While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Jan 18
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US House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders are meeting the US President over funding for Ukraine and immigration policy.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Biden, Republicans talking Ukraine, US border
President Joe Biden was meeting with House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders on Jan 17 afternoon to discuss immigration policy at the US border and funding for Ukraine.
Republicans in Congress have blocked emergency funding that Mr Biden has requested for Ukraine and threaten to force a partial shutdown of the government in an effort to tighten security along the US-Mexico border; they blame Mr Biden’s policies for leading to an influx of immigrants into the United States.
Mr Biden, a Democrat, sought to reform the US immigration system with proposed legislation at the beginning of his term that was opposed by Republicans. The White House is open to new restrictions on who can seek US asylum and expanding deportation authority, but many Democrats oppose such measures.
Mr Johnson told reporters before the meeting that he would press Mr Biden for clarity on the endgame for the war between Russia and Ukraine and accountability for US funds to support Kyiv.
Ukraine says 2024 priority is to gain control of the skies
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Jan 17 said his country’s priority for 2024 is to gain control over its skies as Russia’s full-scale assault enters its third year.
His comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos came just hours after Russian drone and missile attacks overnight wounded at least 20 people across Ukraine and shelling killed two civilians.
The barrage left massive craters in the southern city of Odesa where AFP journalists saw residential buildings charred in the wake of the assault.
Macron’s demographic plan sparks outcry in France
President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to revive France’s sluggish birth rate sparked an outcry on Jan 17, with feminists and left-wing politicians accusing him of seeking to control women’s bodies.
During a press-conference on Jan 16, Mr Macron said France needed to pursue what he called “demographic rearmament”.
The president pledged to offer a better parental leave and combat infertility – which he called “the taboo of the century”.
NBA: Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic dead at 46
Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic has died, the National Basketball Association (NBA) club said on Jan 17, after the Belgrade native suffered a heart attack during a team dinner.
The 46-year-old Milojevic was in his third season as an assistant coach with Golden State after helping the team win the 2022 NBA championship.
“We are absolutely devastated by Dejan’s sudden passing,” said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
Schwarzenegger held over luxury watch at Munich airport
Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger was held at Munich airport on Jan 17 for failing to declare an expensive watch, a customs spokesman told AFP.
The Austrian-born actor and former governor of California, 76, was detained in the customs area on Jan 17 afternoon after arriving from the United States, spokesman Thomas Meister said.
Schwarzenegger was expected to be able to continue his journey later in the day but “the watch will probably have to stay”, Meister said.
