france24--2020-02-17--'A horrifying new level': UN says 900,000 displaced in northwest Syria since December

Syrian government troops advance in the Tall Chwayhneh region towards the New Aleppo district , west of the city of Aleppo , Syria on February 16 , 2020 .
The UN said Monday that 900,000 people have been uprooted by violence in northwest Syria since December – 100,000 more than previously recorded – as the Syrian army said it had retaken dozens of towns in Aleppo province .
A Russian-backed Syrian regime offensive in northwest Syria has displaced 900,000 people since the start of December and babies are dying of cold because aid camps are full , the UN said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than the United Nations had previously recorded .
`` The crisis in northwest Syria has reached a horrifying new level , '' said Mark Lowcock , the UN head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief .
He said the displaced were overwhelmingly women and children who are `` traumatised and forced to sleep outside in freezing temperatures because camps are full '' .
`` Mothers burn plastic to keep children warm .
Babies and small children are dying because of the cold , '' Lowcock said .
The Idlib region , including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ home to some 3 million people , half of them already displaced from other parts of the country .
The offensive that began late last year has caused the biggest single displacement of people since the conflict began in 2011 .
The war has killed more than 380,000 people since it erupted almost nine years ago following the brutal repression of popular demonstrations demanding regime change .
Lowcock warned Monday that the violence in the northwest was `` indiscriminate '' .
`` Health facilities , schools , residential areas , mosques and markets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , many health facilities have closed .
There is a serious risk of disease outbreaks .
Basic infrastructure is falling apart , '' he said in a statement .
`` We are now receiving reports that settlements for displaced people are being hit , resulting in deaths , injuries and further displacement . ''
He said that a massive relief operation under way from the Turkish border has been `` overwhelmed '' , adding : `` The equipment and facilities being used by aid workers are being damaged .
Humanitarian workers themselves are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Russia to end its support for the Syrian regime 's `` atrocities '' in the Idlib region .
The Syrian army said on Monday it had taken full control of dozens of towns in Aleppo ’ s northwestern countryside and it would press on with its campaign to wipe out militant groups “ wherever they are found ” .
The advances were made after President Bashar al-Assad ’ s forces drove insurgents from the M5 highway linking Aleppo to Damascus , reopening the fastest route between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first time in years in a big strategic gain for Assad .
Backed by heavy Russian air strikes , government forces have been fighting since the start of the year to recapture the Aleppo countryside and parts of neighbouring Idlib province where anti-Assad insurgents have their last strongholds .
Government air strikes on Monday hit Darat Izza , near the Turkish border about 30 km ( 20 miles ) north of Aleppo city , wounding several civilians and forcing two hospitals to close , according to hospital staff .
Witnesses also reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ province .
The advances have sent hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians fleeing towards the border with Turkey in the biggest single displacement of the nine-year-old war .
It has also upset the fragile cooperation between Ankara and Moscow , which back opposing factions in the conflict .
Turkey and Russia began a new round of talks in Moscow on Monday after several demands by Ankara that Assad ’ s forces should back down and a ceasefire be put in place .
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that militant attacks on Russian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ it is not possible to leave this unanswered ” .
“ Troops from Russia and Turkey on the ground in Syria , in Idlib , are in constant contact with each other , looking at changes in the conditions .
They have a full understanding of each other , ” said Lavrov .
However , the Syrian armed forces said in a statement they would push on with what they called their “ sacred and noble task to rid what remains of terrorist organisations wherever on Syria ’ s geography they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ali Hammoud , announced on Monday the re-opening of Aleppo ’ s international airport with the first flight , from Damascus to Aleppo , scheduled for Wednesday and flights to Cairo to be announced within days , state news agency SANA reported .
Pro-Damascus Al-Watan newspaper said the M5 highway , a vital artery in northern Syria , would be ready for civilian use by the end of the week .
The Syrian army had also opened the international roadway from northern Aleppo to the towns of Zahraa and Nubl towards the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ run by Lebanon ’ s Assad-allied pro-Damascus Hezbollah group said .
Aleppo city , once Syria ’ s economic hub , was the scene of some of the most vicious fighting of the war between 2012 and 2016 .
The insurgent forces arrayed against Assad include Western-backed rebels and jihadist militants .
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his military would drive back Syrian forces if they do not withdraw from Idlib by the end of the month .
On Saturday , he appeared to move that date forward , saying Turkey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end of the month if there was no pull-back .
Alarmed by the new refugee crisis on its border , Turkey has sent thousands of troops and hundreds of convoys of military equipment to reinforce its observation posts in Idlib , established under a 2018 de-escalation agreement with Russia .

The UN said Monday that 900,000 people have been uprooted by violence in northwest Syria since December – 100,000 more than previously recorded – as the Syrian army said it had retaken dozens of towns in Aleppo province.
Syrian government troops advance in the Tall Chwayhneh region towards the New Aleppo district, west of the city of Aleppo, Syria on February 16, 2020.
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A Russian-backed Syrian regime offensive in northwest Syria has displaced 900,000 people since the start of December and babies are dying of cold because aid camps are full, the UN said on Monday.
That figure is 100,000 more than the United Nations had previously recorded.
"The crisis in northwest Syria has reached a horrifying new level," said Mark Lowcock, the UN head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief.
He said the displaced were overwhelmingly women and children who are "traumatised and forced to sleep outside in freezing temperatures because camps are full".
"Mothers burn plastic to keep children warm. Babies and small children are dying because of the cold," Lowcock said.
The Idlib region, including parts of neighbouring Aleppo province, is home to some 3 million people, half of them already displaced from other parts of the country.
The offensive that began late last year has caused the biggest single displacement of people since the conflict began in 2011. The war has killed more than 380,000 people since it erupted almost nine years ago following the brutal repression of popular demonstrations demanding regime change.
Lowcock warned Monday that the violence in the northwest was "indiscriminate".
"Health facilities, schools, residential areas, mosques and markets have been hit. Schools are suspended, many health facilities have closed. There is a serious risk of disease outbreaks. Basic infrastructure is falling apart," he said in a statement.
"We are now receiving reports that settlements for displaced people are being hit, resulting in deaths, injuries and further displacement."
He said that a massive relief operation under way from the Turkish border has been "overwhelmed", adding: "The equipment and facilities being used by aid workers are being damaged. Humanitarian workers themselves are being displaced and killed."
US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for Russia to end its support for the Syrian regime's "atrocities" in the Idlib region.
Syrian army makes gains in Aleppo province
The Syrian army said on Monday it had taken full control of dozens of towns in Aleppo’s northwestern countryside and it would press on with its campaign to wipe out militant groups “wherever they are found”.
The advances were made after President Bashar al-Assad’s forces drove insurgents from the M5 highway linking Aleppo to Damascus, reopening the fastest route between Syria’s two biggest cities for the first time in years in a big strategic gain for Assad.
Backed by heavy Russian air strikes, government forces have been fighting since the start of the year to recapture the Aleppo countryside and parts of neighbouring Idlib province where anti-Assad insurgents have their last strongholds.
Government air strikes on Monday hit Darat Izza, near the Turkish border about 30 km (20 miles) north of Aleppo city, wounding several civilians and forcing two hospitals to close, according to hospital staff.
Witnesses also reported air strikes in southern areas of Idlib province.
Civilians flee towards border with Turkey
The advances have sent hundreds of thousands of Syrian civilians fleeing towards the border with Turkey in the biggest single displacement of the nine-year-old war.
It has also upset the fragile cooperation between Ankara and Moscow, which back opposing factions in the conflict.
Turkey and Russia began a new round of talks in Moscow on Monday after several demands by Ankara that Assad’s forces should back down and a ceasefire be put in place.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that militant attacks on Russian bases and Syrian positions have continued and “it is not possible to leave this unanswered”.
“Troops from Russia and Turkey on the ground in Syria, in Idlib, are in constant contact with each other, looking at changes in the conditions. They have a full understanding of each other,” said Lavrov.
However, the Syrian armed forces said in a statement they would push on with what they called their “sacred and noble task to rid what remains of terrorist organisations wherever on Syria’s geography they are found”.
Syrian minister: Aleppo airport to re-open
Syria's transport minister, Ali Hammoud, announced on Monday the re-opening of Aleppo’s international airport with the first flight, from Damascus to Aleppo, scheduled for Wednesday and flights to Cairo to be announced within days, state news agency SANA reported.
Pro-Damascus Al-Watan newspaper said the M5 highway, a vital artery in northern Syria, would be ready for civilian use by the end of the week.
The Syrian army had also opened the international roadway from northern Aleppo to the towns of Zahraa and Nubl towards the Turkish border, a military news service run by Lebanon’s Assad-allied pro-Damascus Hezbollah group said.
Aleppo city, once Syria’s economic hub, was the scene of some of the most vicious fighting of the war between 2012 and 2016.
The insurgent forces arrayed against Assad include Western-backed rebels and jihadist militants.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his military would drive back Syrian forces if they do not withdraw from Idlib by the end of the month. On Saturday, he appeared to move that date forward, saying Turkey would “handle it” before the end of the month if there was no pull-back.
Alarmed by the new refugee crisis on its border, Turkey has sent thousands of troops and hundreds of convoys of military equipment to reinforce its observation posts in Idlib, established under a 2018 de-escalation agreement with Russia.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
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france24--2020-02-17--French MPs begin debating hotly contested pension reform bill

French members of Parliament leave the National Assembly after a vote to ratify the CETA on July 23 , 2019 The battle over the French government 's pension reforms moved from the street to parliament on Monday , with the opposition vowing to torpedo an overhaul that sparked weeks of strikes and protests .
Leftist unions are up in arms over President Emmanuel Macron 's bid to fuse France 's 42 different retirement schemes into a single points-based system .
Public transport workers walked off the job for a month and a half in December and January , causing travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paris area .
The government argues that the changes are necessary to make the system fairer for all , but critics say they will force most French people to work longer for smaller payouts .
Labour leaders called for renewed strike action on Monday to coincide with the start of two weeks of parliamentary debates .
But there were only minor disruptions to the Paris metro and regional trains were running as normal .
The start of the debate comes as Macron 's centrist party reels from a sex scandal that toppled its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month 's municipal election , Benjamin Griveaux .
Griveaux , a close Macron ally and former government spokesman , pulled out of the running over a leaked video showing a man presented as the 42-year-old politician masturbating .
To replace him , the government chose Health Minister Agnès Buzyn , one of the most prominent defenders of the pension reform , which will now be steered through parliament by her successor Olivier Véran .
With the government refusing to back down on one of Macron 's signature reforms , opposition MPs have stepped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bill by tabling a record 41,000 amendments .
“ This plan has not been thought out properly .
It does not safeguard the future of our retirement system ... and on top of that this reform is unfair , ” Olivier Faure , First Secretary of the Socialist Party , told France Inter .
Macron 's centrist Republic on the Move ( LREM ) party aims to get the bill through parliament before next month 's municipal elections .
While the party has a comfortable majority in parliament , some LREM lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be forced through by executive decree if the opposition tries to hold it up indefinitely .
But to do so would see the government accused of curtailing democratic debate on one of the most contentious issues of Macron 's presidency .
The reforms would sweep away the separate pension schemes , some dating back hundreds of years , that offer early retirement and other benefits to public-sector workers as well as lawyers , physiotherapists and even Paris Opera employees .
Tens of thousands of people , including large numbers of teachers and doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of nationwide protests in December and in January .
The government argues that the French , who retire earlier than most Europeans , need to work for longer to keep the pension system afloat at a time when people are living longer .
Opponents say the plan will force people to invest in private US-style pension plans and have accused Macron , a former investment banker , of rolling out a red carpet to foreign asset managers like US investment giant BlackRock .
Last week , dozens of activists stormed BlackRock 's Paris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carpets with anticapitalist and environmental slogans – the second such incident at the site since the pensions battle began .
BlackRock has denied trying to influence the reforms .

The battle over the French government's pension reforms moved from the street to parliament on Monday, with the opposition vowing to torpedo an overhaul that sparked weeks of strikes and protests.
French members of Parliament leave the National Assembly after a vote to ratify the CETA on July 23, 2019
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Leftist unions are up in arms over President Emmanuel Macron's bid to fuse France's 42 different retirement schemes into a single points-based system.
Public transport workers walked off the job for a month and a half in December and January, causing travel misery for millions, particularly in the Paris area.
The government argues that the changes are necessary to make the system fairer for all, but critics say they will force most French people to work longer for smaller payouts.
02:37
Labour leaders called for renewed strike action on Monday to coincide with the start of two weeks of parliamentary debates.
But there were only minor disruptions to the Paris metro and regional trains were running as normal.
The start of the debate comes as Macron's centrist party reels from a sex scandal that toppled its candidate for mayor of Paris in next month's municipal election, Benjamin Griveaux.
Griveaux, a close Macron ally and former government spokesman, pulled out of the running over a leaked video showing a man presented as the 42-year-old politician masturbating.
To replace him, the government chose Health Minister Agnès Buzyn, one of the most prominent defenders of the pension reform, which will now be steered through parliament by her successor Olivier Véran.
41,000 amendments
With the government refusing to back down on one of Macron's signature reforms, opposition MPs have stepped into the fray, hoping to derail the bill by tabling a record 41,000 amendments.
“This plan has not been thought out properly. It does not safeguard the future of our retirement system ... and on top of that this reform is unfair,” Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the Socialist Party, told France Inter.
Macron's centrist Republic on the Move (LREM) party aims to get the bill through parliament before next month's municipal elections.
While the party has a comfortable majority in parliament, some LREM lawmakers have suggested the legislation may have to be forced through by executive decree if the opposition tries to hold it up indefinitely.
But to do so would see the government accused of curtailing democratic debate on one of the most contentious issues of Macron's presidency.
The reforms would sweep away the separate pension schemes, some dating back hundreds of years, that offer early retirement and other benefits to public-sector workers as well as lawyers, physiotherapists and even Paris Opera employees.
Tens of thousands of people, including large numbers of teachers and doctors, took part in seven separate days of nationwide protests in December and in January.
The government argues that the French, who retire earlier than most Europeans, need to work for longer to keep the pension system afloat at a time when people are living longer.
Opponents say the plan will force people to invest in private US-style pension plans and have accused Macron, a former investment banker, of rolling out a red carpet to foreign asset managers like US investment giant BlackRock.
Last week, dozens of activists stormed BlackRock's Paris offices and spray painted the walls and carpets with anticapitalist and environmental slogans – the second such incident at the site since the pensions battle began.
BlackRock has denied trying to influence the reforms.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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france24--2020-02-17--EU foreign ministers agree on new mission to strengthen Libya arms embargo

Fighters from pro-government forces loyal to Libya 's Government of National Unity ( GNA ) fire machine guns during an operation to recapture the coastal city of Sirte , Libya from Islamic State group jihadists on June 25 , 2016 .
The European Union will launch a new naval and air mission in the eastern Mediterranean to stop more weapons reaching the warring factions in Libya , foreign ministers agreed on Monday , after Austria lifted its veto .
The decision marked a breakthrough after weeks of fruitless negotiations and warnings by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not act , potentially leaving Libya ’ s fate to Turkey and Russia .
“ We all agree to create a mission that blocks the flow of arms into Libya , ” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio told reporters following a meeting in Brussels , referring to a U.N. arms embargo first imposed in 2011 but now barely upheld .
In a compromise to assuage Austria ’ s concerns that any naval mission could bring more migrants to Europe , EU ships will hail and inspect suspicious vessels in the eastern Mediterranean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , away from migrant routes , diplomats said .
Borrell said he hoped the EU operation could be patrolling by the end of March .
At first , it would operate in international , not Libyan , waters .
Borrell also said the EU could not be expected to patrol the Egypt-Libya land border , through which artillery is still being delivered .
“ It would be very difficult for us to act between two sovereign countries , ” he told reporters .
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that was acceptable but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any signs that the mission , which will take several weeks to set up , was attracting migrants into Europe .
Initially Borrell had hoped to revive the EU ’ s current military mission , known as Operation Sophia , which stopped deploying ships last March after Italy , facing an anti-immigrant backlash , said it would no longer take migrants rescued at sea .
One compromise was to use aircraft , rather than ships , to monitor smugglers who supply Libya ’ s two rival governments .
But German Foreign Minister Heiko @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a naval mission , saying overflights would not be enough .
On Sunday , a senior U.N. official warned that the arms embargo was meaningless because there was no-one to enforce it .
In a largely symbolic move , Operation Sophia will now be scrapped .
Schallenberg said Austria had dropped its veto because the new mission was purely military , not humanitarian .
However , under international law , EU ships are still required to rescue those in trouble on the high seas .
Borrell said earlier on Monday he did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blocking .
He publicly said on Sunday it was unacceptable that Austria , a country with no navy , could hold up an EU sea mission .
But Borrell needed the backing of all 27 governments to proceed .
Following a summit of world leaders last month in Berlin that aimed to seek a ceasefire in Libya , the EU will also consider a peacekeeping mission if a fragile truce becomes a ceasefire , diplomats said .
A spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’ s AK Party said the United Nations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oversee the arms embargo on Libya .
Ankara has backed Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj ’ s internationally recognised government in the conflict , while Russia , the United Arab Emirates and Egypt support eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar .
“ We think the European Union overseeing the arms embargo on Libya will not reach realistic results because some countries in the European Union directly support Haftar ’ s side and are sending weapons to Haftar ’ s side , ” Omer Celik said during a news conference .
“ Turkey sees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mechanism here .
Of course , the implementation of a ceasefire should be prioritised , ” he added .

The European Union will launch a new naval and air mission in the eastern Mediterranean to stop more weapons reaching the warring factions in Libya, foreign ministers agreed on Monday, after Austria lifted its veto.
Fighters from pro-government forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Unity (GNA) fire machine guns during an operation to recapture the coastal city of Sirte, Libya from Islamic State group jihadists on June 25, 2016.
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The decision marked a breakthrough after weeks of fruitless negotiations and warnings by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell that the bloc risked becoming irrelevant if it could not act, potentially leaving Libya’s fate to Turkey and Russia.
“We all agree to create a mission that blocks the flow of arms into Libya,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio told reporters following a meeting in Brussels, referring to a U.N. arms embargo first imposed in 2011 but now barely upheld.
In a compromise to assuage Austria’s concerns that any naval mission could bring more migrants to Europe, EU ships will hail and inspect suspicious vessels in the eastern Mediterranean, where most arms smuggling takes place, away from migrant routes, diplomats said.
Borrell said he hoped the EU operation could be patrolling by the end of March. At first, it would operate in international, not Libyan, waters. Borrell also said the EU could not be expected to patrol the Egypt-Libya land border, through which artillery is still being delivered.
“It would be very difficult for us to act between two sovereign countries,” he told reporters.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that was acceptable but that Vienna would still be vigilant for any signs that the mission, which will take several weeks to set up, was attracting migrants into Europe.
Operation Sophia to end
Initially Borrell had hoped to revive the EU’s current military mission, known as Operation Sophia, which stopped deploying ships last March after Italy, facing an anti-immigrant backlash, said it would no longer take migrants rescued at sea.
One compromise was to use aircraft, rather than ships, to monitor smugglers who supply Libya’s two rival governments.
But German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas urged the EU to agree on a naval mission, saying overflights would not be enough. On Sunday, a senior U.N. official warned that the arms embargo was meaningless because there was no-one to enforce it.
In a largely symbolic move, Operation Sophia will now be scrapped.
If ceasefire emerges, peacekeeping mission could follow
Schallenberg said Austria had dropped its veto because the new mission was purely military, not humanitarian. However, under international law, EU ships are still required to rescue those in trouble on the high seas.
Borrell said earlier on Monday he did not expect a deal because Vienna was still blocking. He publicly said on Sunday it was unacceptable that Austria, a country with no navy, could hold up an EU sea mission.
But Borrell needed the backing of all 27 governments to proceed.
Following a summit of world leaders last month in Berlin that aimed to seek a ceasefire in Libya, the EU will also consider a peacekeeping mission if a fragile truce becomes a ceasefire, diplomats said.
Turkey prefers UN oversight to EU’s
A spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party said the United Nations, not the European Union, should oversee the arms embargo on Libya.
Ankara has backed Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s internationally recognised government in the conflict, while Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt support eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar.
“We think the European Union overseeing the arms embargo on Libya will not reach realistic results because some countries in the European Union directly support Haftar’s side and are sending weapons to Haftar’s side,” Omer Celik said during a news conference.
“Turkey sees the United Nations mechanism as the best mechanism here. Of course, the implementation of a ceasefire should be prioritised,” he added.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-02-17--Pompeo touts US investment as alternative to Chinese loans on Africa trip

Angola ’ s President João Lourenço welcomed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Presidential Palace in Luanda on February 17 , 2020 .
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced corruption and touted American business on Monday during the second leg of an African tour in Angola , where the government is seeking to claw back billions of dollars looted from state coffers .
Pompeo is aiming to promote U.S. investment as an alternative to Chinese loans while assuaging concerns over a planned U.S military withdrawal and the expansion of visa restrictions targeting four African countries .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ met with President Joao Lourenco , who took office in 2017 promising wide-ranging economic reforms and a crackdown on the endemic graft that marked his predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos ’ four-decade rule .
“ Here in Angola , damage from corruption is pretty clear , ” he told a group of businessmen following that meeting .
“ This reform agenda that the president put in place has to stick.
” Portugal ’ s public prosecutor has ordered the seizure of bank accounts belonging to Isabel dos Santos , the former president ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspect in an Angolan fraud investigation .
Reputedly the richest woman in Africa , she has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing .
Angola , with sub-Saharan Africa ’ s third-largest economy and its second-largest oil producer is ranked as one of the world ’ s most corrupt nations , in 165th place on a list of 180 countries , according to anti-corruption group Transparency International .
U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron have significant stakes in Angolan oil fields .
Last year , Chevron signed onto a consortium to develop Angola ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eni , France ’ s Total , BP and Angolan state oil company Sonangol .
“ We ’ ve got a group of energy companies that have put more than $ 2 billion in a natural gas project .
That will rebound to the benefit of the American businesses for sure , but to the Angolan people for sure as well , ” Pompeo said .
Despite U.S. investments , the bulk of Angola ’ s oil production is destined for China , which holds the lion ’ s share of Angolan foreign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China of predatory lending in Africa , where Beijing has loaned governments billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in exchange for access to natural resources .
China rejects the criticism .
Questions about US commitment to Africa With a revamped International Development Finance Corporation and its new Prosper Africa trade and investment strategy , the administration is seeking to combat Chinese influence on the continent .
But the push comes as some governments are questioning U.S. President Donald Trump ’ s commitment to Africa .
The White House last month tightened visa restrictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eritrea and Nigeria .
West African governments are also worried about a proposed U.S. troop withdrawal from the region just as Islamist groups with links to Islamic State and al Qaeda are gaining ground .
During the first leg of his African trip in Senegal on Sunday , Pompeo sought to put some of those fears to rest .
“ We have an obligation to get security right here , in the region .
It ’ s what will permit economic growth , and we ’ re determined to do that , ” @ @ @ @

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced corruption and touted American business on Monday during the second leg of an African tour in Angola, where the government is seeking to claw back billions of dollars looted from state coffers.
Angola’s President João Lourenço welcomed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Presidential Palace in Luanda on February 17, 2020.
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Pompeo is aiming to promote U.S. investment as an alternative to Chinese loans while assuaging concerns over a planned U.S military withdrawal and the expansion of visa restrictions targeting four African countries.
In Angola’s capital Luanda, Pompeo met with President Joao Lourenco, who took office in 2017 promising wide-ranging economic reforms and a crackdown on the endemic graft that marked his predecessor Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ four-decade rule.
“Here in Angola, damage from corruption is pretty clear,” he told a group of businessmen following that meeting. “This reform agenda that the president put in place has to stick.”
02:16
Portugal’s public prosecutor has ordered the seizure of bank accounts belonging to Isabel dos Santos, the former president’s billionaire daughter, who is a suspect in an Angolan fraud investigation.
Reputedly the richest woman in Africa, she has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Africa’s second-largest oil producer
Angola, with sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest economy and its second-largest oil producer is ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt nations, in 165th place on a list of 180 countries, according to anti-corruption group Transparency International.
U.S. oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron have significant stakes in Angolan oil fields.
Last year, Chevron signed onto a consortium to develop Angola’s natural gas assets alongside Italy’s Eni, France’s Total, BP and Angolan state oil company Sonangol.
“We’ve got a group of energy companies that have put more than $2 billion in a natural gas project. That will rebound to the benefit of the American businesses for sure, but to the Angolan people for sure as well,” Pompeo said.
Despite U.S. investments, the bulk of Angola’s oil production is destined for China, which holds the lion’s share of Angolan foreign debt.
The Trump administration has accused China of predatory lending in Africa, where Beijing has loaned governments billions of dollars for infrastructure projects in exchange for access to natural resources. China rejects the criticism.
Questions about US commitment to Africa
With a revamped International Development Finance Corporation and its new Prosper Africa trade and investment strategy, the administration is seeking to combat Chinese influence on the continent.
But the push comes as some governments are questioning U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to Africa.
The White House last month tightened visa restrictions on nationals from Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea and Nigeria.
01:52
West African governments are also worried about a proposed U.S. troop withdrawal from the region just as Islamist groups with links to Islamic State and al Qaeda are gaining ground.
During the first leg of his African trip in Senegal on Sunday, Pompeo sought to put some of those fears to rest.
“We have an obligation to get security right here, in the region. It’s what will permit economic growth, and we’re determined to do that,” he told reporters.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-02-17--Russian artist faces judge over sex tape that ended Macron ally's Paris mayoral bid

A Russian artist and his girlfriend will face a French judge Tuesday on charges of invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent after releasing a sex video that prompted Benjamin Griveaux to pull out of the race to be Paris mayor .
Russian artist Pyotr Pavlensky and his girlfriend Alexandra de Taddeo will face a judge Tuesday over a sex-video scandal that damaged the career of an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron .
They could be charged with invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent .
Pavlensky has already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man masturbating along with racy text messages sent to a woman .
The video prompted Griveaux , a married father of three , to pull out of the race to be Paris mayor just a month before the first round of voting .
Griveaux filed a legal complaint as politicians from across the spectrum came to his defence , portraying the 42-year-old as a victim of a hatchet job .
Pavlensky , 35 , told AFP last Friday that he wanted to expose the `` hypocrisy '' of Griveaux for his campaign pledges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 29 , is believed to have been the recipient of the videos sent in 2018 .
Griveaux 's fall left Macron 's La République en Marche ( LREM ) party scrambling to find a replacement candidate to run for Paris mayor .
Health Minister Agnès Buzyn is set to take his place .
Griveaux was already running in a distant third place before the scandal broke .
Pavlensky , who has a long record of provocative performances , received asylum in France in 2017 after launching protests in Russia .
He was originally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a knife during a brawl at a New Year 's Eve party in Paris before investigators shifted their focus to the leaked sex video .

A Russian artist and his girlfriend will face a French judge Tuesday on charges of invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent after releasing a sex video that prompted Benjamin Griveaux to pull out of the race to be Paris mayor.
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Russian artist Pyotr Pavlensky and his girlfriend Alexandra de Taddeo will face a judge Tuesday over a sex-video scandal that damaged the career of an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron.
They could be charged with invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent.
Pavlensky has already admitted to publishing a video showing a man masturbating along with racy text messages sent to a woman.
The video prompted Griveaux, a married father of three, to pull out of the race to be Paris mayor just a month before the first round of voting.
Griveaux filed a legal complaint as politicians from across the spectrum came to his defence, portraying the 42-year-old as a victim of a hatchet job.
>> Sex tape triggers French ‘political earthquake’, leaving Paris mayoral bid in tatters
Pavlensky, 35, told AFP last Friday that he wanted to expose the "hypocrisy" of Griveaux for his campaign pledges to uphold family values.
Taddeo, 29, is believed to have been the recipient of the videos sent in 2018.
Griveaux's fall left Macron's La République en Marche (LREM) party scrambling to find a replacement candidate to run for Paris mayor.
Health Minister Agnès Buzyn is set to take his place. Griveaux was already running in a distant third place before the scandal broke.
Pavlensky, who has a long record of provocative performances, received asylum in France in 2017 after launching protests in Russia.
He was originally detained on Saturday on accusations he pulled a knife during a brawl at a New Year's Eve party in Paris before investigators shifted their focus to the leaked sex video.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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france24--2020-02-17--Amazon’s Bezos to donate $10 billion to fight climate change

Jeff Bezos , president and CEO of Amazon , speaks at the Economic Club of Washington , D.C. 's `` Milestone Celebration Dinner '' on September 13 , 2018 .
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Monday that he plans to spend $ 10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change .
Bezos , the world ’ s richest man , said in an Instagram post that he 'll start giving grants this summer to scientists , activists and nonprofits working to protect the earth .
“ I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the devastating impact of climate change , ” Bezos said in the post .
Amazon , the company Bezos runs , has an enormous carbon footprint .
Last year , Amazon officials said the company would work to have 100 % of its energy use come from solar panels and other renewable energy by 2030 .
The online retailer relies on fossil fuels to power planes , trucks and vans in order to ship billions of items all around the world .
Amazon workers in its Seattle headquarters have been vocal in criticizing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pushing it to do more to combat climate change .
Bezos said in the post Monday that he will call his new initiative the Bezos Earth Fund .
An Amazon spokesman confirmed that Bezos will be using his own money for the fund .
Despite being among the richest people in the world , Bezos only recently became active in donating money to causes as other billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have done .
In 2018 , Bezos started another fund , committing $ 2 billion of his own money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give money to nonprofits that help homeless families .
Bezos , who founded Amazon 25 years ago , has a stake in the company that is worth more than $ 100 billion .

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said Monday that he plans to spend $10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change.
Jeff Bezos, president and CEO of Amazon, speaks at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C.'s "Milestone Celebration Dinner" on September 13, 2018.
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Bezos, the world’s richest man, said in an Instagram post that he'll start giving grants this summer to scientists, activists and nonprofits working to protect the earth.
“I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change,” Bezos said in the post.
Amazon, the company Bezos runs, has an enormous carbon footprint. Last year, Amazon officials said the company would work to have 100% of its energy use come from solar panels and other renewable energy by 2030.
The online retailer relies on fossil fuels to power planes, trucks and vans in order to ship billions of items all around the world. Amazon workers in its Seattle headquarters have been vocal in criticizing some of the company’s practices, pushing it to do more to combat climate change.
Bezos said in the post Monday that he will call his new initiative the Bezos Earth Fund. An Amazon spokesman confirmed that Bezos will be using his own money for the fund.
Despite being among the richest people in the world, Bezos only recently became active in donating money to causes as other billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have done. In 2018, Bezos started another fund, committing $2 billion of his own money to open preschools in low-income neighborhoods and give money to nonprofits that help homeless families.
Bezos, who founded Amazon 25 years ago, has a stake in the company that is worth more than $100 billion.
(AP)
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france24--2020-02-17--With hotshot Haaland, can Dortmund crush PSG’s Champions League dreams?

PSG face a big challenge in their latest campaign to make it in the Champions League , as they take on Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 on Tuesday evening .
Given their defensive weaknesses , the Parisians are counting on attacking powerhouses Mbappé , di Maria and Neymar – but Dortmund may have a trump card to play in the shape of Erling Haaland , football ’ s hottest young talent .
PSG dominate French football – at the start of each new season , there is rarely any doubt that they will win Ligue 1 .
But the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its knockout stages have long been the graveyard of PSG ’ s hopes to impose themselves as one of football ’ s giants .
Those infamous defeats to Barcelona and the diminished post-Ferguson Manchester United characterised them as flashy upstarts , who crumble against clubs with long , illustrious histories and the resilience that goes with them .
Dortmund don ’ t boast quite as much prestige as Barca and the Red Devils , but they are renowned for their full-throated attacking style – an approach boosted by the arrival of 19-year-old Erling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with quick-thinking intelligence in the box , the Norwegian wunderkind has so far scored nine goals in just six games for Dortmund , making him look like a bargain at €20 million .
Haaland isn ’ t the only Dortmund 19-year-old for PSG defenders to worry about .
Playing in a slightly deeper , wider position as an inside winger , Englishman Jadon Sancho first captured public attention when he became the youngest ever player to score eight goals in a Bundesliga season in February 2019 , a tally he brought up to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
Having further sharpened his skills as a fearsome attacker , with darting runs into the box and clinical finishing skills , Sancho has shown an even more impressive track record this season , with 16 goals in 30 appearances .
A more experienced presence plays behind these young stars : Mario Gotze , a 27-year-old attacking midfielder whose speed and often transformational creativity prompted football legend Franz Beckenbauer to describe him as the “ German Messi ” .
Yet perhaps Dortmund ’ s most distinctive asset is the famous “ Yellow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with fervent fans that makes its home ground one of football ’ s most imposing fortresses .
“ They all stand , chant and make such a noise that the stand seems like the pharynx of some huge roaring monster , ” Johnny Rotten , lead singer of the Sex Pistols and a devoted Arsenal fan , memorably described it .
The Yellow Wall has certainly had an effect on Haaland , who told journalists that playing in front of this iconic stand gave him a “ fantastic feeling that I haven ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on-form attacking talents like Haaland , Sancho and Gotze in an intimidating atmosphere is the last thing PSG defenders will want : they displayed a smorgasbord of errors in their 4-4 collapse against Amiens on Saturday .
This wasn ’ t the club ’ s strongest starting XI , with some second-choice players drafted in and some reliable stalwarts placed in strange positions – like central midfielder Andreas Herrera , who was at right back .
Nevertheless , after getting away with some shoddy defending in their previous three games , it 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the first 40 minutes – against one of the weakest sides in Europe ’ s weakest major league , languishing in Ligue 1 ’ s relegation zone in 19th place .
Most ominously for PSG , their 35-year-old captain Thiago Silva showed his age , substituted at half time after Amiens attackers repeatedly caught him napping and ran him ragged .
Of course , the Parisians ’ greatest talents play up front .
Neymar and Kylian Mbappé were both rested on Saturday , but it remains to be seen whether the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face Dortmund .
PSG manager Thomas Tuchel insisted on Friday that the Brazilian playmaker will have recovered from his rib injury to be able to play , “ without being in the best shape ” .
But he backtracked after the Amiens game , telling journalists he “ can ’ t say right now ” .
Dortmund are similarly marred by injuries .
Captain Marco Reus – like Gotze , a dynamic creative midfielder in the mould of Paul Scholes – and Julian Brandt , one of the world ’ s most promising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For PSG , an even better winger than Brandt , Angel di Maria , provided hope amid Saturday ’ s debacle , supplying some of sharp passes and marauding runs down the flank that mark him as one of the world ’ s greatest wingers – even as a 32_year-old , in the fifteenth year of his professional career .
Mbappé , too , is a talismanic presence who can single-handedly transform a match to PSG ’ s benefit .
The young French icon has scored 48 goals in 47 games since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 – a track record that speaks for itself .
Many PSG fans will cherish the hope that Mbappé ’ s gifts – the pace and passes that slice through even the strongest of defences , combined with merciless finishing skills – make them contenders to surge through the Champions ’ League knockout rounds , overcoming football ’ s titans to finally break the curse that saw them collapse in the face of Barca and Man United .
But perhaps it augurs badly for PSG that Mbappé ’ s year was 2018 – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fans the world over with majestic performances in France ’ s victorious World Cup campaign – whereas in 2020 the name on everyone ’ s lips is Erling Haaland .

PSG face a big challenge in their latest campaign to make it in the Champions League, as they take on Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 on Tuesday evening. Given their defensive weaknesses, the Parisians are counting on attacking powerhouses Mbappé, di Maria and Neymar – but Dortmund may have a trump card to play in the shape of Erling Haaland, football’s hottest young talent.
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PSG dominate French football – at the start of each new season, there is rarely any doubt that they will win Ligue 1. But the Champions League is a different story: its knockout stages have long been the graveyard of PSG’s hopes to impose themselves as one of football’s giants. Those infamous defeats to Barcelona and the diminished post-Ferguson Manchester United characterised them as flashy upstarts, who crumble against clubs with long, illustrious histories and the resilience that goes with them.
Dortmund don’t boast quite as much prestige as Barca and the Red Devils, but they are renowned for their full-throated attacking style – an approach boosted by the arrival of 19-year-old Erling Haaland in December. Combining lacerating pace with quick-thinking intelligence in the box, the Norwegian wunderkind has so far scored nine goals in just six games for Dortmund, making him look like a bargain at €20 million.
Haaland isn’t the only Dortmund 19-year-old for PSG defenders to worry about. Playing in a slightly deeper, wider position as an inside winger, Englishman Jadon Sancho first captured public attention when he became the youngest ever player to score eight goals in a Bundesliga season in February 2019, a tally he brought up to 12 by the end of the footballing year. Having further sharpened his skills as a fearsome attacker, with darting runs into the box and clinical finishing skills, Sancho has shown an even more impressive track record this season, with 16 goals in 30 appearances.
A more experienced presence plays behind these young stars: Mario Gotze, a 27-year-old attacking midfielder whose speed and often transformational creativity prompted football legend Franz Beckenbauer to describe him as the “German Messi”.
‘Some huge roaring monster’
Yet perhaps Dortmund’s most distinctive asset is the famous “Yellow Wall”, the south stand crammed with fervent fans that makes its home ground one of football’s most imposing fortresses. “They all stand, chant and make such a noise that the stand seems like the pharynx of some huge roaring monster,” Johnny Rotten, lead singer of the Sex Pistols and a devoted Arsenal fan, memorably described it.
The Yellow Wall has certainly had an effect on Haaland, who told journalists that playing in front of this iconic stand gave him a “fantastic feeling that I haven’t had before”. And confronting on-form attacking talents like Haaland, Sancho and Gotze in an intimidating atmosphere is the last thing PSG defenders will want: they displayed a smorgasbord of errors in their 4-4 collapse against Amiens on Saturday.
This wasn’t the club’s strongest starting XI, with some second-choice players drafted in and some reliable stalwarts placed in strange positions – like central midfielder Andreas Herrera, who was at right back. Nevertheless, after getting away with some shoddy defending in their previous three games, it's striking that the Parisians were 3-0 behind within the first 40 minutes – against one of the weakest sides in Europe’s weakest major league, languishing in Ligue 1’s relegation zone in 19th place. Most ominously for PSG, their 35-year-old captain Thiago Silva showed his age, substituted at half time after Amiens attackers repeatedly caught him napping and ran him ragged.
Of course, the Parisians’ greatest talents play up front. Neymar and Kylian Mbappé were both rested on Saturday, but it remains to be seen whether the former will be in a fit state to face Dortmund. PSG manager Thomas Tuchel insisted on Friday that the Brazilian playmaker will have recovered from his rib injury to be able to play, “without being in the best shape”. But he backtracked after the Amiens game, telling journalists he “can’t say right now”.
Dortmund are similarly marred by injuries. Captain Marco Reus – like Gotze, a dynamic creative midfielder in the mould of Paul Scholes – and Julian Brandt, one of the world’s most promising wingers, are both out of action.
For PSG, an even better winger than Brandt, Angel di Maria, provided hope amid Saturday’s debacle, supplying some of sharp passes and marauding runs down the flank that mark him as one of the world’s greatest wingers – even as a 32_year-old, in the fifteenth year of his professional career. Mbappé, too, is a talismanic presence who can single-handedly transform a match to PSG’s benefit. The young French icon has scored 48 goals in 47 games since his €180 million transfer from Monaco in 2018 – a track record that speaks for itself.
Many PSG fans will cherish the hope that Mbappé’s gifts – the pace and passes that slice through even the strongest of defences, combined with merciless finishing skills – make them contenders to surge through the Champions’ League knockout rounds, overcoming football’s titans to finally break the curse that saw them collapse in the face of Barca and Man United.
But perhaps it augurs badly for PSG that Mbappé’s year was 2018 – when he won the hearts of football fans the world over with majestic performances in France’s victorious World Cup campaign – whereas in 2020 the name on everyone’s lips is Erling Haaland.
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france24--2020-02-17--Porto footballer Marega walks off pitch after racist abuse

Porto striker Moussa Marega left the pitch in protest of being subject to racist insults during his side 's 2-1 win away to Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal 's Primeira Liga on Sunday .
The Mali forward , 28 , scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 60th minute and celebrated the goal by pointing to his skin in response to a section of the home fans who had targeted him throughout the match .
He was shown a yellow card for the reaction and after the abuse continued he tried to leave the pitch , pointing his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was restrained by his team mates for a number of minutes .
Porto coach Sergio Conceicao was eventually forced to substitute Marega in the 72nd minute .
`` We are completely indignant , '' Conceicao told reporters .
`` They insulted Marega since the warm up .
We are all a family here , regardless of our nationality , skin colour , height or the colour of our hair and we all deserve respect .
What happened here is outrageous .
`` I know the fans here are very passionate about their club @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the people who were in the crowd today . ''
Marega later posted a message on Instagram calling the supporters who targeted him as `` idiots '' and also criticising match referee Luis Godinho .
`` I 'd also like to show my thanks to the referee who did not defend me and who gave me a yellow card for defending the colour of my skin .
I hope I never meet you on a football pitch ever again .
You are a disgrace , '' he added .
The league @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chants .
`` Liga Portugal does not agree and never will with acts of racism , xenophobia or intolerance that jeopardize the dignity of footballers or any human beings , '' said a statement on the organisation 's website .
`` Liga Portugal will do everything to ensure that this episode and all other racist incidents do not go unpunished .
`` We believe this is a fight where your team 's colours do not matter and everyone must come together to eradicate this scourge on the game . ''
Porto 's director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own Twitter account : `` Marega was fed up and left the pitch and Porto was forced to make a substitution due to racism . ''
Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported that no Porto players spoke to the media after the game in solidarity with Marega .
Vitoria coach Ivo Vieira said he did not want to comment on the incident as he was not certain what had happened .
`` I prefer not to speak about a situation without being aware of all the facts .
But if the player was provoked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' he said .
Porto are second in the Portuguese top flight , trailing leaders Benfica by a point after 21 games .

Porto striker Moussa Marega left the pitch in protest of being subject to racist insults during his side's 2-1 win away to Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal's Primeira Liga on Sunday.
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The Mali forward, 28, scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 60th minute and celebrated the goal by pointing to his skin in response to a section of the home fans who had targeted him throughout the match.
He was shown a yellow card for the reaction and after the abuse continued he tried to leave the pitch, pointing his thumbs down to the crowd, but was restrained by his team mates for a number of minutes.
Porto coach Sergio Conceicao was eventually forced to substitute Marega in the 72nd minute.
Shocking Porto players attempt to prevent their teammate, Moussa Marega, from walking off the pitch after facing racist abusehttps://t.co/TYGgBA2155pic.twitter.com/7kU9LSmQMv — Rob Harris (@RobHarris) February 16, 2020
"We are completely indignant," Conceicao told reporters.
"They insulted Marega since the warm up. We are all a family here, regardless of our nationality, skin colour, height or the colour of our hair and we all deserve respect. What happened here is outrageous.
"I know the fans here are very passionate about their club and many fans are not represented by some of the people who were in the crowd today."
Marega later posted a message on Instagram calling the supporters who targeted him as "idiots" and also criticising match referee Luis Godinho.
"I'd also like to show my thanks to the referee who did not defend me and who gave me a yellow card for defending the colour of my skin. I hope I never meet you on a football pitch ever again. You are a disgrace," he added.
The league's organising body Liga Portugal condemned the chants.
"Liga Portugal does not agree and never will with acts of racism, xenophobia or intolerance that jeopardize the dignity of footballers or any human beings," said a statement on the organisation's website.
"Liga Portugal will do everything to ensure that this episode and all other racist incidents do not go unpunished.
"We believe this is a fight where your team's colours do not matter and everyone must come together to eradicate this scourge on the game."
Porto's director of communications Francisco Marques added on his own Twitter account: "Marega was fed up and left the pitch and Porto was forced to make a substitution due to racism."
Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported that no Porto players spoke to the media after the game in solidarity with Marega.
Vitoria coach Ivo Vieira said he did not want to comment on the incident as he was not certain what had happened.
"I prefer not to speak about a situation without being aware of all the facts. But if the player was provoked, then he should not have been," he said.
Porto are second in the Portuguese top flight, trailing leaders Benfica by a point after 21 games.
(REUTERS)
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france24--2020-02-17--Israel accuses Hamas hackers of 'seducing' soldiers with photos of women

Israeli soldiers stand in a field next to armoured Israeli military vehicles near the border with Gaza , in southern Israel on March 27 , 2019 .
Israel 's military said on Sunday it had thwarted an attempted malware attack by Hamas that sought to gain access to soldiers ' mobile phones by using seductive pictures of young women .
The phones of a few dozen soldiers were affected , but the military `` does not assess that there has been a substantial breach of information '' , said Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus , an army spokesman .
Conricus said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Hamas in less than four years , but that the latest effort indicated the Islamist group , which controls the Gaza Strip , had improved their capacity to wage cyber-warfare .
`` What we are talking about today is more advanced , '' he said .
`` They are upping their game . ''
According to Conricus , the attacks began with messages that purported to be from young , `` attractive-looking '' women .
The texts were delivered through Facebook , WhatsApp and Instagram as well as the messaging application Telegram @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used previously .
To avoid engaging in voice calls with soldiers , the messengers posing as young women claimed to be hard of hearing or new immigrants with poor Hebrew , Conricus said .
Once contact was made , subsequent messages encouraged soldiers to click on a link to download an application that would allow for an easier exchange of photos .
These apps , which the military identified as Catch & See , ZatuApp and GrixyApp , sought to infect the soldiers phones with malware that would give Hamas total access to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attack began several months ago and that Israel took `` defensive activity '' in recent days , but did not rule out further retaliation .
`` Hostile actions by Hamas in the virtual world bear repercussion in the real world , '' Conricus said .
Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008 but over the past year , the Islamists had gradually shaped an informal truce with Israel , under which the Jewish state has eased its crippling blockade of Gaza .
Israel justifies the blockade by the need to contain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much of the West -- which has controlled the Palestinian enclave since 2007 .

Israel's military said on Sunday it had thwarted an attempted malware attack by Hamas that sought to gain access to soldiers' mobile phones by using seductive pictures of young women.
Israeli soldiers stand in a field next to armoured Israeli military vehicles near the border with Gaza, in southern Israel on March 27, 2019.
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The phones of a few dozen soldiers were affected, but the military "does not assess that there has been a substantial breach of information", said Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, an army spokesman.
Conricus said this was the third attempted malware attack by Hamas in less than four years, but that the latest effort indicated the Islamist group, which controls the Gaza Strip, had improved their capacity to wage cyber-warfare.
"What we are talking about today is more advanced," he said. "They are upping their game."
According to Conricus, the attacks began with messages that purported to be from young, "attractive-looking" women.
The texts were delivered through Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram as well as the messaging application Telegram, which Israel said Hamas had not used previously.
To avoid engaging in voice calls with soldiers, the messengers posing as young women claimed to be hard of hearing or new immigrants with poor Hebrew, Conricus said.
Once contact was made, subsequent messages encouraged soldiers to click on a link to download an application that would allow for an easier exchange of photos.
These apps, which the military identified as Catch&See, ZatuApp and GrixyApp, sought to infect the soldiers phones with malware that would give Hamas total access to the device.
The army said the attack began several months ago and that Israel took "defensive activity" in recent days, but did not rule out further retaliation.
"Hostile actions by Hamas in the virtual world bear repercussion in the real world," Conricus said.
Hamas and Israel have fought three wars since 2008 but over the past year, the Islamists had gradually shaped an informal truce with Israel, under which the Jewish state has eased its crippling blockade of Gaza.
Israel justifies the blockade by the need to contain Hamas -- designated a terrorist organisation by much of the West -- which has controlled the Palestinian enclave since 2007.
(AFP)
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france24--2020-02-17--Afghanistan has its first robotic waiter – but is that a good thing?

'With this robot , we no longer have unhappy conservative customers in our restaurant ! '
Buy a robot or pay an Afghan worker for 10 years Four months ago , Mohammad Naeimi opened the Times Restaurant in the Shahr-e-Now neighbourhood of Kabul .
Then one month ago , he equipped his restaurant with a secret weapon : a robot.Naeimi claimed he imported this robot from Japan : News about this robot has been everywhere on Afghan media and has even been covered by international media , such as Radio Free Europe .
However many Afghans question the motivations behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with 25 to 30 percent unemployment .
The restaurant owner says he has not fired anyone for a robot ’ s job and it is just assistance to the restaurant 's workers.Mohammad Naeimi continues : However , many people have made fun of this whole idea , saying it 's not a good move .
Others have suggested that the restaurant could employ a woman instead of the robot.In addition , this robot came from China , not Japan .
Its official name is “ Amy ” and it 's produced by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this Chinese robotic waiter varies online from $ 6,000 to $ 7,500 ( €5,537 to €6,921 ) .
This means that this robot costs between 463,000 and 579,000 Afghani , which is equivalent to a salary for eight to 10 years for an Afghan worker ...

Afghanistan
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One fast-food restaurant in Afghanistan recently made a buzz by employing a robot as a waiter. Many customers duly headed to the Times Restaurant in Kabul to see this high-end tech in action. Interestingly, just by having this robot in Afghanistan's capital as a waiter has highlighted some of the concerns among the country's conservative families. For example many of these families have not been happy with having male waiters, so this robot waiter has solved a problem.
Four months ago, Mohammad Naeimi opened the Times Restaurant in the Shahr-e-Now neighbourhood of Kabul. Then one month ago, he equipped his restaurant with a secret weapon: a robot.
'Everyone’s happy with this robot'
Naeimi claimed he imported this robot from Japan:
Our restaurant is not that big but we have 40 workers. Employing a robot was partly to attract the younger generation to our restaurant and to show them that it is possible to have new tech in Afghanistan too. We wanted to familiarise them with new technolgies. This robot can welcome the customers, take their order, bring the order, give them the bill, receive the payment and also collect the dishes. It can manage eight tables at the same time, and it can speak in Persian, Pashtun and English. Its battery lasts for about 12 hours and then it has head to the charging station.
News about this robot has been everywhere on Afghan media and has even been covered by international media, such as Radio Free Europe. However many Afghans question the motivations behind employing a waiter robot in a country with 25 to 30 percent unemployment. The restaurant owner says he has not fired anyone for a robot’s job and it is just assistance to the restaurant's workers.
The Times Restaurant in Kabul. Source here
'With this robot, we no longer have unhappy conservative customers in our restaurant!'
Mohammad Naeimi continues:
The robot has also solved another problem that we had with conservative families. In many cases, they do not like that a male server approaches them to take orders or anything, so with this robot, we solved that problem. When families are here with women with a hijab, we send our robot. So now they can eat our food and we have more customers. These customers can enjoy our restaurant without any problem. Everyone’s happy! So far everything is good. And we have customers who only come here to check out our robot.
Buy a robot or pay an Afghan worker for 10 years
However, many people havemade fun of this whole idea, saying it's not a good move. Others have suggested that the restaurant could employ a woman instead of the robot.
In addition, this robot came from China, not Japan. Its official name is “Amy” and it's produced by the Suzhou Pangolin Robot Corp. The price of this Chinese robotic waiter varies online from $6,000 to $7,500 (€5,537 to €6,921). This means that this robot costs between 463,000 and 579,000 Afghani, which is equivalent to a salary for eight to 10 years for an Afghan worker...


france24--2020-02-18--China’s ‘war on terror’ pulls apart Uighur families, leaked database shows

A Uighur man looks on as a truck carrying paramilitary policemen travels along a street during an anti-terrorism oath-taking rally in Urumqi , in China 's Xinjiang province , on May 23 , 2014 .
For decades , the Uighur imam was a bedrock of his farming community in China ’ s far west .
On Fridays , he preached Islam as a religion of peace .
On Sundays , he treated the sick with free herbal medicine .
In the winter , he bought coal for the poor .
But as a Chinese government mass detention campaign engulfed Memtimin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ago , the elderly imam was swept up and locked away , along with all three of his sons living in China .
Now , a newly revealed database exposes in extraordinary detail the main reasons for the detentions of Emer , his three sons , and hundreds of others in Karakax County : their religion and their family ties .
The database obtained by The Associated Press profiles the internment of 311 individuals with relatives abroad and lists information on more than 2,000 of their relatives , neighbors and friends .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ name , address , national identity number , detention date and location , along with a detailed dossier on their family , religious and neighborhood background , the reason for detention , and a decision on whether or not to release them .
Issued within the past year , the documents do not indicate which government department compiled them or for whom .
Taken as a whole , the information offers the fullest and most personal view yet into how Chinese officials decided who to put into and let out of detention camps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that has locked away more than a million ethnic minorities , most of them Muslims .
The database emphasizes that the Chinese government focused on religion as a reason for detention – not just political extremism , as authorities claim , but ordinary activities such as praying , attending a mosque , or even growing a long beard .
It also shows the role of family : People with detained relatives are far more likely to end up in a camp themselves , uprooting and criminalizing entire families like Emer ’ s in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and attitude is a bigger factor than detainee behavior in whether they are released .
“ It ’ s very clear that religious practice is being targeted , ” said Darren Byler , a University of Colorado researcher studying the use of surveillance technology in Xinjiang .
“ They want to fragment society , to pull the families apart and make them much more vulnerable to retraining and reeducation.
” The Xinjiang regional government did not respond to faxes requesting comment .
Asked whether Xinjiang is targeting religious people and their families , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this kind of nonsense is not worth commenting on.
” Beijing has said before that the detention centers are for voluntary job training , and that it does not discriminate based on religion .
China has struggled for decades to control Xinjiang , where the native Uighurs have long resented Beijing ’ s heavy-handed rule .
With the 9/11 attacks in the United States , officials began using the specter of terrorism to justify harsher religious restrictions , saying young Uighurs were susceptible to Islamic extremism .
After militants set off bombs at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ capital in 2014 , President Xi Jinping launched a so-called “ People ’ s War on Terror ” , transforming Xinjiang into a digital police state .
The leak of the database from sources in the Uighur exile community follows the release in November of a classified blueprint on how the mass detention system really works .
The blueprint obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists , which includes the AP , showed that the centers are in fact forced ideological and behavioral re-education camps run in secret .
Another set of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revealed the historical lead-up to the mass detention .
The latest set of documents came from sources in the Uighur exile community , and the most recent date in them is March 2019 .
The detainees listed come from Karakax County , a traditional settlement of about 650,000 on the edge of Xinjiang ’ s Taklamakan desert where more than 97 percent of residents are Uighur .
The list was corroborated through interviews with former Karakax residents , Chinese identity verification tools , and other lists and documents seen by the AP .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ classified by rigid , well-defined categories .
Households are designated as “ trustworthy ” or “ not trustworthy , ” and their attitudes are graded as “ ordinary ” or “ good.
” Families have “ light ” or “ heavy ” religious atmospheres , and the database keeps count of how many relatives of each detainee are locked in prison or sent to a “ training center.
” Officials used these categories to determine how suspicious a person was – even if they hadn ’ t committed any crimes .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and how the government criminalizes everything , ” said Adrian Zenz , an expert on the detention centers and senior fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington , D.C. Reasons listed for internment include “ minor religious infection , ” “ disturbs other persons by visiting them without reasons , ” “ relatives abroad , ” “ thinking is hard to grasp ” and “ untrustworthy person born in a certain decade.
” The last seems to refer to younger men ; about 31 percent of people considered “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 25 to 29 years , according to an analysis of the data by Zenz .
When former student Abdullah Muhammad spotted Emer ’ s name on the list of the detained , he was distraught .
“ He didn ’ t deserve this , ” Muhammad said .
“ Everyone liked and respected him .
He was the kind of person who couldn ’ t stay silent against injustice.
” Even in Karakax county , famed for its intellectuals and scholars , Emer stood out as one of the most renowned teachers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Quran under Emer for six years as a kid , following him from house to house in an effort to dodge the authorities .
Muhammad said Emer was so respected that the police would phone him with warnings ahead of time before raiding classes at his modest , single-story home of brick and mud .
Though Emer gave Party-approved sermons , he refused to preach Communist propaganda , Muhammad said , eventually running into trouble with the authorities .
He was stripped of his position as an imam and barred from teaching in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When Muhammad left China for Saudi Arabia and Turkey in 2009 , Emer was making his living as a doctor of traditional medicine .
Emer was growing old , and under heavy surveillance , he had stopped attending religious gatherings .
That didn ’ t stop authorities from detaining the imam , who is in his eighties , and sentencing him on various charges for up to 12 years in prison over 2017 and 2018 .
The database cites four charges in various entries : “ stirring up terrorism , ” acting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , following the strict Saudi Wahhabi sect and conducting illegal religious teachings .
Muhammad called the charges false .
Emer had stopped his preaching , practiced a moderate Central Asian sect of Islam rather than Wahhabism and never dreamed of hurting others , let alone stirring up “ terrorism , ” Muhammad said .
“ He used to always preach against violence , ” Muhammad said .
“ Anyone who knew him can testify that he wasn ’ t a religious extremist.
” None of Emer ’ s three sons had been convicted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows that over the course of 2017 , all were thrown into the detention camps for having too many children , trying to travel abroad , being “ untrustworthy ” or “ infected with religious extremism , ” or going on the Hajj , the Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca .
It also shows that their relation to Emer and their religious background was enough to convince officials they were too dangerous to let out from the detention camps .
“ His father taught him how to pray , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ablikim Memtimin .
“ His family ’ s religious atmosphere is thick .
We recommend he ( Emer ) continue training , ” says another entry for his youngest son , Emer Memtimin .
Even a neighbor was tainted by living near him , with Emer ’ s alleged crimes and prison sentence recorded in the neighbor ’ s dossier .
The database indicates much of this information is collected by teams of cadres stationed at mosques , sent to visit homes and posted in communities .
This information is then compiled in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” , encompassing their relatives , community , and religious background .
It wasn ’ t just the religious who were detained .
The database shows that Karakax officials also explicitly targeted people for activities that included going abroad , getting a passport or installing foreign software .
Pharmacist Tohti Himit was detained in a camp for having gone multiple times to one of 26 “ key ” countries , mostly Muslim , according to the database .
Former employee Habibullah , who is now in Turkey , recalled Himit as a secular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his face free of a beard .
“ He wasn ’ t very pious , he didn ’ t go to the mosque , ” said Habibullah , who declined to give his first name out of fear of retribution against family still in China .
“ I was shocked by how absurd the reasons for detention were.
” The database says cadres found Himit had attended his grandfather ’ s funeral at a local mosque on March 10 , 2008 .
Later that year , the cadres found , he had gone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to worship and once to celebrate a festival .
In 2014 he had gone to Anhui province , in inner China , to get a passport and go abroad .
That , the government concluded , was enough to show that Himit was “ certainly dangerous.
” They ordered Himit to stay in the center and “ continue training.
” Emer is now under house arrest due to health issues , his former student , Muhammad , has heard .
It ’ s unclear where Emer ’ s sons are .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that did him in , Muhammad said .
Though deprived of his mosque and his right to teach , Emer quietly defied the authorities for two decades by staying true to his faith .
“ Unlike some other scholars , he never cared about money or anything else the Communist Party could give him , ” Muhammad said .
“ He never bowed down to them — and that ’ s why they wanted to eliminate him .
”

For decades, the Uighur imam was a bedrock of his farming community in China’s far west. On Fridays, he preached Islam as a religion of peace. On Sundays, he treated the sick with free herbal medicine. In the winter, he bought coal for the poor.
A Uighur man looks on as a truck carrying paramilitary policemen travels along a street during an anti-terrorism oath-taking rally in Urumqi, in China's Xinjiang province, on May 23, 2014.
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But as a Chinese government mass detention campaign engulfed Memtimin Emer’s native Xinjiang region three years ago, the elderly imam was swept up and locked away, along with all three of his sons living in China.
Now, a newly revealed database exposes in extraordinary detail the main reasons for the detentions of Emer, his three sons, and hundreds of others in Karakax County: their religion and their family ties.
The database obtained by The Associated Press profiles the internment of 311 individuals with relatives abroad and lists information on more than 2,000 of their relatives, neighbors and friends. Each entry includes the detainee’s name, address, national identity number, detention date and location, along with a detailed dossier on their family, religious and neighborhood background, the reason for detention, and a decision on whether or not to release them. Issued within the past year, the documents do not indicate which government department compiled them or for whom.
Taken as a whole, the information offers the fullest and most personal view yet into how Chinese officials decided who to put into and let out of detention camps, as part of a massive crackdown that has locked away more than a million ethnic minorities, most of them Muslims.
The database emphasizes that the Chinese government focused on religion as a reason for detention – not just political extremism, as authorities claim, but ordinary activities such as praying, attending a mosque, or even growing a long beard. It also shows the role of family: People with detained relatives are far more likely to end up in a camp themselves, uprooting and criminalizing entire families like Emer’s in the process.
'Religious practice targeted'
Similarly, family background and attitude is a bigger factor than detainee behavior in whether they are released.
“It’s very clear that religious practice is being targeted,” said Darren Byler, a University of Colorado researcher studying the use of surveillance technology in Xinjiang. “They want to fragment society, to pull the families apart and make them much more vulnerable to retraining and reeducation.”
The Xinjiang regional government did not respond to faxes requesting comment. Asked whether Xinjiang is targeting religious people and their families, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said “this kind of nonsense is not worth commenting on.”
Beijing has said before that the detention centers are for voluntary job training, and that it does not discriminate based on religion.
China has struggled for decades to control Xinjiang, where the native Uighurs have long resented Beijing’s heavy-handed rule. With the 9/11 attacks in the United States, officials began using the specter of terrorism to justify harsher religious restrictions, saying young Uighurs were susceptible to Islamic extremism.
After militants set off bombs at a train station in Xinjiang’s capital in 2014, President Xi Jinping launched a so-called “People’s War on Terror”, transforming Xinjiang into a digital police state.
The leak of the database from sources in the Uighur exile community follows the release in November of a classified blueprint on how the mass detention system really works. The blueprint obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which includes the AP, showed that the centers are in fact forced ideological and behavioral re-education camps run in secret. Another set of documents leaked to the New York Times revealed the historical lead-up to the mass detention.
The latest set of documents came from sources in the Uighur exile community, and the most recent date in them is March 2019. The detainees listed come from Karakax County, a traditional settlement of about 650,000 on the edge of Xinjiang’s Taklamakan desert where more than 97 percent of residents are Uighur. The list was corroborated through interviews with former Karakax residents, Chinese identity verification tools, and other lists and documents seen by the AP.
Detainees and their families are tracked and classified by rigid, well-defined categories. Households are designated as “trustworthy” or “not trustworthy,” and their attitudes are graded as “ordinary” or “good.” Families have “light” or “heavy” religious atmospheres, and the database keeps count of how many relatives of each detainee are locked in prison or sent to a “training center.”
'Witch-hunt mindset'
Officials used these categories to determine how suspicious a person was – even if they hadn’t committed any crimes.
“It underscores the witch-hunt mindset of the government, and how the government criminalizes everything,” said Adrian Zenz, an expert on the detention centers and senior fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Reasons listed for internment include “minor religious infection,” “disturbs other persons by visiting them without reasons,” “relatives abroad,” “thinking is hard to grasp” and “untrustworthy person born in a certain decade.” The last seems to refer to younger men; about 31 percent of people considered “untrustworthy” were in the age bracket of 25 to 29 years, according to an analysis of the data by Zenz.
When former student Abdullah Muhammad spotted Emer’s name on the list of the detained, he was distraught.
“He didn’t deserve this,” Muhammad said. “Everyone liked and respected him. He was the kind of person who couldn’t stay silent against injustice.”
Even in Karakax county, famed for its intellectuals and scholars, Emer stood out as one of the most renowned teachers in the region. Muhammad studied the Quran under Emer for six years as a kid, following him from house to house in an effort to dodge the authorities. Muhammad said Emer was so respected that the police would phone him with warnings ahead of time before raiding classes at his modest, single-story home of brick and mud.
Though Emer gave Party-approved sermons, he refused to preach Communist propaganda, Muhammad said, eventually running into trouble with the authorities. He was stripped of his position as an imam and barred from teaching in 1997, amid unrest roiling the region.
When Muhammad left China for Saudi Arabia and Turkey in 2009, Emer was making his living as a doctor of traditional medicine. Emer was growing old, and under heavy surveillance, he had stopped attending religious gatherings.
That didn’t stop authorities from detaining the imam, who is in his eighties, and sentencing him on various charges for up to 12 years in prison over 2017 and 2018. The database cites four charges in various entries: “stirring up terrorism,” acting as an unauthorized “wild” imam, following the strict Saudi Wahhabi sect and conducting illegal religious teachings.
Muhammad called the charges false. Emer had stopped his preaching, practiced a moderate Central Asian sect of Islam rather than Wahhabism and never dreamed of hurting others, let alone stirring up “terrorism,” Muhammad said.
“He used to always preach against violence,” Muhammad said. “Anyone who knew him can testify that he wasn’t a religious extremist.”
None of Emer’s three sons had been convicted of a crime. But the database shows that over the course of 2017, all were thrown into the detention camps for having too many children, trying to travel abroad, being “untrustworthy” or “infected with religious extremism,”or going on the Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. It also shows that their relation to Emer and their religious background was enough to convince officials they were too dangerous to let out from the detention camps.
“His father taught him how to pray,” notes one entry for his eldest, Ablikim Memtimin.
“His family’s religious atmosphere is thick. We recommend he (Emer) continue training,” says another entry for his youngest son, Emer Memtimin.
Even a neighbor was tainted by living near him, with Emer’s alleged crimes and prison sentence recorded in the neighbor’s dossier.
The database indicates much of this information is collected by teams of cadres stationed at mosques, sent to visit homes and posted in communities. This information is then compiled in a dossier called the “three circles”, encompassing their relatives, community, and religious background.
'Certainly dangerous'
It wasn’t just the religious who were detained. The database shows that Karakax officials also explicitly targeted people for activities that included going abroad, getting a passport or installing foreign software.
Pharmacist Tohti Himit was detained in a camp for having gone multiple times to one of 26 “key” countries, mostly Muslim, according to the database. Former employee Habibullah, who is now in Turkey, recalled Himit as a secular, kind and wealthy man who kept his face free of a beard.
“He wasn’t very pious, he didn’t go to the mosque,” said Habibullah, who declined to give his first name out of fear of retribution against family still in China. “I was shocked by how absurd the reasons for detention were.”
The database says cadres found Himit had attended his grandfather’s funeral at a local mosque on March 10, 2008. Later that year, the cadres found, he had gone to the same mosque again, once to worship and once to celebrate a festival. In 2014 he had gone to Anhui province, in inner China, to get a passport and go abroad.
That, the government concluded, was enough to show that Himit was “certainly dangerous.” They ordered Himit to stay in the center and “continue training.”
Emer is now under house arrest due to health issues, his former student, Muhammad, has heard. It’s unclear where Emer’s sons are.
It was the imam’s courage and stubbornness that did him in, Muhammad said. Though deprived of his mosque and his right to teach, Emer quietly defied the authorities for two decades by staying true to his faith.
“Unlike some other scholars, he never cared about money or anything else the Communist Party could give him,” Muhammad said. “He never bowed down to them — and that’s why they wanted to eliminate him.”
(AP)
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france24--2020-02-18--Pyotr Pavlensky: The Russian artist behind France's sex tape scandal

Russian political performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky finds himself at the centre of a French scandal after publishing a sex tape of a leading Paris mayoral candidate online .
But it is just the latest in a long line of provocative stunts from the artist , which have included nailing his scrotum to the ground outside Moscow ’ s Red Square and setting fire to the headquarters of Russia ’ s Federal Security Service ( FSB ) .
Pavlensky , 35 , first came to international attention in 2012 , when he appeared outside Kazan Cathedral in his native St Petersburg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the performance piece was a political protest against the incarceration of members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot .
Following stunts included appearing naked and wrapped in barbed wire outside the St Petersburg legislative assembly and cutting off a piece of his own ear with a chef ’ s knife in protest at the alleged political abuse of psychiatry in Russia .
In 2013 he carried out one of his most shocking works when , while sitting naked on the stone pavement on Red Square , he hammered a large nail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ground below .
Pavlensky said the work represented `` apathy [ and ] political indifference '' .
The artist fled to France in 2017 after allegations of sexual assault were made against him in Russia , charges he said were politically motivated .
He has continued to cause trouble for the authorities in his adopted country , setting fire to the entrance to offices of the Bank of France in Paris in October 2017 and now , publishing a leaked sex tape of Paris mayoral candidate Benjamin Griveaux , who has since dropped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ French capital .

Russian political performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky finds himself at the centre of a French scandal after publishing a sex tape of a leading Paris mayoral candidate online. But it is just the latest in a long line of provocative stunts from the artist, which have included nailing his scrotum to the ground outside Moscow’s Red Square and setting fire to the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
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Pavlensky, 35, first came to international attention in 2012, when he appeared outside Kazan Cathedral in his native St Petersburg with his lips sewn shut. He said the performance piece was a political protest against the incarceration of members of the Russian punk group Pussy Riot.
Following stunts included appearing naked and wrapped in barbed wire outside the St Petersburg legislative assembly and cutting off a piece of his own ear with a chef’s knife in protest at the alleged political abuse of psychiatry in Russia.
In 2013 he carried out one of his most shocking works when, while sitting naked on the stone pavement on Red Square, he hammered a large nail through his scrotum, and into the ground below. Pavlensky said the work represented "apathy [and] political indifference".
The artist fled to France in 2017 after allegations of sexual assault were made against him in Russia, charges he said were politically motivated.
He has continued to cause trouble for the authorities in his adopted country, setting fire to the entrance to offices of the Bank of France in Paris in October 2017 and now, publishing a leaked sex tape of Paris mayoral candidate Benjamin Griveaux, who has since dropped out of the race to govern the French capital.
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france24--2020-02-18--France opens inquiry into Russian artist who leaked sex tape of Macron ally

The Russian activist Pyotr Pavlensky during an interview with AFP at his lawyer 's office in Paris on February 14 , 2020 .
French prosecutors on Tuesday placed a Russian artist and his girlfriend under official investigation over the leaking of a sex video that brought down a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron .
Pyotr Pavlensky and Alexandra de Taddeo are facing charges of invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent over the leaking of the video that forced the governing party ’ s Benjamin Griveaux to end his campaign to become mayor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over an knife fight at a New Year ’ s Eve party in Paris .
Paris prosecutors on Tuesday requested he be placed in detention over that incident .
Pavlensky , 35 , and de Taddeo , 29 , were taken into custody on Saturday and questioned for two days .
They will be brought before an investigating magistrate later Tuesday to face possible charges .
Pavlensky , an artist and activist who fled Russia in 2017 , has already admitted publishing the video showing a man masturbating , along with racy text @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been the recipient of the video and messages , which were uploaded onto a website created by Pavlensky and widely shared on social media .
Griveaux , a married father of three and former government spokesman , pulled out of the running for Paris mayor after the scandal broke .
The leaking of the video triggered an outpouring of sympathy for the politician in France , where politicians and the media have dismissed sex scandals as private affairs .
Pavlensky , who made global headlines in 2013 when he nailed his scrotum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form of political protest , told AFP last week that he had wanted to expose the “ hypocrisy ” of the 42-year-old who had made families a core theme of his campaign .
With just a month to go until the municipal elections , former health minister Agnès Buzyn was scrambled to take his place as the Paris mayoral candidate of Macron ’ s Republic on the Move ( LREM ) party .
She faces a stiff challenge to oust the Socialist incumbent Anne Hidalgo – Griveaux was already running in a distant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pavlensky , who has a long record of radical protests , received asylum in France in 2017 after falling foul of Russian authorities .
He was originally detained on Saturday on accusations he pulled a knife during a brawl at a New Year ’ s Eve party in Paris , before investigators shifted their focus to the leaked sex video .

French prosecutors placed Alexandra de Taddeo, the girlfriend of the Russian artist who leaked a sex tape that prompted a Paris mayoral candidate to drop out of the race, under formal investigation on Tuesday.
The Russian activist Pyotr Pavlensky during an interview with AFP at his lawyer's office in Paris on February 14, 2020.
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French prosecutors on Tuesday placed a Russian artist and his girlfriend under official investigation over the leaking of a sex video that brought down a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron.
Pyotr Pavlensky and Alexandra de Taddeo are facing charges of invasion of privacy and publishing images of a sexual nature without consent over the leaking of the video that forced the governing party’s Benjamin Griveaux to end his campaign to become mayor of Paris.
Pavlensky is also being probed over an knife fight at a New Year’s Eve party in Paris.
Paris prosecutors on Tuesday requested he be placed in detention over that incident.
Pavlensky, 35, and de Taddeo, 29, were taken into custody on Saturday and questioned for two days. They will be brought before an investigating magistrate later Tuesday to face possible charges.
Pavlensky, an artist and activist who fled Russia in 2017, has already admitted publishing the video showing a man masturbating, along with racy text messages.
De Taddeo is believed to have been the recipient of the video and messages, which were uploaded onto a website created by Pavlensky and widely shared on social media.
Griveaux, a married father of three and former government spokesman, pulled out of the running for Paris mayor after the scandal broke.
Wanted to expose ‘hypocrisy’
The leaking of the video triggered an outpouring of sympathy for the politician in France, where politicians and the media have dismissed sex scandals as private affairs.
Pavlensky, who made global headlines in 2013 when he nailed his scrotum to Red Square in Moscow as a form of political protest, told AFP last week that he had wanted to expose the “hypocrisy” of the 42-year-old who had made families a core theme of his campaign.
With just a month to go until the municipal elections, former health minister Agnès Buzyn was scrambled to take his place as the Paris mayoral candidate of Macron’s Republic on the Move (LREM) party.
She faces a stiff challenge to oust the Socialist incumbent Anne Hidalgo – Griveaux was already running in a distant third place before the video emerged.
Pavlensky, who has a long record of radical protests, received asylum in France in 2017 after falling foul of Russian authorities.
He was originally detained on Saturday on accusations he pulled a knife during a brawl at a New Year’s Eve party in Paris, before investigators shifted their focus to the leaked sex video.
(AFP)
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france24--2020-02-18--Coronavirus: What to make of China's response?

Coronavirus : What to make of China 's response ?
The coronavirus outbreak has strained resources in China , revealing @ @ @ @ @ 's healthcare system and internal regional rivalries .
While researchers are months and possibly years @ @ @ @ @ bureaucrats are scrambling .
In Perspective , we spoke to Dorian Malovic , the Asia @ @ @ @ @ Croix newspaper .

Coronavirus: What to make of China's response?
05:46 PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24
By: Will HILDERBRANDT
The coronavirus outbreak has strained resources in China, revealing fault lines in the country's healthcare system and internal regional rivalries. While researchers are months and possibly years away from a vaccine, bureaucrats are scrambling. In Perspective, we spoke to Dorian Malovic, the Asia editor at France's La Croix newspaper.