World

Pope Francis arrives in Greece to highlight plight of migrants, refugees

Pope Francis arrived in Athens on Saturday for the second leg of a visit to the Mediterranean that aims to draw attention to the plight of migrants and refugees.
After a two-day visit to Cyprus, the pope traveled to Greece, one of the main entry points into the European Union for asylum-seekers fleeing war and poverty-stricken homelands in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

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Young children in traditional Greek dress, a well as a boy from Africa and a girl from the Philippines, greeted Francis as he stepped off the plane.
Francis, who has made defense of migrants and refugees a cornerstone of his papacy, will travel to the island of Lesbos for the second time on Sunday to visit a migrant reception center set up after the notorious Moria camp burned to the ground last year.
During a previous visit to the island in 2016, Francis walked through Moria, a camp decried by rights groups for its squalid and overcrowded conditions, and asylum-seekers fell to his feet, wept and begged for help.
He memorably took three Syrian refugee families with him on the plane back to Rome. The pope arranged to have 50 migrants from Cyprus relocated to Italy after his trip this week.
At an emotional meeting with asylum-seekers in Cyprus on Friday, Francis, citing conditions in Libya and elsewhere, said he had a responsibility to tell the truth about the suffering of refugees, many held in conditions he compared to those in Nazi and Soviet camps.
In Athens, the pope will meet Greece’s president and prime minister as well as young people at a Catholic school. A large Mass is planned on Sunday evening at the Athens Concert Hall.
Authorities banned protests in central Athens during the three-day visit after healthcare workers and other groups said they were planning to demonstrate on Saturday against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations outside parliament.
Some 5,000 police officers will be deployed to the streets of the capital on Monday, the last day of the pope’s visit, which coincides with 13th anniversary of the police killing of a teenager. Often, the anniversary draws large crowds and violence.

World

North Korea defends close ties with Russia against South Korean criticism at UN

North Korea on Monday slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for criticising its cooperation with Moscow following leader Kim Jong Un’s Russia visit, saying it is “natural” and “normal” for neighbors to keep close relations.

Yoon, speaking at the UN General Assembly last week, said that if Russia helped North Korea enhance its weapons programs in return for assistance for its war in Ukraine, it would be “a direct provocation.”

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In a piece carried by KCNA news agency, the North denounced Yoon for “malignantly” slandering its friendly cooperation with Russia, and said Yoon was serving as a “loudspeaker” for the United States.

“It is quite natural and normal for neighboring countries to keep close relations with each other, and there is no reason to call such practice to account,” it said.

Kim returned home last week from a week-long trip to Russia in which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to boost military and economic cooperation.

US and South Korean officials have expressed concern that Russia could be trying to acquire ammunition from the North to supplement its dwindling stocks for the war in Ukraine while Pyongyang seeks technological help for its nuclear and missile programs.

Any activities assisting North Korea’s weapons programs are banned under UN Security Council resolutions.

“The foreign policy of the DPRK … will not be tied to anything, and its friendly and cooperative relations with the close neighbors will continue to grow stronger,” the commentary said. DPRK is the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

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World

Niger military leaders welcome news of French army withdrawal

Niger’s military rulers on Sunday welcomed the announcement that France will pull its troops out of the country by the end of the year as “a new step towards sovereignty.”

The statement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would soon withdraw its ambassador from Niger, followed by its military contingent in the coming months.

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“This Sunday, we celebrate a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger,” said a statement from the country’s military rulers, who seized power in late July by overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.

“The French troops and the ambassador of France will leave Nigerien soil by the end of the year.”

The statement, read out on national television, added: “This is a historic moment, which speaks to the determination and will of the Nigerien people.”

Earlier Sunday, before Macron’s announcement, the body regulating aviation safety in Africa (ASECNA), announced that Niger’s military rulers had banned “French aircraft” from flying over the country’s airspace.

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World

Russian air defense thwarts drone attack near Moscow’s Tula region

Russia’s air defense systems were engaged in repelling a drone attack over the Tula region that borders Moscow’s region to its north, Russia’s RIA news agency reported early Monday.

Citing the ministry of regional security, the agency reported that according to preliminary information, there was no damage or injuries as a result of the attack.

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Two of Moscow’s major airports, however, the Vnukovo and Domedovo, limited air traffic, directing flights to other airports, the TASS state news agency reported.

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