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Iran Christian Prisoners Get Rare 10-Day Holiday Leave

A prison guard stands along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison, Iran, June 13, 2006. (Reuters Photo)
A prison guard stands along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison, Iran, June 13, 2006. (Reuters Photo)
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Iran Christian Prisoners Get Rare 10-Day Holiday Leave

A prison guard stands along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison, Iran, June 13, 2006. (Reuters Photo)
A prison guard stands along a corridor in Tehran's Evin prison, Iran, June 13, 2006. (Reuters Photo)

The head of Iran's judiciary on Sunday granted Christian prisoners 10 days' liberty to spend the holidays with families, in a rare move towards the minority community.

Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei instructed authorities across the country to issue the dispensation, according to the judiciary's Mizan Online website.

"The decision is to mark the New Year 2022 and the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ," the website said.

Mizan Online did not say how many Christian prisoners will benefit from the furlough, or when the 10-day period starts.

It said, however, that inmates convicted for undermining security, organized crime, abductions, armed robberies and those sentenced to death would be exempted.

According to local media, Christians represent just one percent of Iran's total population of 83 million, the majority of whom are Shiite Muslims.

Most Christians in Iran are Armenians who celebrate Christmas on January 6, the day of the Epiphany.

Around that time of year, some shops in Tehran and major cities put up decorations, including Christmas trees while people dressed up as Santa Claus stand outside stores.

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei often grants amnesty to prisoners or reduces their sentences to mark Muslim holidays.

But it is rare for Iranian authorities to announce such measures concerning members of the Islamic republic's Christian minority.

This year Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited the Tehran home of the family of a Christian Armenian "martyr" who died in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war on Christmas Eve, the official IRNA news agency reported.

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World

Milei Takes Office as Argentina Braces for Economic Reforms

Javier Milei has said his first set of measures will be presented to parliament in a matter of days. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP
Javier Milei has said his first set of measures will be presented to parliament in a matter of days. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP
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Milei Takes Office as Argentina Braces for Economic Reforms

Javier Milei has said his first set of measures will be presented to parliament in a matter of days. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP
Javier Milei has said his first set of measures will be presented to parliament in a matter of days. JUAN MABROMATA / AFP

Javier Milei will on Sunday be sworn in as Argentina's president, as the country steels itself for harsh spending cuts and economic reforms aimed at curbing rampant inflation.
The 53-year-old libertarian economist has vowed there will be no "half-measures" as he tackles decades of overspending, debt, and convoluted currency controls in Latin America's third-biggest economy, AFP reported.
The inauguration ceremony in Buenos Aires is bringing together a diverse handful of world leaders, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- the only EU leader who has maintained close ties to the Kremlin.
Chile's leftist leader Gabriel Boric and the King of Spain Felipe VI are also attending, as is Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro.
After taking the oath of office, Milei will give his first speech as president from the steps of parliament. He will later swear in a cabinet of nine ministers -- a major slimdown from the current 18.
He has said his first set of measures will be presented to parliament in a matter of days.
Milei's inauguration caps a meteoric rise for the former television panelist who entered politics only two years ago after grabbing public attention with his rants against the "thieving" establishment.
With his deliberately disheveled mop of hair and rock star persona, he would wave a powered-up chainsaw at political rallies, vowing to slash public spending and a bloated cabinet.
He vowed to "dynamite" the central bank, replace the ailing peso with the US dollar, and ditch key government ministries.
His red-faced fury struck a chord with voters fed up with economic crisis -- a phenomenon as Argentine as Malbec or the tango.
'Lights all flashing red'
Inflation has hit almost 140 percent year-on-year and 40 percent of the population lives in poverty.
"Like many of his predecessors, Milei will take office with the warning lights all flashing red," said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Argentina Project at the Washington-based Wilson Center.
But for Argentines, the future is mired in uncertainty over what exactly their new president plans to do.
With few lawmakers in Congress the hard reality of politics has quickly set in, and Milei has softened many of his stances, and allied with politicians he previously insulted, incorporating some into his cabinet.
Talk of shutting the Central Bank, dollarization, and welfare cuts have dissipated.
"Milei 2.0 will still face an uphill climb, but he appears to have adopted a more pragmatic agenda and sought the advice of more experienced political figures," said Gedan.
However, with central bank reserves in the red and no credit line Milei is facing "bare cupboards," added the analyst.
"His rescue strategy, including a rapid downsizing of the government, will be tough to swallow for a long-suffering population. Either way, the next few months will almost certainly see social and political turmoil."
'Stagflation'
Among the questions hanging over Argentines' heads in the coming days will be whether Milei will devaluate the strictly controlled peso and loosen the currency controls which have birthed a multitude of dollar exchanges.
Economist Victor Beker of the University of Belgrano said the first "litmus test" for Milei will be if he actually halts the money printing by the Central Bank that he has so derided, which funds much of the government's spending.
Milei has warned that it could take between 18 and 24 months to bring the country's inflation under control, warning of months of rising prices coupled with economic stagnation.
"There is going to be stagflation, because when you do a fiscal reordering, it will have a negative impact on economic activity," he added.
For 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a contraction of 2.5 percent in Argentine GDP.
Milei has said his first priority was eliminating the budget deficit -- 2.4 percent of GDP at the end of 2022 -- by the end of next year.
Many Argentines are worried about what comes next.
"I think inflation will continue, perhaps worse than before. I see nothing good in the future," said Martina Soto, 66, ahead of the inauguration.

World

Philippines, China Trade Accusations over South China Sea Collision

This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
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Philippines, China Trade Accusations over South China Sea Collision

This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This frame grab taken from video footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) via AFPTV on December 9, 2023 shows a Chinese Coast Guard ship (R) using a water cannon on a Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)

The Philippines and China traded accusations on Sunday over a collision of their vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.
The Philippine coast guard accused China of firing water cannons and ramming resupply vessels and a coast guard ship, causing "serious engine damage" to one, while China's coast guard said the Philippine vessel intentionally rammed its ship, Reuters said.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China's claims had no legal basis.
Beijing and Manila have been playing cat-and-mouse around the uninhabited Second Thomas Shoal in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone when the Philippines deploys resupply missions for Filipino soldiers living aboard an aging warship deliberately run aground in 1999 to protect Manila's maritime claims.
The shoal is part of what are known internationally as the Spratly Islands.
On Saturday, the Philippines accused China of "illegal and aggressive actions" by China for firing water cannon at a civilian-operated government fishing vessel, a move Beijing called legitimate "control measures".
In Sunday's incident, China's coast guard said in a statement that two Philippine vessels, ignoring repeated warnings, had "illegally entered the waters adjacent to Ren'ai Reef in the Nansha Islands without the approval of the Chinese government."
It said the Unaizah Mae 1 "made an unprofessional and dangerous sudden turn, intentionally ramming into China Coast Guard vessel 21556." It said the Philippine side bore full responsibility.
Philippine coast guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela posted on the social media platform X that the "M/L Kalayaan suffered serious engine damage. Contrary to China Coast Guard disinformation, UM1 rammed by CCG vessel."
A Philippine government task force condemned "China's latest unprovoked acts of coercion and dangerous maneuvers against a legitimate and routine" resupply mission. China's action "puts into question and significant doubt the sincerity of its calls for peaceful dialogue", it said in a statement.
The National Task Force-West Philippine Sea said a coast guard ship was towing the Kalayaan back to Palawan province and that coast guard vessel BRP Cabra had "suffered damage to its mast after being directly targeted by the full strength of the water cannon".
US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson posted on X that China's "aggression undermines regional stability in defiance of a free and open Indo-Pacific".
Around 200 Philippine fishermen, youth leaders and civil society groups have joined a Christmas mission to the area, organized by the Atin Ito ("This is ours") a civilian-led network asserting the country's rights in the South China Sea.
Ten fishing boats have decided to pull out as they "erred on the side of caution", the group said on Sunday.

World

University of Pennsylvania President Resigns after Antisemitism Testimony

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill (Reuters)
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill (Reuters)
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University of Pennsylvania President Resigns after Antisemitism Testimony

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill (Reuters)
University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill (Reuters)

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, who came under fire for her stance on antisemitism on campus, has resigned, the Ivy League school said on Saturday.

Magill was one of three top university presidents who were criticized after they testified at a congressional hearing on Tuesday about a rise in antisemitism on college campuses following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October.

She has agreed to stay on until an interim president is appointed, Scott Bok, chair of the Philadelphia-based university's board of trustees, said on Saturday in a statement posted on the university's website. Bok also stepped down.

“I write to share that President Liz Magill has voluntarily tendered her resignation as President of the University of Pennsylvania,” Bok said in the announcement released by the university. Magill will remain a tenured faculty member at the university's law school, Bok said.

Magill, Harvard University President Claudine Gay, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth testified before a US House of Representatives committee on Tuesday.

Calls for Magill's and Gay's resignations in particular mounted in the days after that testimony.

As they tried to walk a line that protected freedom of speech, they declined to give a definitive “yes” or “no” answer to Republican Representative Elise Stefanik's question of whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools' codes of conduct regarding bullying and harassment.

Jewish students, families and alumni have accused the schools of tolerating antisemitism, especially in statements by pro-Palestinian demonstrators since the Hamas Movement attacked Israel on Oct. 7. That attack prompted a massive counterattack by Israel that has left over 17,700 Palestinians dead, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Magill released a video on Wednesday in which she expressed regret, Gay apologized on Friday.

Stefanik said on social media site X that Magill's resignation was the “bare minimum of what is required” and urged Harvard and MIT to take similar action.

Antisemitism has risen sharply in the United States and elsewhere since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas.

World

Refinery Reservoirs Near Eastern Iranian City of Birjand Catch Fire

A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo/File Photo
A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo/File Photo
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Refinery Reservoirs Near Eastern Iranian City of Birjand Catch Fire

A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo/File Photo
A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo/File Photo

Refinery reservoirs located in eastern Iran's Birjand special economic zone have caught fire on Sunday, according to Iran's state media.
IRNA said firefighters have been dispatched to extinguish the fire at the mini-refinery, with smoke visible from several kilometers away, reported Reuters.
The news report didn't say what caused the fire.

World

Iranian Authorities Block Amini’s Family from Traveling

A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in front of the Iranian embassy in Brussels on Sept. 23, 2022 (AFP)
A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in front of the Iranian embassy in Brussels on Sept. 23, 2022 (AFP)
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Iranian Authorities Block Amini’s Family from Traveling

A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in front of the Iranian embassy in Brussels on Sept. 23, 2022 (AFP)
A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in front of the Iranian embassy in Brussels on Sept. 23, 2022 (AFP)

Authorities in Iran have prevented relatives of Mahsa Amini, whose September 2022 death in custody sparked nationwide anti-government protests, from leaving the country to accept the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize.

Her family's lawyer in France, Chirinne Ardakani, told AFP that Amini's parents and brother had been “prohibited from boarding the flight that was to take them to France for the presentation of the Sakharov Prize.”

She said the family were banned from leaving Iran despite having a valid visa, and their passports were confiscated.

In October, the European Union awarded its top rights honor, the Sakharov Prize, to Amini and the global movement her death triggered.

Amini died in hospital in Tehran on 16 September 2022, three days after she was detained by morality police in the capital for allegedly violating Iran's strict rules requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.

Witnesses said the 22-year-old Kurd was beaten while in custody, but authorities denied she was mistreated.

Amini's death triggered mass protests in Iran. It also generated a global movement known as “Woman, Life, Freedom.”

Iranian security forces have cracked down on the protests domestically, killing hundreds, and have executed dozens for allegedly participating in what officials have called “riots.”

Ardakani said that with the Nobel Prize being held at the same time, the Iranian authorities have never been so mobilized to prevent the families of the victims from speaking out to the international community.

When the European Union awarded the Sakharov Prize to Amini, the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola said: “The brutal murder of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini marked a turning point. It has triggered a women-led movement that is making history.”

Metsola said the movement's three-word slogan was “a rallying cry for all those standing up for equality, for dignity, and for freedom in Iran.”

World

US Govt Uses Emergency Authority to Provide Tank Shells to Israel

An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
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US Govt Uses Emergency Authority to Provide Tank Shells to Israel

An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI
An Isareli army (APC) Armored Personnel Carrier vehicle makes its way into the Gaza Strip at an undisclosed location near the border, 09 December 2023. EPA/ATEF SAFADI

The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review, the Pentagon said on Saturday.

The State Department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5 million for immediate delivery to Israel, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The shells are part of a bigger sale that was first reported by Reuters
on Friday that the Biden administration is asking the US Congress to approve. The larger package is worth more than $500 million and comprises of 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians.

As the war intensified, how and where exactly the US weapons are used in the conflict has come under more scrutiny, even though US officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it.
Rights advocates expressed concern over the sale, saying it doesn't align with Washington's effort to press Israel to minimize civilian casualties.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the United States, according to the Pentagon statement.
The sale will be from US Army inventory and consist of 120mm M830A1 High Explosive Anti-Tank Multi-Purpose with Tracer (MPAT) tank cartridges and related equipment.

World

Fire in Hospital Near Rome Kills at Least 4

People walk next to fire engines parked at the San Giovanni Evangelista hospital, following a deadly fire, in Tivoli, around 30 km from Rome, Italy December 9, 2023. Vigili del fuoco/Handout via REUTERS
People walk next to fire engines parked at the San Giovanni Evangelista hospital, following a deadly fire, in Tivoli, around 30 km from Rome, Italy December 9, 2023. Vigili del fuoco/Handout via REUTERS
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Fire in Hospital Near Rome Kills at Least 4

People walk next to fire engines parked at the San Giovanni Evangelista hospital, following a deadly fire, in Tivoli, around 30 km from Rome, Italy December 9, 2023. Vigili del fuoco/Handout via REUTERS
People walk next to fire engines parked at the San Giovanni Evangelista hospital, following a deadly fire, in Tivoli, around 30 km from Rome, Italy December 9, 2023. Vigili del fuoco/Handout via REUTERS

A fire broke out in a hospital on Rome's outskirts, killing at least four people and forcing the evacuation of the facility and its patients, officials said Saturday.

Patients in intensive care at St. John the Evangelist hospital in Tivoli were transferred immediately to other hospitals via ambulance, the Tivoli mayor’s office said in a statement. Less-critical patients were moved into a nearby municipal gymnasium pending transfer to other facilities, the Associated Press reported.

The blaze began late Friday and was eventually brought under control and four people were confirmed killed, the fire department said in a statement.

Video — released by the department — showed fire crews on ladders trying to reach the upper floors of the hospital as smoke billowed out.

World

Ukraine: Russian Missiles Kill One, Troops Press on Avdiivka

A Ukrainian soldier standing next to a military vehicle. (AP)
A Ukrainian soldier standing next to a military vehicle. (AP)
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Ukraine: Russian Missiles Kill One, Troops Press on Avdiivka

A Ukrainian soldier standing next to a military vehicle. (AP)
A Ukrainian soldier standing next to a military vehicle. (AP)

Russian warplanes fired 19 long-range missiles at targets in Ukraine on Friday, killing one civilian in a central region, wounding eight and damaging an industrial facility and power lines, Ukrainian officials said.

On the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line in the war against Russia, Ukrainian officials said Moscow's forces pressed on with a drive to encircle the shattered eastern town of Avdiivka.

Officials also reported heavy battles in the northeast near Kupiansk, a town seized by Russian forces soon after their February 2022 invasion but later retaken by Ukraine.

The missile strike on Friday morning was the first big salvo Russia has fired at targets, including the Ukrainian capital, in weeks. Russia has mainly been using drones for its overnight attacks, according to Reuters.

One person was killed and eight injured in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on the Telegram messaging app. Two wounded were in serious condition.

Air defenses shot down 14 incoming missiles over the region outside Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk region, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in televised comments.

The strike damaged power lines, an unnamed industrial facility and more than 20 homes in the towns of Pavlohrad and Ternivka and two villages, Lysak said. Images from the site, posted on social media, showed buildings with damaged rooftops and shattered windows.

Russia used seven Tu-95 bombers to launch missiles at different regions across the country, the air force said.

Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said the Ukrainian capital had been targeted but that all the missiles were downed by air defenses as they approached.

Missile debris smashed windows and walls in private homes in the Kyiv region, Governor Ruslan Kravchenko said, with air alerts in force for two hours. Officials reported an earlier overnight missile attack on the northeastern Kharkiv region.

- PRESSING ON DEFENSIVE LINES

In Avdiivka, dominated by a vast coking plant, Ukraine's general staff said its forces had repelled 32 enemy attacks.

The head of the military administration in the town, less than 12 km (eight miles) from the outskirts of the Moscow-held regional capital of Donetsk, said Russian forces were "pressing on the entire defensive line around the town".

Moscow's forces have been inching forward on the flanks to try to cut supply lines.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Russian forces had suffered heavy losses around the town. He told national television Russian forces had dropped about 450 aerial bombs in the region and were bringing in reserves.

The Russian Defense Ministry rarely mentions Avdiivka in its reports, but the war blog Rybar said on Friday that battles were raging by the coking plant and near Stepove village north of the city. Rybar acknowledged that the front was all but unchanged.

Further north, Ukrainian military spokesperson Volodymyr Fitio said Russian forces were deploying more reserves in a drive on the village of Synkivka - seen as a foothold on any attempt to retake Kupiansk, 14 km (nine miles) distant.

World

French Prosecutors Order Le Pen to Stand Trial in EU Funding Scandal

Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen - Reuters
Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen - Reuters
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French Prosecutors Order Le Pen to Stand Trial in EU Funding Scandal

Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen - Reuters
Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen - Reuters

French prosecutors on Friday ordered far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen to stand trial over claims she used EU funds to finance party activities in France.

The former presidential candidate will in March be joined by 26 other members of the National Rally (RN) party in the dock, all accused of setting up a system for embezzling EU money to hire staff in France, AFP reported.

The fake jobs inquiry began in 2015, with prosecutors alleging that starting in 2004, National Front eurodeputies including Le Pen took part in the fake jobs scheme.

The accused include Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the co-founder of what became France’s most successful far-right party.

The party itself, as a legal entity, is suspected of receiving illicit funds, and of complicity in fraud.

Marine Le Pen was runner-up to Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections and could have another go in 2027. She was president of her party until 2021, and now leads its parliamentary group.

The charges against her are embezzlement and collusion in fraud.

The decision to go to trial was taken by two investigating magistrates from France’s financial crimes prosecuting unit.

The group is accused of using EU parliamentary funds to pay for assistants who in fact worked for the National Rally party, formerly called the National Front.

Le Pen, who stepped down as an MEP in 2017 after her election to the French parliament, has denied the claims.

The charges carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to double the alleged funds embezzled.

If convicted, the court could also declare Le Pen ineligible for office for up to 10 years – threatening her plan to make a fourth run for the French presidency.

The EU Parliament estimated in 2018 that 6.8 million euros ($7.3 million at today’s rates) had been embezzled from 2009 to 2017.

World

US, SKorea and Japan to Step Up Actions on NKorean Cyberthreats

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, center, speaks at a joint news conference with South Korea's National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, right, and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary-General Takeo Akiba at the presidential office, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, center, speaks at a joint news conference with South Korea's National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, right, and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary-General Takeo Akiba at the presidential office, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)
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US, SKorea and Japan to Step Up Actions on NKorean Cyberthreats

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, center, speaks at a joint news conference with South Korea's National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, right, and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary-General Takeo Akiba at the presidential office, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, center, speaks at a joint news conference with South Korea's National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong, right, and Japan's National Security Secretariat Secretary-General Takeo Akiba at the presidential office, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

The United States, South Korea and Japan have agreed on new initiatives to respond to North Korea's threats in cyberspace, including satellite launches and cryptocurrency abuses, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday.
The national security advisers of the United States, South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Saturday as Pyongyang warned that it would deploy more spy satellites.
Sullivan said the meeting followed up on commitments set forth at the Camp David trilateral summit hosted by US President Joe Biden in August, where leaders of the three allies pledged to deepen security and economic cooperation.
"We've also launched new trilateral initiatives to counter the threats posed by the DPRK, from its cybercrime and cryptocurrency money laundering to its reckless space and ballistic missile tests," Sullivan told reporters, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The allies' coordinated efforts would also target potential threats of economic coercion, Reuters quoted Sullivan as saying, and they have finalized work on a supply chain early warning system, agreed to at Camp David, in critical minerals and rechargeable batteries.
The Biden administration held the meeting at Camp David with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to project unity in the face of China's growing power and nuclear threats from North Korea.
North Korean state media said on Saturday that Pyongyang was determined to launch more spy satellites soon, calling space development part of its right to defend itself.
After talks with Sullivan and Japan's Takeo Akiba, South Korean national security adviser Cho Tae-yong said the three had also exchanged ideas on Ukraine and Middle East issues.