Six In The Morning Friday 28 January 2022

 

Ukraine-Russia crisis: How soon might a war be and what would it look like?

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

Updated 1116 GMT (1916 HKT) January 28, 2022

The Ukraine crisis is the classic case of a known unknown: We know that we don't know what Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to do as he amasses troops on the Ukrainian border.

So how imminent is the threat of a full-scale war? Some fears appear to have receded slightly following key talks that included Russian and Ukrainian officials. But the Pentagon also says the Russian troop buildup continues, and President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on a call Thursday that there was a distinct possibility Russia could launch an invasion in February, according to National Security Council Spokesperson Emily Horne.

Zelensky, however, restated his position that the threat from Russia remains "dangerous but ambiguous," and it is not certain that an attack will take place, a senior Ukrainian official told CNN. Diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis continue.

‘We just sleep and hope we don’t perish’: 2m in Tigray in urgent need of food – UN

Aid workers call for ‘humanitarian pause’ so crucial supplies can be delivered, after first assessment of hunger in the region since war broke out

Lizzy Davies

Fri 28 Jan 2022 12.05 GMT

At least 2 million people in the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray are suffering from an extreme lack of food, with the 15-month conflict between rebel and government forces pushing families to the brink, the UN’s emergency food agency has found.

In the first comprehensive assessment the World Food Programme (WFP) has carried out in Tigray since the start of the war, 37% of the population were found to be severely food insecure, meaning they had at times run out of food and gone a day or more without eating.

Families were found to be “exhausting all means to feed themselves”, with 13% of Tigrayan children under five and almost two-thirds of pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from malnutrition.

‘Not just about Ukraine’: Why Romania is one of Kiev’s strongest supporters in Russia dispute

Some European nations have been criticised for their lack of support for Ukraine, but not Romania, which has its own security fears about any conflict with Russia

Borzou Daragahi

in Bucharest

The crisis in Ukraine is prompting Romania to take on a more active military and security role in eastern Europe than at any time in its recent history, providing support to both Kiev and its Nato allies.

Bucharest has in recent days publicly welcomed possible deployments of American and French troops to bolster a contingent of nearly 1,000 United States military personnel already in the country at several bases, including a sophisticated Aegis Ashore Missile Defence station in the southern city of Deveselu.

Romania has for several years been providing Ukraine with cybersecurity backing, intensified talks with Kiev on strengthening naval security cooperation in the Black Sea and given Ukraine what one former foreign affairs adviser called “unconditional political support” as it confronts a potential incursion by Russia.

India: Why are some men threatening 'marriage strike'?

The proponents of "marriage strike" controversially argue that criminalizing marital rape would make marriage a dangerous institution and result in baseless criminal charges against them.

A section of Indian men has taken to social media platforms to lobby against the criminalization of marital rape. This comes as a court in the country's capital Delhi hears a petition against marriage-linked exemptions in the nation's laws against rape.   

While India has enacted strict anti-rape laws over the last decade, it finds itself on one of the less sought-after global lists: a list of over 30 countries where a husband cannot be prosecuted for raping his wife.

Under the current criminal code, rape is defined as sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent, against her will or if she is a minor. There are a few exemptions to this, including medical interventions or procedures, no physical resistance, and sexual intercourse between a man and his wife, who is older than 18 years of age.

Security in the Sahel: Is the Takuba Task Force still welcome in Mali?

While Paris was counting on the strengthening of the Takuba counter-terrorism force in the Sahel region to compensate for the drawdown of soldiers from its former Operation Barkhane, Denmark announced on Thursday that it would withdraw its troops from Mali at the request of the ruling junta. Does this mark the beginning of the end for the Takuba Task Force?

The military junta in power in Bamako has dealt a serious blow to this coalition of European special forces (supported at arm's length by France) by securing the departure of a hundred Danish soldiers.

"The generals in power have sent a clear message that Denmark is not welcome in Mali," said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, after a meeting in parliament Thursday confirming the withdrawal of troops.

48 bullets in two minutes

Five years on, Quebec mosque attack still haunts Muslim community

By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours

Published On 28 Jan 202228 Jan 2022

Mohamed Labidi stops under the archway, his feet on the edge of the rich red carpet that extends across the main prayer room of the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre. "He didn't cross this line," says Labidi. "He always fired from here."

Labidi was not at the mosque when a gunman shot into this room from the exact spot where the Muslim community leader is now standing. But he knows where worshippers took cover, where survivors were injured, and where victims were fatally gunned down. The date it all happened - January 29, 2017 - remains etched in his mind.

"That's the spot where people were hiding," Labidi tells Al Jazeera, pointing to the mihrab, an enclave used by the imam to lead prayers. "Brother Hassane, he fell here," he says, walking across the room, before pausing at another corner: "Brother Thabti, he fell near that post."