🇳🇪 Nigérien authorities have announced on television a number of new political appointments, including a new Inspector of the Armed Forces and a new Commander of the Presidential Guard.

🇫🇷🇲🇱 French Minister of Armies Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday that France's Opération Barkhane in Mali "was not a failure."

Lecornu emphasized that the operation's objectives were to push back jihadist forces in northern Mali and protect French citizens there, objectives which were accomplished.

The 8-year operation ended in 2022 with the withdrawal of French troops from Mali, after relations soured with the new military government of Col. Assimi Goita.

🇲🇱 Two days ago, Katiba Macina (JNIM) fighters attacked and burned the village of Bodio in central Mali. At least 17 are reported dead, and a dozen kidnapped.

The village has been temporarily deserted by its remaining inhabitants.

Ukrainian-Russian war. Day 530:
Situation on northeastern front: During the last 3-4 days Russian Army managed to capture a large strip of territory in Kharkov oblast south of the towns of Pershotravneve/Першотравневе and Vil'shana/Вільшана.
Map: [ https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1V8NzjQkzMOhpuLhkktbiKgodOQ27X6IV&ll=49.75203827273501%2C37.81000195992568&z=12 ]

Ukrainian-Russian war. Day 530:
Situation south of Bakhmut: During the last 36 hours Ukrainian Army made small advances north of Klishchiivka/Кліщіївка.
Map: [ https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1V8NzjQkzMOhpuLhkktbiKgodOQ27X6IV&ll=48.52890291911399%2C37.95569165801099&z=13 ]

Maduro receives former Bolivian president Evo Morales

Evo Morales showed his "solidarity" with the pro-government leader in January, considering that he is a "victim of the permanent conspiracy of the United States."

https://www.laverdad.com/politica/216697

🇻🇪🇨🇦Four Venezuelan oil fields in the "crosshair" of the New Stratus oil company

https://bit.ly/3Yr96c6

🇦🇷⚡️📑🗳 — Less than two weeks before the primary elections, the presidential pre-candidate of La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances), Javier Milei, presented his main government proposals in case he reaches Casa Rosada (the Argentine presidential residence). The proposals include projects on the economy, security, various reforms, and protection for the most vulnerable sectors of society.

In a live broadcast on his Instagram account, the opposition leader officially announced some of the ideas he plans to implement in his potential administration. Some of these ideas were already known, such as the school voucher system, while others were surprising, like the inclusion of programs to assist low-income families.

The first point mentioned by the current national deputy is related to reducing the State by having only eight Ministries: Economy, Justice, Interior, Security, Defense, Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure, and Human Capital.

He also stated that he will "eliminate all Cabinet Chief positions in all Ministries, Secretariats, and Directorates that were created merely to place friends" and will "effectively put into operation the area of expense control."

"We are the only political force with a concrete plan to end inflation, unemployment, health, education, food, housing problems, and all the debts that Argentine democracy has with its citizens. But for that, we need your support. If we keep voting for the same people, we will continue to get the same results. The only possible destination with the same people is to become the largest slum in the world," he warned.

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🇦🇷⚡️📑🗳 — Argentine libertarian: Javier Milei kicks off election campaigns across the country

Presidential candidate Javier Milei (outsider) showcased a campaign summary video on his Twitter to gather votes. The chosen city was Mendoza, in the Argentine region of Cuyo.

⛓🇦🇷🤝🇶🇦💰 — Taking a loan to pay off another: Argentina's President takes a loan from Qatar to pay off debt with the IMF

Recently, Qatar and Argentina celebrated a bilateral agreement that will allow the South American nation to pay part of its loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

President Alberto Fernández of Argentina signed the contract, and the agreement was officially published in the country's Official Gazette. However, the Argentine government does not initially intend to use its international reserves to repay part of the debt owed to the IMF.

According to the Buenos Aires newspaper Clarín, Argentina will pay the Qatari government at the current interest rate of the IMF, which is 4%, without including surcharges or other spreads.

With this, Argentina accumulates debt and becomes "trapped" with more than 12 different countries, in addition to the BRICS Bank.

🇦🇷📑🧐🗳 — Center-right or puppet of Peronism: Days before the primaries (PASO), Patricia Bullrich still hasn't presented her government proposals on her official website; in less than a week, the electoral silence period will begin, and no campaign ads or events can be held.

Despite spending hundreds of hours on television sets and using bombastic phrases like "We are the change or we are nothing" or "With me, this ends," little is known about her potential future administration. On Bullrich's official page, there isn't even a tab for "Ideas," so when adding the word "Proposals" to the search engine or even the address bar, the response is the same: "No results found."

Meanwhile, on the homepage, the title "The force of ideas" appears, but it is only accompanied by a motivational paragraph.

Patricia Bullrich is a center-right candidate who has acted in accordance with the orders of the Peronist government in recent years, possibly serving as an electoral arm for the Peronist slate in this election.

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🇦🇷⚡️📑🗳 — One week before the primary elections (PASO), the presidential candidate of La Libertad Avanza, Javier Milei, announced that, if elected, he would implement a "stronger austerity package" compared to what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposes on Argentina, which he considered small.

In an interview with the Financial Times, the libertarian candidate stated that the demands of the IMF are "small compared to the austerity package I propose." He assured that this package "will exceed all the goals" of the current agreement to refinance the $44 billion debt.

Milei described the international organization as "a bunch of bureaucrats who know that a bank's business is to charge interest." At the same time, he said, "If I am elected, it will be to solve Argentina's problems."

Furthermore, the presidential candidate expressed that the IMF "does not care" about the deeper issues that Argentina is facing, such as the current economic situation.

Regarding the country risk, Milei believes that his austerity package and the dollarization project "would reduce Argentina's country risk."

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🇺🇸⚡️- Tou Thao, a former Minneapolis Police Department officer who was on the scene and involved in the infamous George Floyd arrest on May 25th, 2020, has been sentenced 4 years and 9 months in prison.