WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The United States will remove a Jewish extremist group linked to late rabbi Meir Kahane from a terror blacklist, an official said. The State Department designated Kahane Chai as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997, three years after its supporter Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Al-Khalil. The group was founded by Kahane, a U.S.-born rabbi and former Israeli MP who advocated the expulsion of Arabs from Occupied Palestine and was assassinated in New York in 1990. The State Department informed Congress it will withdraw the designation, which was contested in court by the group, as Kahane Chai “has not been linked to a terrorist attack since 2005,” an official said.

 

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BAMAKO (AFP) -- Mali’s junta announced that it will quit a West African anti-takfiri force after it was blocked from assuming the presidency of the regional group. Earlier this month, UN chief Antonio Guterres said political instability and human rights violations in Mali and Burkina Faso were undermining the Sahel’s anti-takfiri operations, and called for returning power to civilians as soon as possible. But Mali’s junta claims it is a victim of politicking. “The government of Mali is deciding to withdraw from all the organs and bodies of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force” fighting the jihadists, Bamako announced in a statement. “The opposition of some G5 Sahel member states to Mali’s presidency is linked to maneuvers by a state outside the region aiming desperately to isolate Mali,” it added, without naming that country. The G5 Sahel, which also includes Mauritania, Chad, Burkina and Niger, launched in 2014, with an anti-takfiri force added in 2017.

 

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SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) -- Shanghai set out plans on Monday for the return of more normal life from June 1 and the end of a painful COVID-19 lockdown that has lasted more than six weeks and contributed to a sharp slowdown in China’s economic activity. In the clearest timetable yet, Deputy Mayor Zong Ming said Shanghai’s reopening would be carried out in stages, with movement curbs largely to remain in place until May 21 to prevent a rebound in infections, before a gradual easing. “From June 1, to mid- and late June, as long as risks of a rebound in infections are controlled, we will fully implement epidemic prevention and control, normalize management, and fully restore normal production and life in the city,” she said. The full lockdown of Shanghai and COVID curbs on hundreds of millions of consumers and workers in dozens of other cities have hurt retail sales, industrial production and employment, adding to fears the economy could shrink in the second quarter.

 

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LONDON (AFP) -- Prince Charles heads to Canada this week to represent head of state Queen Elizabeth II, with more attention than ever on his future role due to his mother’s age and failing health. Increasingly, every movement of the heir to the throne is attracting greater scrutiny, as the 96-year-old monarch’s record-breaking 70-year reign draws to a close. Last week, Charles, 73, was a last-minute stand-in for the queen at the state opening of the UK parliament, in the clearest sign that his long wait to become king is approaching its end. His appearance and the queen’s absence from the ceremony for the first time in nearly 60 years have prompted a noticeable shift in public opinion towards her position. A YouGov survey for Times Radio conducted this week suggested that 34 percent of people now believe she should retire, instead of remaining queen for life, up from 25 percent last month.

 

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COLOMBO (AFP) -- Sri Lanka was set to form a new cabinet on Monday as bitter political rivals make common cause to tackle a worsening economic crisis after last week’s deadly violence, party leaders said. Protestors remained camped outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence demanding that he resign meanwhile, as troops continued to patrol the streets while ordinary Sri Lankans queued up for scarce supplies. Ranil Wickremesinghe, appointed prime minister for a sixth time on Thursday, has struggled to form a “unity government” after the main opposition insisted that Rajapaksa should follow his brother Mahinda who quit as premier last week. However, two stalwarts from the main Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) opposition party agreed to break ranks and join an “economic war cabinet”, party sources told AFP.

 

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HAVANA (Reuters) -- Cuban lawmakers approved a new penal code for the country. The government said the new code, which replaces a more than 30-year old penal law drafted under former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is in line with the country’s new constitution approved by referendum in 2019, as well as international treaties. The president of Cuba’s Popular Supreme Court, Ruben Remigio Ferro, said the code was compatible “with international legal instruments on criminal matters, always respecting human rights,” according to a report in state-run newspaper Granma. The legislation, which is all-encompassing, stiffens penalties for crimes and violence against women, discrimination, and environmental infractions.