries had originally acquired this equipment from Germany and needed a green light from Berlin to be able to re-export it to Kiev.

Der Spiegel adds that « the shipment of 14 armored vehicles was approved on Saturday » , citing the Ministry of Economy. These vehicles can be used for the protection of personalities or for evacuations.

Czech Republic sends thousands of weapons

The Czech Republic has for its part announced that it will donate machine guns, automatic and precision rifles, pistols and ammunition to Ukraine, for a value of 7.6 million euros. « The government on Saturday approved additional aid to Ukraine which is facing a Russian attack , » Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said in a tweet on Saturday. « The Ministry of Defense will also take care of transportation to a place determined by the Ukrainian side. Our help is not over , » she added.

The minister then told reporters that these weapons would include 30,000 pistols, 7,000 assault rifles, 3,000 machine guns and several dozen sniper rifles as well as a million cartridges. This donation will be sent to Ukraine « within the next few hours » , she added. At the end of January, Prague had already approved a donation to Kiev of four thousand artillery shells worth 1.5 million euros which have yet to be delivered.

The Netherlands provides missiles and sniper rifles

« The Netherlands has very recently received additional requests for military equipment from Ukraine , » the Dutch Ministry of Defense confirmed in a letter to the Dutch parliament on Saturday. The country « will supply 200 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine as soon as possible » . “The planned delivery of military goods was and is intended for Ukrainian self-defense against armed attack from Russia ,” the letter said.

« The Ministry of Defense shipped some of the already promised goods on Saturday , » including sniper rifles and helmets, the ministry said, adding that « other goods will be shipped as soon as possible, but the Netherlands, as other countries, face logistical challenges » .

Italy helps with mine clearance

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi spoke to Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday. « Our priority today must be to strengthen the security of our continent and to exert the greatest pressure on Russia to withdraw its troops and return to the negotiating table » , detailed the Italian government in a press release. released following a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

He also announced aid of 110 million euros to Ukraine « for humanitarian purposes and macro-financial stabilization » , as well as aid in military equipment « in particular in the sector of mine clearance and the supply of ‘protective equipment’ .

Belgium donates fuel and weapons

The Belgian Prime Minister for his part announced that his country would supply fuel and 2,000 machine guns to Kiev. « A more in-depth analysis of the requests continues » , added Alexander De Croo.

France strengthens its involvement on NATO’s eastern front

If the message published Saturday morning by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Twitter suggests that Emmanuel Macron raised the subject of material aid from France to Ukraine, Paris has not yet officially communicated to this topic.

In a text broadcast Friday evening, the President of the Republic however announced  » military reinforcements » of France within NATO. France has thus chosen to « accelerate and reinforce the already planned deployment of fighter planes in the Baltic States » . To these ends, « from mid-March, 4 Mirage 2000-5 supported by a hundred airmen will be deployed in Estonia. »

Emmanuel Macron also announced « punctually reinforcing the French system in Estonia » with a sub-group of around 200 soldiers who will be deployed « alongside our Danish and British allies. » It was also decided to accelerate the « deployment of capabilities in Romania within the framework of NATO » , with the presence of a combined arms tactical group of around 500 soldiers. « These military devices are not intended for any escalation, but simply to participate in the defense of the member countries of NATO » , justified in a second time the Ministry of the Armed Forces.

Source : franceinfo

Major General Chris Donahue, the last American soldier to leave Afghan soil

Major General Chris Donahue, the last American soldier to leave Afghan soil, at Hamid-Karzai International Airport in Kabul, August 30, 2021. US ARMY / REUTERS

After twenty years of military presence and five months of wandering the Biden administration, the last American soldiers have left Kabul

Promised by the new president upon his arrival at the White House, the withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan was concluded on Monday, August 30, in an atmosphere of debacle and excitement.

The photo is blurry, taken at night, with greenish tones. It distinguishes Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82 ^th  Airborne Division, setting foot aboard a cargo plane C-17 end of the runway at the international airport Hamid-Karzai in Kabul. Chris Donahue makes history. He is the last American soldier to leave Afghan soil.

There are no more US military forces in Afghanistan. The announcement was made late in the afternoon in Washington, Monday, August 30, by General Kenneth McKenzie , head of the central command. Either twenty-four hours before the planned deadline with the Taliban.

Donald Trump demolishes The American Team After The olympic games

Yellow hair against purple hair

Following the bronze medal won by the Americans on Thursday , Donald Trump, former President of the United States, saw fit to give his opinion on the medalist group: « If our football team, led by a radical group of crazy left, was not « woke », they would have won the gold instead of the bronze. « 

But Trump didn’t stop there, he went on to attack Megan Rapinoe, who aside from her major role in the Yanks collective , is also a figure in the struggle for LGBT + rights and a staunch opponent of Trump. « The woman with purple hair played very badly and spends too much time thinking about the radical left politics and not doing his job, » said the 45 ^th US president.

Source : SO FOOT

China allows a third child: 3 questions to understand the stakes for the country

Faced with the challenge of the aging of its population, China is taking another step towards liberalizing its birth rate and authorizing a third child. But not sure that Chinese women are flocking to maternity hospitals.

The  China  is still  the most populous country in the world  with 1,412 billion

The  China  is still  the most populous country in the world  with 1,412 billion. But its population is only increasing by 0.53% per year. And above all, the thirty-five years of the one-child policy, from 1979-1980 to 2015, profoundly modified its age pyramid. The objective of improving the standard of living of the population, aimed at by its initiators, has been achieved. But now that the “only children” are of parentage age, and their parents of retirement age, there is a big problem.

1. What is the problem for China?

The ageing of the population. The economic cost of its support in relation to the working population is mathematically unbalanced by the one-child policy. Each single child, now an adult, bears the burden of supporting both parents on their shoulders alone.

2. What was the impact of the authorization to pass to two children in 2015?

Apart from a weak rebound just after the announcement, this first authorization had no effect. The number of births resumed its fall in 2016 to fall to twelve million in 2020 against 14.65 million in 2019. That year, the birth rate had already hit a low since the founding of Communist China in 1949.

4. Is this authorization likely to be a game-changer?

Not really if taken alone. The low enthusiasm for the second child in urban and affluent circles since 2015 has shown that the authorities’ green light alone will not have a magical effect. Additional announcements are expected on social support for childcare, maternity leave, the cost of their education, etc.

Donald Trump will return to social networks … by creating his own platform

Donald Trump will return to social networks within two to three months with his own platform

The former US president was banned from Twitter in January after his supporters stormed the Capitol

The story does not say, at this time, whether messages will only appear in capital letters. Banned from Twitter since January, Donald Trump will return to social networks within two to three months « with his own platform, » said an adviser to the former president of the United States on Sunday.

« I think we will see President Trump back on social networks in two or three months, » said Jason Miller on the Fox News channel, without providing further details on the contours of this « platform », referring only to many meetings at Mar-a-Lago, the Republican billionaire’s Florida home.

@realDonaldTrump and its 88 million subscribers

“It’s not just a company that approached the president, there are a lot of companies,” and “this new platform will be something big, everyone wants it. It will bring millions and millions, tens of millions of subscribers to this new platform, ”he added.

The ex-president, who left the White House on January 20 after being defeated by Democrat Joe Biden in the November election, has also been temporarily or permanently banned by most other major social networks or platforms internet including Facebook, Instagram, Youtube or Snapchat.

Carter, Clinton, Bush and Obama call on Americans to get vaccinated

The four former heads of state underline the importance of the vaccine, with personal anecdotes to support it. A big absentee: Donald Trump.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama,

Four former US presidents and one message: get vaccinated. In a video released on Thursday titled « It depends on you. » Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama stress the importance of the vaccine, supporting personal anecdotes.

« This vaccine is synonymous with hope », underlines Barack Obama in front of the camera. “They will protect you and protect those you love. « I want to go back to work and I want to be able to move, » says Bill Clinton.

George W. Bush says he is « impatient » to find « a full stadium » to cheer on his Texas Rangers baseball team. « To overcome this pandemic, it is important that our fellow citizens get vaccinated, » he insists.null

Two major absentees in this initiative which brings together all the ex-presidents still alive: Donald and Melania Trump. The latter were vaccinated in January, a few weeks before their departure from the White House. But the information was not revealed by their relatives until several weeks later.

Politics: In Africa the participation of women in political institutions a long way to go

In Mali, out of 147 deputies, women are only 47

Despite the 6 countries which are in the top 20 which have more women integrated in political institutions, especially in parliament, among 1.3 billion (2019) Africans, more than 50% of them are women, the gap in participation in politics between men and women remains observable.

Obstacles of feminism in Africa

The various feminist movements with the objective of empowering women by ensuring their equality with men have been on the ground for about 60 years, these movements declare that there have been changes in the political field but that they There are still a long way to go as the change of mentalities where in several African countries women themselves accept to remain under the domination of their husbands, African cultures which favor men is the example where a woman does not cannot inherit with her brothers to share her parents’ property, which pushes the wife to obey her husband’s orders in any case because the latter is in her husband’s property. In addition, There are the 2 main regions namely Catholic and Islam which are also the factors which do not promote equality between men and women in society.

Low participation

Among the 54 states of African countries, Sahle Work zewde (Ethiopia) is the only woman and all 53 (presidents of African states) are men. But we cannot deny women like Ellen Johnson (Liberia), Joyce Banda (Malawi) and Ameenah Gurib Fakin (Mauritius) who have been the presidents in their countries.

« If we follow the current trend, we will need 107 years to achieve parity » affirmed the president of the UN General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinasa Garés in March 2019 during an event planning to support the participation of women in power.

Mali, Nigeria, The Central African Republic, The Comoros Islands Benin and Eswatini are the least developed countries in terms of equality between men and women within political institutions.

With a regional average of 23.9% of women in Parliament (single or lower house), Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 5th behind the Nordic countries, America and Europe (Nordic countries included and not included). According to the classification of the UN Woman and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Countries like Rwanda, Senegal, Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique are among the 20 countries where the rate of women’s participation in parliament is high.

United States: Joe Biden’s tenure begins with popularity Trump has never seen

the new president of the United States enjoys a popularity rating that his predecessor Donald Trump never achieved

Eight days after  entering the White House , the new President of the United States enjoys a popularity rating that his predecessor Donald Trump has never achieved in four years in office, according to a poll released Wednesday by the University of Monmouth.

The survey indicates that the 46th Democratic president drains 54% of favorable opinions in the country, against 30% of dissatisfied and 16% of undecided, a rate « higher than at any time of the mandate of Donald Trump “, According to this survey conducted between January 21 and 24 on 809 people questioned.

A Gallup Institute survey shortly before the inauguration noted that the Republican left the White House with only 34% favorable opinions, a historic low, after starting his presidency with 45% satisfied and reaching 49% early 2020.

More kindness for Joe Biden

Other polls indicate that Joe Biden enjoyed good popularity in the early days of his mandate: 56% for Morning Consult, 63% for Hill-HarrisX.

But Monmouth, like other surveys, points out that the president’s supporters and opponents are deeply divided based on their political views. He enjoys a 90% approval rating among Democrats, compared to just 15% of Republicans and 47% of Independents.

« Generally speaking, there seems to be more benevolence for Joe Biden than there was for Donald Trump but she really follows partisan lines as more people currently identify as Democrats than Republicans » , explained the director of the University’s polling institute, Patrick Murray.

Donald Trump was the first president not to have a “honeymoon” with Americans at the start of his term, according to fivethirtyeight.com, with an average popularity of 41.4% over the first six months in office, far from Barack Obama (60%) or George W. Bush (53.9%) in their first half year in office.

Source: Le monde

On Biden’s inauguration day, Trump would still like to take advantage of Air Force One

On January 20, an hour before Joe Biden’s inauguration, Donald Trump is due to fly to Florida aboard the presidential plane.

Illustrative photo of Donald Trump boarding Air Force One in Florida on December 31, 2020. 

UNITED STATES – Until the end, he intends to take advantage of the advantages of the presidency. Donald Trump, who will not attend Joe Biden’s nomination on Wednesday, January 20, is expected to use presidential Air Force One an hour before his successor’s swearing-in to fly to Florida. 

According to CBS , Donald Trump is expected to land in West Palm Beach, Florida at 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, an hour before he is officially President of the United States. 

The Bloomberg site also mentions a final departure ceremony at 8 a.m. on the Andrews military base in Maryland, where the two planes used by the presidency are stationed. Invitations were reportedly sent to a few « supporters, including former members of his administration, » Bloomberg reports. No details on the content of this ceremony have filtered.

Traditionally, former presidents leave the White House on their own. 

The White House has not confirmed the information, which does not appear in the schedule – laconic for more than a week – of the Republican. On condition of anonymity, an official source told CBS that “this could always change”.  

At 12 noon (Washington time), Donald Trump will be officially stripped of his title of “commander-in-chief of the armies” and will therefore no longer have access to the presidential planes.

Trump, the great absentee of the last few days

Officially a resident of Florida, Donald Trump will undoubtedly spend a few days in his hotel in Mar-a-Lago. The roads leading to the establishment will also be closed on January 20 and for several days. “Beyond that, we do not envisage any closures linked to the presence of a former president,” said local police.

and then? Difficult to say, since the speeches of Donald Trump – deprived of his favorite communication platforms – have become extremely rare. But the idea of a candidacy in 2024 is gaining ground – on condition, however, that the second impeachment procedure launched against him ends in failure. 

Meanwhile, in a White House that is gradually emptying, Vice President Mike Pence appears every day a little more like the man in charge.

On Thursday, he congratulated the future vice-president Kamala Harris by phone, a source familiar with the matter told AFP on Friday. It was their first exchange since their fall debate in the heart of the campaign. He also planned to participate in the inauguration ceremony, like former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. 

Source: HuffPost with AFP

United States:Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger wields Conan’s sword against Trump

Screenshot of video posted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. © Twitter

In the United States, a video posted this Sunday by Arnold Schwarzenegger has been around the internet. The former Republican governor of California denounces the attack on the Capitol, criticizes Donald Trump and calls to unite behind Joe Biden.

My message to my fellow Americans and friends around the world following this week's attack on the Capitol. pic.twitter.com/blOy35LWJ5

— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 10, 2021