A French Foreign Legion soldier who was fighting in Mali died on Friday from his injuries in an IED attack, the Élysée Palace announced in a press release on Saturday.

Brigadier Dymyto Martynyouk was struck by an improvised explosive device during an “operation against terrorist groups” on April 23, the French presidential office said.

He died at the Percy military hospital near Paris, where he had been airlifted for treatment. President Emmanuel Macron expressed “profound respect” for his “sacrifice”, the statement continued.

In a separate statement, the armed forces chief of staff said a French tank truck was struck by a roadside bomb, wounding two soldiers in the vehicle.

This brings France’s death toll for its military campaign in the Sahel – a vast, semi-arid region just south of the Sahara Desert – to 42.

France started its military operations there in 2013, after Mali asked it to help regain territory seized by Islamist extremists who had hijacked a Touareg rebellion in the country’s northern desert regions the previous year.

The French military succeeded in this initial task – but the jihadist insurgency has since spread throughout Mali and across the border to Niger and Burkina Faso.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS, AFP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he may be seriously ill.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim attended the ceremony Friday in Sunchon with other senior officials, including his sister Kim Yo Jong, who many analysts predict would take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.

State media showed videos and photos of Kim wearing a black Mao suit and constantly smiling, walking around facilities, applauding, cutting a huge red ribbon with a scissor handed by his sister, and smoking inside and outside of buildings while talking with other officials.

Seemingly thousands of workers, many of them masked, stood in lines at the massive complex, roaring in celebration and releasing balloons into the air. A sign installed on a stage where Kim sat with other senior officials read: “Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory; Completion Ceremony; May 1, 2020.”

There were no clear signs that Kim was in discomfort. He was shown moving without a walking stick, like the one he used in 2014 when he was recovering from a presumed ankle surgery. However, he was also seen riding a green electric cart, which appeared similar to a vehicle he used in 2014.

It was Kim’s first public appearance since April 11, when he presided over a ruling Workers’ Party meeting to discuss the coronavirus and reappoint his sister as an alternate member of the powerful decision-making Political Bureau of the party’s Central Committee. That move confirmed her substantial role in the government.

Speculation about his health swirled after he missed the April 15 birthday celebration for his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, the country’s most important holiday, for the first time since taking power in 2011.

The possibility of high-level instability raised troubling questions about the future of the secretive, nuclear-armed state that has been steadily building an arsenal meant to threaten the U.S. mainland while diplomacy between Kim and President Donald Trump has stalled.

Some experts say South Korea, as well as its regional neighbors and ally Washington, must begin preparing for the possible chaos that could come if Kim is sidelined by health problems or even dies. Worst-case scenarios include North Korean refugees flooding South Korea or China or military hard-liners letting loose nuclear weapons.

“The world is largely unprepared for instability in North Korea,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “Washington, Seoul and Tokyo need tighter coordination on contingency plans while international organizations need more resources and less controversy over the role of China.”

South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which deals with inter-Korean affairs, confirmed Kim’s visit to the fertilizer factory and said it was part of his efforts to emphasize economic development. The ministry called for discretion on information related to North Korea, saying that the “groundless” rumors of past weeks have caused “unnecessary confusion and cost” for South Korea’s society and financial markets.

South Korea’s government, which has a mixed record of tracking Pyongyang’s ruling elite, repeatedly downplayed speculation that Kim, believed to be 36, was in poor health following surgery.

The office of President Moon Jae-in said it detected no unusual signs in North Korea or any emergency reaction by its ruling party, military and cabinet. Seoul said it believed Kim was still managing state affairs but staying at an unspecified location outside Pyongyang.

The KCNA said workers at the fertilizer factory broke into “thunderous cheers” for Kim, who it said is guiding the nation in a struggle to build a self-reliant economy in the face of “head wind” by “hostile forces.”

The report didn’t mention any direct comment toward Washington or Seoul. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump declined to comment about Kim’s reappearance but said he would “have something to say about it at the appropriate time.”

Unhealthy habits

State media reported Kim was carrying out routine activities outside public view, such as sending greetings to the leaders of Syria, Cuba and South Africa and expressing gratitude to workers building tourist facilities in the coastal town of Wonsan, where some speculated he was staying.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused Kim’s absence in past weeks. In 2014, Kim vanished from the public eye for nearly six weeks and then reappeared with a cane. South Korea’s spy agency said he had a cyst removed from his ankle.

Analysts say his health could become an increasing factor in years ahead: he’s overweight, smokes and drinks, and has a family history of heart issues.

If he’s suddenly unable to rule, some analysts said his sister would be installed as leader to continue Pyongyang’s heredity dynasty that began after World War II.

But others question whether core members of North Korea’s elite, mostly men in their 60s or 70s, would find it hard to accept a young and untested female leader who lacks military credentials. Some predict a collective leadership or violent power struggles.

Following an unusually provocative run in missile and nuclear tests in 2017, Kim used the Winter Olympics in South Korea to initiate negotiations with Washington and Seoul in 2018. That led to a surprising series of summits, including three between Kim and Trump.

But negotiations have faltered in past months over disagreements in exchanging sanctions relief and disarmament steps, which raised doubts about whether Kim would ever fully deal away an arsenal he likely sees as his strongest guarantee of survival.

Kim entered 2020 vowing to build up his nuclear stockpile and defeat sanctions through economic “self-reliance.” Some experts say the North’s self-imposed lockdown amid the coronavirus crisis could potentially hamper his ability to mobilize people for labor.

(AP)

Americans appear to be losing faith in what President Donald Trump says about the coronavirus pandemic, with almost everyone rejecting Trump’s remark that COVID-19 may be treated by injecting infected people with bleach or other disinfectants, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

The April 27-28 public opinion poll found that fewer than half of all adults in the US – 47% – said they were “very” or “somewhat” likely to follow recommendations Trump makes about the virus. That is 15 percentage points lower than the number who said they would follow Trump’s advice in a survey that ran at the end of March.

And 98% of Americans said they would not try to inject themselves with bleach or other disinfectants if they got the coronavirus, including 98% of Democrats and 98% of Republicans. That is a near-unanimous rejection of an idea that Trump floated at a time of widespread anxiety about the virus.

A majority of Americans said they were concerned about how the coronavirus is spreading, according to the poll, as the number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 1 million people in the United States this week, killing more than 56,000.

Trump publicly mused about the benefits of “cleaning” COVID-19 patients on the insides with disinfectants or ultraviolet light during a news conference last week, directing health officials in the room to look into it.

Medical experts immediately condemned the president’s suggestion, and the makers of disinfectant products warned the public against ingesting them. Trump later tried to portray his remarks as sarcasm, but given his popularity with some Americans, health officials expressed concern his remarks would persuade some people to poison themselves.

Overall, Trump’s overall popularity has not changed much over the past week. Forty-three percent of Americans said they approve of his overall job performance, and the same number also approve of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among registered voters, 44% said they would vote for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, while 40% said they would back Trump if the election were held today.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,001 adults, including 416 Democrats and 419 Republicans.

(Source: Reuters)

The United States on Tuesday recorded its one-millionth coronavirus case as countries including Spain, Russia and Nigeria took tentative steps back towards normal life by preparing to reopen some businesses.

Excitement over partial easing of the lockdowns affecting more than half of humanity has been tempered by fear of new outbreaks and growing evidence of the economic devastation wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US — where millions of jobs have gone — reached another grim milestone as it registered 58,351 deaths, a larger loss of life than recorded by the US military in the Vietnam War.

The overall US case load rose to 1,011,877 in a public health disaster that could threaten President Donald Trump’s re-election chances.

But some countries have reported falling infection numbers, and governments have begun to chart their way out of the shutdowns.

France said Tuesday that shops, markets and selected schools could reopen next month, with face masks required on public transport and work-from-home orders staying in place for several more weeks.

Prime Minister Edouard Phillippe admitted even a gradual return to normal life was “risky.”

Spain said restrictions would be slowly lifted over the next two months, while Italians will be able to exercise outdoors and visit relatives from next week — but only if they wear masks and refrain from hugs and handshakes.

Italy, Spain and France have been the worst affected countries in Europe, with each reporting more than 23,000 deaths.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin warned that the peak of coronavirus infections still lay ahead, saying “the situation remains very difficult.”

But he nonetheless said lockdown measures could be eased from next month.

Data on infection rates has shown mixed results in Germany, which is being closely watched after allowing some shops to reopen last week.

“We all need to take care that we don’t end up with more infections,” said Lothar Wieler, president of the Robert Koch Institute for disease control.

‘The cries of the people’

Experts have warned of a second wave of contagion if restrictions are lifted too hastily, and the World Health Organization has said reinfection may be possible even among recovered patients.

In Nigeria’s largest city Lagos, bus driver Taju Olonade told AFP a decision to ease the lockdown showed that authorities had finally listened “to the cries of the people.”

“For almost one month I have not earned a penny,” he said. “I hope life will soon return to normal.”

The new coronavirus has killed at least 214,451 people since the outbreak first emerged in China in December, according to a tally compiled by AFP at 1900 GMT on Tuesday.

More than three million cases have been registered in 193 countries and territories, although the official tally is widely thought to lag far behind the actual figures.

The United States, which on Tuesday recorded a further 2,207 deaths in 24 hours, has seen by far the highest number of fatalities.

Trump has increasingly sought to blame China, but China pushed back fiercely on Tuesday, accusing US politicians of “barefaced lies.”

“They have only one objective: shirk their responsibility for their own poor epidemic prevention and control measures,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.

Beijing and Washington have clashed repeatedly over the outbreak.

It seems to be under control in China with no new deaths reported for 13 straight days and the death toll standing at 4,633 — although much doubt has been cast on whether the numbers are accurate.

Shattered economies

Anger at the global economic paralysis has intensified in recent weeks, and anti-government protesters took to the streets in Lebanon on Tuesday in defiance of a lockdown.

“I came down to raise my voice against hunger, poverty and rising prices,” Khaled, 41, told AFP, saying he had lost his job selling motorcycle parts and could no longer support his three children.

In the latest sign of big business woes, British Airways is set to slash up to 12,000 jobs, its parent company said. The carrier, which has approximately 45,000 employees, has already furloughed nearly 23,000 staff.

Despite other European countries moving towards reopening schools and shops, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was too early for the UK to follow suit.

That was in contrast to New Zealand, where people enjoyed fast food and coffee shop treats for the first time in five weeks after the country lifted its strict lockdown.

“We see the difference in other countries and I don’t envy them, that’s for sure,” said Wellington resident Cheryl Robertson, who planned to celebrate her newfound freedom with a curry.

In Australia, hundreds of surfers and swimmers rushed back to the waves at Bondi Beach in Sydney, five weeks after police closed the area because of large crowds flouting social distancing rules.

“I’ve been excited for like a week,” Diane Delaurens told AFP, dripping after an early-morning surf.

However, there is not yet a vaccine for the disease and Britain issued a warning of coronavirus-related syndrome emerging in children — including abdominal pain and inflammation around the heart.

“What I would also stress is that it is rare. Although it is very significant for those children who do get it, the number of cases is small,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

In Tokyo, organisers said that the postponed 2020 Olympics will have to be canceled next year if the pandemic isn’t brought under control.

In Latin America, Brazil emerged as a new hotspot with 5,000 deaths so far — more than China’s — while nine inmates were killed when rioting broke out at a prison in Lima, Peru after two inmates died from COVID-19.

Source: AFP