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Musings From Abroad

President Macron fights claims he’s dating a bodyguard

French President Emmanuel Macron has broken his silence to say he alone will take the blame for his violent bodyguard, but he also launched a Trump-like attack on the media for its coverage of the scandal

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French President Emmanuel Macron has broken his silence to say he alone will take the blame for his violent bodyguard, but he also launched a Trump-like attack on the media for its coverage of the scandal.

He also sought to jokingly dispel rumours that his 26-year-old former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla was his lover or had been given the codes to France’s nuclear arsenal.

“If they are looking for the person responsible, the only one responsible is me and me alone,” Mr Macron told MPs from his majority Republic on the Move (LREM) party late on Tuesday.

The scandal over Mr Benalla, who was sacked last Friday after videos emerged of him beating a young protester and manhandling another during a May Day protest in Paris, has sent the president’s poll ratings to record lows.

Opposition MPs have accused the government of a cover-up and have paralysed parliamentary debate while also launching ongoing investigative committees that have questioned the interior minister, the Paris police chief, and a host of other top Elysée and security officials.

Read Also: Trump ‘secretly recorded discussing payment to Playboy model’

“What happened on May 1 is terrible, serious, and for me it was a disappointment and a betrayal,” Mr Macron said in his 30-minute speech to his MPs, who he told he was “shocked” by the behaviour of Mr Benalla, whom he had mistakenly trusted.

The Élysée Palace knew of the assault in May, but Mr Benalla was only sacked and taken into police custody last week, two days after the scandal became public knowledge when Le Monde newspaper published the video, more than two months after the incident. In May, Mr Benalla was suspended for two weeks and demoted.

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Musings From Abroad

US sanctions companies financing warring parties in Sudan

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The United States has announced sanctions on companies identified to be contributing to the ongoing armed clashes in Sudan.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that “through sanctions, we are cutting off key financial flows to both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, depriving them of resources needed to pay soldiers, rearm, resupply, and wage war in Sudan.”

The move is believed to be an attempt to step up pressure on the army and a rival paramilitary force to bring an end to the fighting as ceasefire talks have mostly failed translate to an actual ceasefire.

The conflict in the country has been between the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s transitional government’s Sovereign Council, and army troops loyal to General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the council’s deputy leader who controls the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a statement, the United States Treasury Department said two companies had been identified to be affiliated with Sudan’s army and two companies affiliated with the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), accusing them of generating revenue from the conflict and contributing to the fighting.

Some of the targeted companies are Algunade, which has in the past bypassed central bank controls to export tens of millions of dollars of gold to Dubai and is said to be a Sudanese holding company controlled by RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his brother; Tradive General Trading L.L.C., a front company owned by RSF Major Algoney Hamdan Dagalo, another brother; Sudan’s largest defense enterprise, Defense Industries System; and arms company, Sudan Master Technology.

Over 1,000 civilians have been killed in the war, which began on April 15, and more than 1.4 million people have been internally displaced, with approximately 350,000 fleeing into neighbouring countries.

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Musings From Abroad

BRICS Foreign Ministers call for ‘rebalancing’ of global order 

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Foreign ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa currently meeting in Cape Town ahead of the BRICS Summit have called for a “rebalancing” of the global order.

India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said during opening remarks, “Our gathering must send out a strong message that the world is multipolar, that it is rebalancing and that old ways cannot address new situations.”

A video of Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov at the conference also surfaced yesterday, while speaking about the changes in the international system which makes the pursuit of national interest attainable for all in the system.

“A more just, polycentric international order is taking shape,” Lavrov said.

The host, South Africa, has been under pressure to arrest Russian President, Vladimir Putin during an expected visit to the summit in August following a ruling by the International Criminal Court for his arrest.

United States ambassador, Reuben Brigety last month also accused South Africa of supplying Russia with arms in December in the ongoing Russia/Ukraine war.

Meanwhile, Pretoria has maintained that it is neutral over the war, but is accused by critics of tilting towards the Kremlin, and has long advocated for BRICS to act as a counterbalance to a Western-dominated international order.

“Our vision of BRICS is for our partnership to provide global leadership in a world fractured by competition, geopolitical tension, inequality, and deteriorating global security,” South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told the meeting.

“Our discussions today will therefore focus on opportunities… strengthening and transforming global governance systems”.

Meanwhile, South African opposition parties are divided over the country’s continued relations with Russia and the supposed welcoming gesture ahead of Putin’s visit. While Democratic Alliance (DA) disagrees with the stance and has initiated a suit against it, the EFF movement has insisted that “Putin is welcomed.

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