Serge Atlaoui is expected to be transferred after an agreement was reached with the government in Paris, Yusril Ihza Mahendra says
A French man who has been on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for alleged drug offences is expected to return home in weeks after an Indonesian minister said an agreement would be signed on Friday to allow his transfer.
Serge Atlaoui is expected to return to France on 5 or 6 February, the senior minister for law and human rights affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, told Reuters on Friday.
Trump says Opec should cut oil prices to starve Russia of war funding; Ukraine evacuating children from towns in Kharkiv region. What we know on day 1,066
Russian crews were responding to an air attack in the Ryazan region south-east of Moscow over Thursday night. Social media channels posted videos of what appeared to be very large blazes in the city and said a major oil refinery and a power station had been hit by Ukrainian drones. The Ryazan governor, Pavel Markov, said air defence units destroyed drones. The Moscow mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said air defences intercepted attacks by Ukrainian drones at four locations around Russia’s capital and more drones headed for the capital.
Donald Trump has told the Davos World Economic Forum conference that he wants to meet Vladimir Putin soon and “stop this ridiculous war”. Trump, who has threatened to impose punitive measures on Russia if no deal is reached, said: “I really would like to be able to meet with President Putin soon to get that war ended … And that’s not from the standpoint of economy or anything else. It’s from the standpoint of millions of lives are being wasted … It’s a carnage. And we really have to stop that war.”
Heather Stewart writes that in his online address to Davos, the US president accused the Opec global oil producers of prolonging the Ukraine war by failing to cut their prices, which, if they did, would hurt Russian oil revenues and “the Russia-Ukraine war would end immediately”.
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was nothing particularly new in Trump’s threats about ending the war but Moscow was following closely “all nuances” in rhetoric and remained open to dialogue. Peskov said Trump had often applied sanctions on Russia during his first term as president.
Trump’s comments have been welcomed by Ukraine. “We do really welcome such strong messages from President Trump and we believe that he will be the winner. And we believe that we have an additional chance to get new dynamic in diplomatic efforts to end this war,” said Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha.
Russia has rejected the idea of Nato countries sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Maria Zakharova, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said it could cause an “uncontrollable escalation”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, said on Tuesday that at least 200,000 European peacekeepers would be needed to prevent a new Russian attack after any ceasefire deal.
Ukraine announced evacuations of children from several towns in the north-eastern Kharkiv region threatened by Russian forces. The Kharkiv region governor, Oleg Synegubov, said “267 children and their families are to be evacuated from 16 settlements to safe places”. Synegubov said the towns and villages affected were near Kupiansk, a town Russia has tried to capture for months where fighting is raging around its outskirts. “The decision was made due to the intensified hostile shelling. We urge families with minors to save their lives and leave the dangerous areas,” Synegubov said.
Ukraine is in the final stages of drafting recruitment reforms to attract 18- to 25-year-olds who are currently exempt from mobilisation, the battlefield commander recently appointed to the president’s office said. Col Pavlo Palisa said the current drafting system inherited from Soviet times was hindering progress. Though Ukraine has already passed a mobilisation law lowering the age of conscription from 27 to 25, the measures have not had the impact needed to replenish its ranks or replace battlefield losses in its war with Russia.
One initiative is what Palisa described as an “honest contract” that includes financial incentives, clear guarantees for training, and measures to ensure dialogue between soldiers and their commanders. The plan would also target Ukrainians who have the right to deferment or were discharged after the mobilisation law was passed. “As of now, my view is that we need to start an open dialogue with society,” Palisa said. “Because the defence of the state is not only the responsibility of the armed forces. It is the duty of every Ukrainian citizen, and it is their obligation.”
Andrews' dropped pass cost Baltimore in playoff loss
Longtime tight end breaks silence with Instagram post
Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews has been the subject of fan ire since he dropped a pass with 1:33 remaining that would have tied the AFC divisional round game against the Buffalo Bills late in the fourth quarter last Sunday.
He remained quiet until Thursday, when Andrews finally addressed the 27-25 loss in an emotional message posted to Instagram that acknowledged both his regret and his resolve to move on.
Executive order signed by Trump, which was to take effect on 19 February, is already the subject of five lawsuits
A federal judge in Seattle blocked Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from implementing an executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the US, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional”.
US district judge John Coughenour at the urging of four Democratic-led states issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from enforcing the order, which the Republican president signed on Monday during his first day on office.
Spanish Town brought to standstill amid gunfire on streets after police kill Othneil ‘Thickman’ Lobban
Schools and businesses in a Jamaican city have been closed and taxis and buses stopped running after the police shooting of a powerful gang boss prompted a violent backlash.
Gunfire echoed throughout Spanish Town on Thursday and at least one business was burned hours after police shot dead Othneil “Thickman” Lobban, whom they described as a top leader of the One Order gang.
Settlement resolves thousands of lawsuits alleging Oxycontin caused addiction crisis
The Sackler family, which owns the OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has agreed to pay up to $7.4bn in a settlement to lawsuits arising from the opioid epidemic.
The sprawling deal, agreed between Purdue Pharma, Sackler family members involved in its ownership, thousands of victims of the opioid crisis, and state and local governments, is among the largest settlements of its kind.
Napoli are pushing to reach an agreement with Manchester United over Alejandro Garnacho but their hopes of signing the winger could be derailed by Chelsea.
Garnacho’s agents attended Chelsea’s win over Wolves this week and the Argentinian’s future remains up in the air. Napoli have identified the 20-year-old as a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has joined Paris Saint-Germain, but are yet to agree a fee. The Italian club have looked at Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi as an alternative.
Hughes fire near Castaic Lake broke out on Wednesday and led to evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000
Firefighters fought to maintain the upper hand on a huge and rapidly moving wildfire that swept through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles and resulted in more than 50,000 people being put under evacuation orders or warnings.
The Hughes fire broke out late Wednesday morning and in less than a day had charred nearly 16 sq miles (41 sq km) of trees and brush near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64km) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.
The US president has singled out China during his complaints about the Panama canal – so what influence does Beijing have?
Donald Trump has repeatedly complained about the Panama Canal and the fees being charged, calling the vital transport corridor a “foolish gift [to Panama] that should never have been made” and threatening to take it back.
But he has also repeatedly accused China of being in control of it. At his inauguration Trump claimed without providing evidence that “China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama and we’re taking it back.”
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have released the crew of the Galaxy Leader more than a year after they seized the Bahamas-flagged vessel off the Yemeni Red Sea coast, Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV has reported.
It said on Wednesday the crew were handed to Oman “in coordination” with the three-day-old ceasefire in Gaza’s war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
All US federal employees working in diversity offices must be put on paid leave by Wednesday evening, the Trump administration has ordered, after instructing government agencies to shut down the programs.
“Send a notification to all employees of DEIA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility) offices that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately as the agency takes steps to close/end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs,” said a US office of personnel management memo.
Hughes fire ignites north of Los Angeles late Wednesday morning as Eaton and Palisades fires burn for third week
Additional evacuations were ordered for residents near a large fast-moving wildfire north of Los Angeles, as parched southern California endured another round of dangerous winds ahead of possible rain over the weekend.
The Hughes fire broke out late on Wednesday morning and quickly ripped through more than 9,400 acres (3,760ha), sending up an enormous plume of dark smoke near Castaic Lake, a popular recreation area about 40 miles (64 km) from the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that are burning for a third week.
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