International
Merkel arrives for farewell visit to Greece
AFP
Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Greece on Thursday for her last official trip to a country with which she has had a fraught relationship over the years.
When Greece faced a financial crisis in 2009, Merkel and her ministers demanded huge budget cuts and drastic tax hikes in exchange for their support for bailouts of more than 300 billion euros.
At the height of the crisis in 2012, she was greeted by protesters brandishing images showing her with a Hitler moustache. Greece banned protests during later visits in 2014 and 2019.
Last month, she admitted in an interview with the Greek press that the bailout negotiations had been “the most difficult moment” of her 16 years in office.
The German tabloid Bild described Merkel as “one of the most hated women in Greece” and her trip there was a way of saying farewell to multiple crises — not only the financial meltdown but also the migrant crisis.
However, Greek officials insist that the country has transformed itself since 2015, and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the chancellor had a “special relationship” with his country.
“I think she will be the first to admit — she has already done so — that she has repeatedly asked a lot from the Greeks and that austerity went beyond what Greek society could bear,” he said last week in Brussels.
“But at the same time, it was she who went against the recommendations of her ministers to keep Greece in the eurozone.”
Merkel is due to meet Mitsotakis and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, with government sources saying she will discuss the energy crisis, the pandemic and Greece’s thorny relations with neighbouring Turkey.
International
Judge declares Donald Trump not guilty in Stormy Daniels case
Judge Juan Merchan acquitted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the case involving former porn actress Stormy Daniels.
“At this moment, I am issuing this verdict to cover all 34 charges,” Merchan stated. The judge also wished Trump good luck in his second term as president.
Trump will now become the first criminal president.
Merchan declined to impose any punishment. This decision strengthens Trump’s acquittal and clears the way for his return to the White House without the threat of prison or a fine.
“Never before has this court faced such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” Judge Merchan said.
International
Canada imposes sanctions on 14 venezuelan officials for human rights violations
Canada imposed sanctions on 14 high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan “regime” this Friday, including prominent members of the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM), for their involvement in human rights violations in Venezuela.
Among those sanctioned are DGCIM prosecutors Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante Puerta and Farik Karin Salcedo Mora; the director of criminal investigations at the agency, Asdrubal José Brito Hernandez, as well as its former deputy director, Rafael Ramón Blanco Marrero.
The sanctions also target several members of the Bolivarian National Guard: its general commander, Elio Ramón Estrada Paredes; the commander of the capital region, Johan Alexander Hernández Lárez, and lieutenant colonel, Alexander Enrique Granko Arteaga.
Other individuals sanctioned include the director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, and his deputy director, Miguel Antonio Muñoz Palacios; Brigadier General of the Bolivarian National Police, Rubén Darío Santiago Servigna, and Domingo Antonio Hernández Lárez, commander of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces.
International
María Corina Machado urges Edmundo González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela for his safety
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Friday that she asked Edmundo González Urrutia, former candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), not to return to Venezuela to avoid putting himself at risk.
In a video message, Machado explained that the opposition evaluated the situation and concluded that González Urrutia would be in danger if he tried to enter Venezuela as he had planned.
González Urrutia, who claims to have won the July 28 elections with the support of more than 85% of the official voting records, had announced that he would return to Venezuela on January 10 to assume the presidency.
Earlier, Nicolás Maduro, who was declared the winner of those elections, took the oath of office for a third term.
Judge declares Donald Trump not guilty in Stormy Daniels case
Canada imposes sanctions on 14 venezuelan officials for human rights violations
María Corina Machado urges Edmundo González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela for his safety
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