Initiation of security negotiations The start of contact between the American and Russian presidents

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Modern slavery Will Paris condone hundreds of victims of forced labor? In the latest form of slavery of the era, human rights reports and shocking security statistics recently revealed hundreds of victims of forced labor in the world, and in France in particular, which activists accuse of overlooking these crimes and not prosecuting those involved sufficiently. Nearly two centuries after France abolished slavery and the slave trade, and turned a page of its dark and shameful history, everyone today is surprised by the modern and unclear slavery that is rampant in French society. Among its most important forms, as indicated by the Committee against Modern Slavery in France, are domestic servitude, forced beggary, sexual slavery, forced labour, exploitative workplaces, and many other forms, which are based on the violation of the rights of vulnerable groups, children, migrants and refugees , in return for collecting huge profits for operators and exploiters. In this context, several media reports have recently spoken of an ongoing human rights struggle in France to put an end to “forced labor” or “forced labour,” amid government inaction to save hundreds and thousands of victims from manipulative and exploitative operators. Forced labor invisible slavery Human rights organizations considered labor exploitation and forced labor to be a form of “modern slavery.” And government institutions called for the prosecution of the exploiters and those involved in it. In a statement to local media, Captain Mitt, from the Central Office for Combating Illegal Labor in France, revealed that since 2016, police and gendarmerie stations annually record between 300 and 500 victims of forced labor or working in inhumane conditions. Commenting on these numbers, Colonel Dominic Lambert said: "These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg... Many victims do not dare to denounce these violations or complain, because they do not actually know their rights and are afraid of the consequences that will follow." These victims are mostly found in construction facilities, agriculture, restaurants, handicrafts, small businesses, work in the homes of the wealthy, and others. Thus, they generate a lot of money for the exploiters and operators, as they work 15 continuous hours a day without any pay, or at very low wages, and are fed in return with the simplest meals, and they sleep on the floor or in containers. The majority of these victims are migrants and refugees from West Africa, the Maghreb and Eritrea. The elderly are also not excluded from this, who are forced by the conditions of their countries to migrate and search for work, and they represent those from Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Who are promised by many agencies decent work, salary and supporting and official documents. Then they find themselves with forged papers, and they are forced to work under any circumstances. Not mastering the language of the country they are in, or not knowing their rights, or detaining them in the workplace from employers and threatening them with punishment, is enough to keep them for many years in invisible slavery. Proceeding from these tragic situations and the exacerbation of this scourge in French society, especially with the influx of thousands of immigrants in recent years, human rights organizations accuse the French authorities of failing to punish the operators and exploiters of these victims, and often overlooking them. Specialists and jurists also believe that, despite the formal abolition of slavery in 1848 in France, the legal regulations still fall short of adjudicating many cases of modern slavery, and lack renewal. France was first convicted in 2005 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for failing to hold the defendants accountable in the modern slavery case. The case dates back to the 1990s, when a young Togolese girl was employed, without pay for four years, to serve a French family in Paris in inhumane conditions. Modern slavery a global scourge It is estimated that modern slavery today affects more than 45 million people in the world. The conflicts and crises raging in several countries, led by the countries of the African continent, promise the further growth of this phenomenon and scourge, especially with the insufficient international response to this issue. Human rights organizations accuse some of these countries and parties of condoning this humanitarian crime, due to the huge profits and money it provides. The victims of modern slavery who work as domestic servants, in agriculture, construction and in the mines, in European countries and the United States, provide annual profits estimated at 46.9 billion dollars. While the phenomenon of modern slavery has become, providing huge amounts of money to economic countries, with a lower percentage of risks, their credibility in fighting it may be put to the test, according to experts and analysts. 10 dangerous conflicts that the world may witness in 2022 Battle deaths around the world may be declining, but regional wars are on the rise as confrontations between great powers loom on the horizon. What are the 10 conflicts that the world may witness during 2022? The American Foreign Policy magazine published a report entitled "10 Monitoring Conflicts in 2022", in which it dealt with a number of confrontation points that may witness confrontations and regional wars from Taiwan to Ukraine through Iran. 1. Ukraine Whether or not Russia, which is massing its forces on the border, decides to invade Ukraine, it would be a mistake to dismiss its buildup as a bluff or a ruse. She notes that the conflict in Ukraine, which has been simmering since 2014, raged dangerously during 2021; With Russia's fear of Europe's role in the conflict and NATO countries' support for Ukraine. Kiev accuses Moscow of massing tens of thousands of soldiers near its borders in preparation for a possible attack, while Russia denies planning any attack and accuses Ukraine and the United States of destabilizing behavior. 2. Ethiopia The magazine says that Ethiopia, which was a positive story in the news two years ago with optimism for the return of democracy and peace, has returned during the past year to the forefront of events as a region of burning conflict. War broke out in Ethiopia in November 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal forces into Tigray to control local authorities emanating from the Tigray People's Liberation Front after it was accused of attacking an Ethiopian army barracks. While relative calm returned to the country over the past week and the government announced that its forces would not advance into Tigray, it attributed this position and said it could change if the country's "territorial sovereignty" was threatened. Nor did he declare a ceasefire in the country, while observers are still cautious before talking about an imminent end to the conflict. 3. Afghanistan The year 2021 closed a long chapter of the conflict in Afghanistan that lasted nearly two decades, but it opened a new chapter that the conflict may not be far from after the Taliban movement took power and took control of the country following the exit of US and international forces. After the movement's control, a number of countries in the world stopped aid to Afghanistan, while other countries froze their financial assets in international banks, making the movement almost financially paralyzed. It is expected that the movement will not be able to pay the salaries of civil servants, while the economic situation in the country worsens, and the risk of starvation increases with the cessation of aid, which may reignite the conflict in the country. 4. The United States and China Immediately after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States signed with Australia and Britain the "Ocos" agreement, which will enable Canberra to acquire nuclear submarines, which gave a strong signal about the new strategic goals of the United States, which focus mainly on ways to deter China. After months of study, the Pentagon has determined that the global concentration of US forces does not immediately need major adjustments, although it will conduct additional analysis regarding improvements in the Asia-Pacific. With China in mind, the Pentagon is planning infrastructure improvements in some Pacific regions, including Guam. The US administration intends to keep the US the dominant power in the Indo-Pacific region, and Taiwan has become of great importance to US interests, while China has stepped up its military activity near Taiwan. 5. Iran versus the United States and Israel At a time when it seemed that the escalation between the United States and Iran under former President Donald Trump had ended, attempts to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement seem hopeless, which might bring the escalation to the fore again. The option of Iran becoming a nuclear state does not appeal to the West, and raises great fears in Israel in particular, whose army has been suggested to have prepared scenarios to strike Iran. This comes at a time when provocations are increasing between the three countries in the Gulf waters and a number of other points, while the failure of the nuclear agreement negotiations may lead to the transformation of these provocations into clashes out of control on land, at sea or in cyberspace, according to the magazine. 6. Yemen The war in Yemen was a little absent from the headlines during 2021, but the war in it is not over yet, amid indications that the conflict in it will return to the fore in 2022. The Saudi-led coalition is trying to weaken the Houthi group in the country, allowing the return of a political solution and the return of the legitimate government, but these efforts have not yet borne fruit, while Saudi Arabia appears to have been involved in a conflict that does not seem to end soon. On the other hand, the Houthis took the conflict to Saudi territory, as they used to launch ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones at Saudi and other Yemeni regions, in return for repeated declarations by the coalition to thwart these attacks, despite Arab and international calls for a ceasefire. 7. Palestine and Israel The year 2021 witnessed the return of the Palestinian cause to the forefront of the news, with the events of Jerusalem and the fourth war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip after that. At the end of 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his home near Tel Aviv, which angered a number of Palestinian factions that refused to meet. The meeting was followed by the injury of 3 Palestinians in an Israeli bombing in northern Gaza that targeted Palestinian sites after an Israeli settler was injured, as a result of being shot at by Palestinians, in the northern Gaza Strip, which heralds a return to confrontation at the beginning of 2022. 8. Haiti Haiti is experiencing political crises, wars and natural disasters, amid speculation that the year 2021 will be particularly bleak, as the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, last July 7 at his home, plunged the country into more uncertainty. Last November, a video of US helicopters flying over a beach sparked speculation of possible US intervention in Haiti after the kidnapping of American missionaries and their relatives (16 Americans and one Canadian). The country is witnessing the control of a number of gangs that kidnap locals and foreigners for ransom, while the United States government classifies Haiti as a country in the red zone and does not seem far from interfering in it. 9. Myanmar In early February, Myanmar army leaders carried out a military coup, followed by the arrest of senior leaders in the country, including President Win Myint and Chancellor Aung San Suu Kyi. Before the end of 2021 and on Christmas Eve, a massacre occurred in the eastern Kayah state, which witnesses battles between the pro-democracy rebels and the army, which killed more than 30 people, including two employees of the Save the Children organization, and the military council forces in the country were held responsible for it. Western countries have long restricted arms sales to the Myanmar army, which, even during the democratic transition, faced allegations of crimes against humanity due to its bloody campaign against the Rohingya minority, while 2022 appears to be a continuation of this conflict. 10. "French Islamists" in Africa "Since the defeat of the terrorist organization ISIS in the Middle East in 2017, Africa has become the land of the most intense battles in the world against what it called armed jihadist extremists or hard-line Islamists," Foreign Policy magazine said. The "militants" are stationed in a number of African countries from west to east, in Mali, the Sahel countries and the Lake Chad region, passing through Nigeria, reaching eastern Congo and Mozambique, the latter of which witnessed the rise of rebels demanding the establishment of a mandate for the terrorist organization ISIS in it. Initiation of security negotiations The start of contact between the American and Russian presidents On Thursday evening, phone talks began between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. US President Joe Biden had a phone call Thursday evening with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, AFP reported. An unnamed White House official announced in statements to US media that the phone call began at 8:30 GMT, which was also confirmed by the Russian presidency. And the American newspaper, "Washington Post", on Thursday, quoted an unnamed White House official, as saying that Biden will stress that "the United States is ready to move forward with diplomatic efforts, but its response to the subsequent intervention in Ukraine will include economic sanctions and strengthening the capabilities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). and aid to Ukraine. Russia had previously announced that the phone talks scheduled for Thursday evening between Putin and Biden would be the initiation of security negotiations scheduled soon, in light of the tension over the Ukraine crisis. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the purpose of the talks is very clear, which is to continue discussing all issues that were on the agenda of the talks that took place between the two presidents on December 7, and before the security talks scheduled for next month. In a Christmas and New Year message, Putin told Biden that both countries bear "a special responsibility for international stability and regional stability," according to a statement issued by the Kremlin. "I am sure that we will be able to build on the agreements reached at the June summit in Geneva, and the contacts that followed, to make progress and establish an effective Russian-American dialogue based on mutual respect, taking into account the interests of each of us," Putin added in his message. . The letter also stated that Russia and the United States can and should cooperate constructively and combine efforts in the face of the many challenges and threats facing humanity. The consultations come amid US and European fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Russia has repeatedly denied, and Moscow has demanded security guarantees that allay its concern about NATO's expansion in Ukraine. And a White House official confirmed yesterday, Wednesday, that Biden will offer his Russian counterpart during the call a "diplomatic path" on Ukraine, explaining that his country is still "very concerned" about the presence of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine. US National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said Wednesday that the two presidents will discuss a number of topics, including upcoming diplomatic talks with Russia, adding that the Biden administration continues to engage in intense diplomacy with its European allies on a common approach, in response to the Russian military build-up on the border. It is expected that Putin and Biden will lay the basis for the upcoming talks in Geneva, scheduled for January 10, during which diplomats of the two countries will discuss the Ukraine crisis.

Modern slavery Will Paris condone hundreds of victims of forced labor?


In the latest form of slavery of the era, human rights reports and shocking security statistics recently revealed hundreds of victims of forced labor in the world, and in France in particular, which activists accuse of overlooking these crimes and not prosecuting those involved sufficiently.

Nearly two centuries after France abolished slavery and the slave trade, and turned a page of its dark and shameful history, everyone today is surprised by the modern and unclear slavery that is rampant in French society.

Among its most important forms, as indicated by the Committee against Modern Slavery in France, are domestic servitude, forced beggary, sexual slavery, forced labour, exploitative workplaces, and many other forms, which are based on the violation of the rights of vulnerable groups, children, migrants and refugees , in return for collecting huge profits for operators and exploiters.

In this context, several media reports have recently spoken of an ongoing human rights struggle in France to put an end to “forced labor” or “forced labour,” amid government inaction to save hundreds and thousands of victims from manipulative and exploitative operators.

Forced labor invisible slavery

Human rights organizations considered labor exploitation and forced labor to be a form of “modern slavery.” And government institutions called for the prosecution of the exploiters and those involved in it.

In a statement to local media, Captain Mitt, from the Central Office for Combating Illegal Labor in France, revealed that since 2016, police and gendarmerie stations annually record between 300 and 500 victims of forced labor or working in inhumane conditions.

Commenting on these numbers, Colonel Dominic Lambert said: "These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg... Many victims do not dare to denounce these violations or complain, because they do not actually know their rights and are afraid of the consequences that will follow."

These victims are mostly found in construction facilities, agriculture, restaurants, handicrafts, small businesses, work in the homes of the wealthy, and others.

Thus, they generate a lot of money for the exploiters and operators, as they work 15 continuous hours a day without any pay, or at very low wages, and are fed in return with the simplest meals, and they sleep on the floor or in containers.

The majority of these victims are migrants and refugees from West Africa, the Maghreb and Eritrea. The elderly are also not excluded from this, who are forced by the conditions of their countries to migrate and search for work, and they represent those from Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Who are promised by many agencies decent work, salary and supporting and official documents. Then they find themselves with forged papers, and they are forced to work under any circumstances.

Not mastering the language of the country they are in, or not knowing their rights, or detaining them in the workplace from employers and threatening them with punishment, is enough to keep them for many years in invisible slavery.

Proceeding from these tragic situations and the exacerbation of this scourge in French society, especially with the influx of thousands of immigrants in recent years, human rights organizations accuse the French authorities of failing to punish the operators and exploiters of these victims, and often overlooking them.

Specialists and jurists also believe that, despite the formal abolition of slavery in 1848 in France, the legal regulations still fall short of adjudicating many cases of modern slavery, and lack renewal.

France was first convicted in 2005 by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for failing to hold the defendants accountable in the modern slavery case. The case dates back to the 1990s, when a young Togolese girl was employed, without pay for four years, to serve a French family in Paris in inhumane conditions.

Modern slavery a global scourge
It is estimated that modern slavery today affects more than 45 million people in the world. The conflicts and crises raging in several countries, led by the countries of the African continent, promise the further growth of this phenomenon and scourge, especially with the insufficient international response to this issue.

Human rights organizations accuse some of these countries and parties of condoning this humanitarian crime, due to the huge profits and money it provides. The victims of modern slavery who work as domestic servants, in agriculture, construction and in the mines, in European countries and the United States, provide annual profits estimated at 46.9 billion dollars.

While the phenomenon of modern slavery has become, providing huge amounts of money to economic countries, with a lower percentage of risks, their credibility in fighting it may be put to the test, according to experts and analysts.

10 dangerous conflicts that the world may witness in 2022


Battle deaths around the world may be declining, but regional wars are on the rise as confrontations between great powers loom on the horizon. What are the 10 conflicts that the world may witness during 2022?

The American Foreign Policy magazine published a report entitled "10 Monitoring Conflicts in 2022", in which it dealt with a number of confrontation points that may witness confrontations and regional wars from Taiwan to Ukraine through Iran.

1. Ukraine

Whether or not Russia, which is massing its forces on the border, decides to invade Ukraine, it would be a mistake to dismiss its buildup as a bluff or a ruse.

She notes that the conflict in Ukraine, which has been simmering since 2014, raged dangerously during 2021; With Russia's fear of Europe's role in the conflict and NATO countries' support for Ukraine.

Kiev accuses Moscow of massing tens of thousands of soldiers near its borders in preparation for a possible attack, while Russia denies planning any attack and accuses Ukraine and the United States of destabilizing behavior.

2. Ethiopia

The magazine says that Ethiopia, which was a positive story in the news two years ago with optimism for the return of democracy and peace, has returned during the past year to the forefront of events as a region of burning conflict.

War broke out in Ethiopia in November 2020, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal forces into Tigray to control local authorities emanating from the Tigray People's Liberation Front after it was accused of attacking an Ethiopian army barracks.

While relative calm returned to the country over the past week and the government announced that its forces would not advance into Tigray, it attributed this position and said it could change if the country's "territorial sovereignty" was threatened.

Nor did he declare a ceasefire in the country, while observers are still cautious before talking about an imminent end to the conflict.

3. Afghanistan

The year 2021 closed a long chapter of the conflict in Afghanistan that lasted nearly two decades, but it opened a new chapter that the conflict may not be far from after the Taliban movement took power and took control of the country following the exit of US and international forces.

After the movement's control, a number of countries in the world stopped aid to Afghanistan, while other countries froze their financial assets in international banks, making the movement almost financially paralyzed.

It is expected that the movement will not be able to pay the salaries of civil servants, while the economic situation in the country worsens, and the risk of starvation increases with the cessation of aid, which may reignite the conflict in the country.

4. The United States and China

Immediately after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States signed with Australia and Britain the "Ocos" agreement, which will enable Canberra to acquire nuclear submarines, which gave a strong signal about the new strategic goals of the United States, which focus mainly on ways to deter China.

After months of study, the Pentagon has determined that the global concentration of US forces does not immediately need major adjustments, although it will conduct additional analysis regarding improvements in the Asia-Pacific. With China in mind, the Pentagon is planning infrastructure improvements in some Pacific regions, including Guam.

The US administration intends to keep the US the dominant power in the Indo-Pacific region, and Taiwan has become of great importance to US interests, while China has stepped up its military activity near Taiwan.

5. Iran versus the United States and Israel

At a time when it seemed that the escalation between the United States and Iran under former President Donald Trump had ended, attempts to revive the Iranian nuclear agreement seem hopeless, which might bring the escalation to the fore again.

The option of Iran becoming a nuclear state does not appeal to the West, and raises great fears in Israel in particular, whose army has been suggested to have prepared scenarios to strike Iran.

This comes at a time when provocations are increasing between the three countries in the Gulf waters and a number of other points, while the failure of the nuclear agreement negotiations may lead to the transformation of these provocations into clashes out of control on land, at sea or in cyberspace, according to the magazine.

6. Yemen

The war in Yemen was a little absent from the headlines during 2021, but the war in it is not over yet, amid indications that the conflict in it will return to the fore in 2022.

The Saudi-led coalition is trying to weaken the Houthi group in the country, allowing the return of a political solution and the return of the legitimate government, but these efforts have not yet borne fruit, while Saudi Arabia appears to have been involved in a conflict that does not seem to end soon.

On the other hand, the Houthis took the conflict to Saudi territory, as they used to launch ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones at Saudi and other Yemeni regions, in return for repeated declarations by the coalition to thwart these attacks, despite Arab and international calls for a ceasefire.

7. Palestine and Israel

The year 2021 witnessed the return of the Palestinian cause to the forefront of the news, with the events of Jerusalem and the fourth war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip after that.

At the end of 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz received Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at his home near Tel Aviv, which angered a number of Palestinian factions that refused to meet.

The meeting was followed by the injury of 3 Palestinians in an Israeli bombing in northern Gaza that targeted Palestinian sites after an Israeli settler was injured, as a result of being shot at by Palestinians, in the northern Gaza Strip, which heralds a return to confrontation at the beginning of 2022.

8. Haiti

Haiti is experiencing political crises, wars and natural disasters, amid speculation that the year 2021 will be particularly bleak, as the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, last July 7 at his home, plunged the country into more uncertainty.

Last November, a video of US helicopters flying over a beach sparked speculation of possible US intervention in Haiti after the kidnapping of American missionaries and their relatives (16 Americans and one Canadian).

The country is witnessing the control of a number of gangs that kidnap locals and foreigners for ransom, while the United States government classifies Haiti as a country in the red zone and does not seem far from interfering in it.

9. Myanmar

In early February, Myanmar army leaders carried out a military coup, followed by the arrest of senior leaders in the country, including President Win Myint and Chancellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Before the end of 2021 and on Christmas Eve, a massacre occurred in the eastern Kayah state, which witnesses battles between the pro-democracy rebels and the army, which killed more than 30 people, including two employees of the Save the Children organization, and the military council forces in the country were held responsible for it.

Western countries have long restricted arms sales to the Myanmar army, which, even during the democratic transition, faced allegations of crimes against humanity due to its bloody campaign against the Rohingya minority, while 2022 appears to be a continuation of this conflict.

10. "French Islamists" in Africa

"Since the defeat of the terrorist organization ISIS in the Middle East in 2017, Africa has become the land of the most intense battles in the world against what it called armed jihadist extremists or hard-line Islamists," Foreign Policy magazine said.

The "militants" are stationed in a number of African countries from west to east, in Mali, the Sahel countries and the Lake Chad region, passing through Nigeria, reaching eastern Congo and Mozambique, the latter of which witnessed the rise of rebels demanding the establishment of a mandate for the terrorist organization ISIS in it.


Initiation of security negotiations The start of contact between the American and Russian presidents


On Thursday evening, phone talks began between US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

US President Joe Biden had a phone call Thursday evening with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, AFP reported.
An unnamed White House official announced in statements to US media that the phone call began at 8:30 GMT, which was also confirmed by the Russian presidency.

And the American newspaper, "Washington Post", on Thursday, quoted an unnamed White House official, as saying that Biden will stress that "the United States is ready to move forward with diplomatic efforts, but its response to the subsequent intervention in Ukraine will include economic sanctions and strengthening the capabilities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). and aid to Ukraine.

Russia had previously announced that the phone talks scheduled for Thursday evening between Putin and Biden would be the initiation of security negotiations scheduled soon, in light of the tension over the Ukraine crisis.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the purpose of the talks is very clear, which is to continue discussing all issues that were on the agenda of the talks that took place between the two presidents on December 7, and before the security talks scheduled for next month.

In a Christmas and New Year message, Putin told Biden that both countries bear "a special responsibility for international stability and regional stability," according to a statement issued by the Kremlin.

"I am sure that we will be able to build on the agreements reached at the June summit in Geneva, and the contacts that followed, to make progress and establish an effective Russian-American dialogue based on mutual respect, taking into account the interests of each of us," Putin added in his message. .

The letter also stated that Russia and the United States can and should cooperate constructively and combine efforts in the face of the many challenges and threats facing humanity.

The consultations come amid US and European fears of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Russia has repeatedly denied, and Moscow has demanded security guarantees that allay its concern about NATO's expansion in Ukraine.

And a White House official confirmed yesterday, Wednesday, that Biden will offer his Russian counterpart during the call a "diplomatic path" on Ukraine, explaining that his country is still "very concerned" about the presence of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine.

US National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne said Wednesday that the two presidents will discuss a number of topics, including upcoming diplomatic talks with Russia, adding that the Biden administration continues to engage in intense diplomacy with its European allies on a common approach, in response to the Russian military build-up on the border.

It is expected that Putin and Biden will lay the basis for the upcoming talks in Geneva, scheduled for January 10, during which diplomats of the two countries will discuss the Ukraine crisis.
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