The US Senate has released a bipartisan agreement on the law for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and funds for the migrant crisis at the southern border of the United States. The 118 billion dollar agreement includes stricter rules on asylum requests, the condition that the Republicans had set to give the green light to other aid. If passed by Congress, it would be the most aggressive border security and immigration law in decades. According to American security advisor Jake Sullivan, the agreement on the hostages kidnapped in Gaza is not around the corner.
Ukraine: Zelensky at the village of Robotyne, on the southern front
14:00
Russia: Ankara confirms Putin’s visit to Türkiye, focus on wheat
Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon visit Turkey. The Turkish Foreign Minister confirmed this, underlining that a central theme of the talks between Putin and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be a new way to allow exports of Ukrainian wheat through the Black Sea. For Putin it will be the first trip to a country of NATO after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Minister Hakan Fidan, who gave an interview to private TV channel A Haber, did not mention the date of the visit, but Turkish media reported that it will take place on February 12.
13:49
Egyptian officials, 35,000 of whom have arrived from Gaza since November
A spokesperson for the Egyptian Border Authority, quoted by the Qatari media al-Araby al-Jadeed, reported that since November over 35,000 people have left the Gaza Strip and traveled to Egypt through the Rafah crossing. The figure includes around 2,000 sick and injured people who entered Egypt to receive medical treatment, as well as staff of international institutions, Egyptian passport holders and people with dual citizenship. Under normal circumstances, the official explained, around 15,000 people cross the Rafah border crossing per month, so in the space of three months (from November to January), around 45,000 people would have crossed the border.
13:41
Senegal: Internet access suspended after announcement on postponement of elections
Dakar (Senegal), 5 Feb. (LaPresse/AP) – The Senegalese government has limited access to mobile Internet after opposition protests against President Macky Sall’s decision to postpone the presidential elections of February 25. Internet access has been cut off as federal lawmakers prepare to debate a law that could extend Sall’s term by another six months.
The Ministry of Communications, Telecommunications and Digital Economy said the network was disrupted “due to the spread of several hateful and subversive messages on social networks in the context of threats and disturbances to public order.” The measure further aggravates political tensions in the country. To justify the choice, Sall referred to a dispute between the judiciary and Parliament over the exclusion of some candidates and the reporting of the dual nationality of some qualified candidates.