Blinken Authorizes Baltic Countries to Send US Weapons to Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday he authorized the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to send U.S.-made anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine, a move that comes amid Ukraine’s rising tensions with neighboring Russia.

“I expedited and authorized, and we fully endorse transfers of defensive equipment @NATO Allies Estonia Latvia Lithuania are providing to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and irresponsible aggression,” Blinken said in a post on Twitter.

Blinken Rebuffs Calls For Preemptive Sanctions On Russia Over Ukraine

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has rejected calls for preemptive sanctions against Russia, saying that doing so would undermine the West’s ability to deter Moscow from any further potential aggression against Ukraine.

Russia’s military buildup in occupied Crimea and near Ukraine’s borders has raised alarm bells in Western capitals that an invasion of Ukraine may be imminent. If Russia were to attack Ukraine, the United States and its European allies have vowed crushing economic sanctions. Russia denies it is planning to attack Ukraine.

UN probing alleged killings by CAR forces, Russia mercenaries

UN official says the body is investigating the incident involving CAR troops and ‘other security personnel’.

The United Nations is investigating the alleged killing of dozens of people in the Central African Republic last week by CAR forces and mercenaries with the Russian private military company Wagner.

Peace in Sudan requires defeating military takeover

Yasir Arman, SPLM-N Deputy Chairman Saturday said that peace in Sudan requires defeating the coup carried out by General al-Burhan on October 25, 2021.

In a talk show with Al-Jazeera Live, Arman said that the coup had plunged the country and the peace process in a big dilemma, pointing out that the peace agreement is closely linked to the democratic transition and the constitutional declaration.

Burkina Faso army deposes president in West Africa’s latest coup

Burkina Faso’s army said on Monday it had ousted President Roch Kabore, suspended the constitution, dissolved the government and the national assembly, and closed the country’s borders.

The announcement cited the deterioration of the security situation and what the army described as Kabore’s inability to unite the West African nation and effectively respond to challenges, which include an Islamist insurgency.

Armed conflict, climate change fan Africa’s refugee crisis

Eastern Africa continues to be the origin of most African refugees, with the region producing more than five million displaced people in 2020, a new report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has revealed.

Terrorism, armed conflict and extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, droughts, storms and locust outbreaks have damaged livelihoods across the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, resulting in large displacements of people.

Israel, Jewish Groups Discuss Airlifting Ukraine’s Jews if Russia Invades

As threat of Russian invasion looms, top officials examine possibility of emergency evacuation for up to 75,000 Ukrainians thought to be eligible for Israeli citizenship under Law of Return

With a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine looming, a briefing held Sunday by top officials in the Israeli government and Jewish organizations discussed the level of threat to Jewish communities in Ukraine and the possibility that Israel will facilitate an evacuation program.

Syrian Kurdish Forces Tighten Prison Siege, Iraq Zones in on ISIS Hideouts After Deadly Attacks

Though little has remained of the Islamic State, which once ruled a third of both Syria and Iraq, two major offensives that left scores dead put forces in both countries on high alert

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) troops aided by U.S. troops tightened their siege of a prison housing Islamic State suspects after inmates took over the facility, residents and officials said on Sunday, in what local officials described as one of the Islamist group’s most serious attacks in months.