NewsHappened at night: Crisis looms in Congo, Bosnian leader faces charges, pope stable
Happened at night: Crisis looms in Congo, Bosnian leader faces charges, pope stable
It happened while you were sleeping. Here is what world agencies reported overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
- The Democratic Republic of the Congo has requested any form of military assistance from Chad in the fight against the M23 rebels, reported the Congolese portal Actualite. On Tuesday, Didier Mazenga, the special representative of President Felix Tshisekedi of the DR Congo, traveled to N’Djamena to meet with Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno. Mazenga urgently solicited help to halt the advancement of the M23 rebels. According to the Chadian portal Alwihdainfo, N'Djamena is "considering this request." Earlier in February, the President of Chad publicly supported the DR Congo in its fight against the rebels, stressing the importance of respecting its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Supported by Rwanda, the M23 forces seized Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in January and recently captured Bukavu, the capital of the neighboring South Kivu province, continuing their offensive in the eastern territories of the DR Congo.
- The Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday demanded prison terms and a ten-year ban on holding public office for the President of Republika Srpska (RS, the autonomous part of BiH) Milorad Dodik and Milos Lukić, former acting director of the RS Official Gazette. - The evidence is clear. The defendants acted with full awareness that they were obstructing the decisions of the High Representative, which is a criminal act, the prosecutor stated. The trial continues, and both have been charged with intentionally obstructing the execution of decisions by the High Representative of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt. The court has 30 days to issue a verdict. Milorad Dodik, a pro-Russian politician under American sanctions, warned on Wednesday that the court's decision could have "deadly consequences for Bosnia and Herzegovina."
- After years of exile, Syrian Jews visit Damascus. Reuters accompanied one family. For the first time in three decades, Rabbi Joseph Hamra and his son Henry read a Torah scroll in a synagogue in the heart of Syria's capital, Damascus. They carefully ran their thumbs over the handwritten text, still overwhelmed by the sense of being at home. Father and son fled Syria in the 1990s after then-President Hafez al-Assad lifted the travel ban imposed on the country’s historic Jewish community, which had struggled for decades with restrictions such as bans on owning property and taking jobs. However, in December, Assad's son and successor as president, Bashar al-Assad, was overthrown, and the Hamra family, like many others, began planning a once-unthinkable visit to Damascus with the help of the Syrian Task Force for Syrian Emergency Situations, an American humanitarian organization.
- We had a deal based on rare earth and things, but they broke that deal… they broke it two days ago, said the President of the USA, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, again referring to the Ukrainian President as a "dictator". Trump also stated that Zelensky could attend the USA and Russia talks in Riyadh.
- The Holy See's Press Office released another statement regarding the health of the Holy Father. It informs that his condition is stable and blood test results show a slight improvement. The Pope is in the hospital due to an infection and bronchitis.
