FRANCE’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PASSES BILL AIMED AT CURBING ISLAMISM

France’s National Assembly on Tuesday approved legislation designed mainly to counter a rise in Islamism in towns and cities which the government says threatens national unity. The legislation did not single out any particular religion, but it cracked down on practices such as forced marriage and virginity tests.

It included tough measures against online apologists for acts of violence, stricter surveillance of religious associations, and tighter restrictions on educating children outside mainstream schools. Amid concerns about the funding of mosques by Turkey, Qatar or Saudi Arabia, it requires religious groups to declare large foreign donations and have their accounts certified.

France’s Muslim population is estimated to number about five million people. The country has suffered a wave of Islamist militant attacks in recent years, and tackling religious extremism, French identity and domestic security will be big issues in next year’s election. President Macron’s centrist party rallied around the bill, with 347 lawmakers voting in favour,151 against and 65 abstaining. The text will now be submitted to the Senate, where Macron’s party does not hold a majority. The bill has been branded by some on the left as an attack on Islam and as too weak by the far-right. The legislation represented a “powerful offensive” by the secular state, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said.

TRUMP SLAMS FORMER ALLY MCCONNELL, CALLS HIM 'DOUR, SULLEN POLITICAL HACK'

After being acquitted in the second impeachment trial, US former President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) called his former ally and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack".

Trump released a statement condemning what he called McConnell’s lack of leadership of the Republican party, even saying that McConnell is “destroying the Republican side of the Senate.”

Trump's response comes days after McConnell had voted to acquit Trump during the latter's impeachment trial. "Mitch is a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack, and if Republican Senators are going to stay with him, they will not win again," he said.

"He (McConnell) will never do what needs to be done, or what is right for our Country. Where necessary and appropriate, I will back primary rivals who espouse Making America Great Again and our policy of America First. We want brilliant, strong, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership," he added.

Recently, McConnell, who had worked together with the former President for four years, had targetted Trump over the Capitol riot that took place on January 6.

"January 6th was a disgrace. American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of democratic business they did not like," he had said.

SUU KYI FACES NEW CHARGE AS JUNTA INTENSIFIES CRACKDOWN

Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi was hit with another charge on Tuesday, after the military imposed a second straight overnight Internet shutdown in an attempt to grind down an anti-coup uprising.

In the two weeks since the generals ousted Ms. Suu Kyi and put the civilian leader under house arrest in the administrative capital Naypyidaw, big cities and isolated village communities alike have been in open revolt.

The Nobel laureate’s lawyer told AFP on Tuesday she had been hit with a second charge, of violating the country’s disaster management law.

“She was charged under section 8 of the Export and Import law and section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management law as well,” Khin Maung Zaw told AFP.

While it was unclear how the disaster law applied in Ms. Suu Kyi’s case, it has been used against deposed President Win Myint — also arrested on February 1 — relating to a campaign event that the junta alleges broke coronavirus-related restrictions.

21 DEAD AS TEXAS DEEP FREEZE LEAVES MILLIONS WITHOUT POWER

A historic winter storm has killed at least 21 people, left millions of Texans without power and spun killer tornadoes into the U.S. Southeast on Tuesday.

The brutal cold has engulfed vast swaths of the United States, shuttering COVID-19 inoculation centers and hindering vaccine supplies. It is not expected to relent until the weekend.

Officials in Texas drew criticism as the state energy grid repeatedly failed, forcing rolling blackouts. Freezing weather stilled giant wind turbines that dot the West Texas landscape, making it impossible for energy companies to meet escalating demand.

At least 21 people have died in Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Missouri including four killed in a house fire in Sugar Land, Texas, where the power was out, according to police and local media.

President Joe Biden assured the governors of hard-hit states that the federal government stands ready to offer any emergency resources needed, the White House said in a statement.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a midday news conference that 1.3 million people in his city remain without power. The city is looking for businesses that still have power to open their doors as warming centers.

“It's critically, critically important to get the power restored as quickly as possible. It's priority number one!” Mr. Turner said.

IRAN'S 'MEDDLING' MUST BE TACKLED BEFORE IRAQ ELECTIONS, US TELLS UN

The United States said on Tuesday that creating a conducive environment for elections in Iraq later this year includes tackling Iran-backed militias, Iran's destabilizing activities in the country and remaining Islamic State elements.

Acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills told a U.N. Security Council meeting on Iraq that one of the highest barriers to creating a conducive environment for credible, peaceful and inclusive elections "is the presence of armed militias, violent extremists and spoilers."

"A conducive environment means that we must address Iran-backed militias and Iran's destabilizing activities in Iraq, as well as the remaining ISIS (Islamic State) elements," Mills told the 15-member council.

"These groups undermine the public's trust in the government, and in the October 2021 elections. They're killing Iraqi citizens and depriving Iraq of much-needed economic relief and foreign investment. No one is immune," he said.

A rocket attack on U.S.-led forces in northern Iraq on Monday killed a civilian contractor and injured a U.S. service member. The attack was claimed by a group that some Iraqi officials say has links with Iran.

"Such reckless attempts to inflame tensions pose grave threats to Iraq's stability. Close collaboration between Baghdad and Erbil, to bring the culprits to justice, is now of the greatest importance," U.N. Iraq special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the Security Council on Tuesday.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration pledged to be a steady, reliable partner for Iraq, Mills said.

NEPAL PM OLI BLAMES RULING PARTY LEADERS TRIED TO FORM PARALLEL GOVERNMENT

Defending his move to dissolve the House of Representatives, Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has blamed some leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) for attempting to form a "parallel government".

Oli made the comments while highlighting the major achievements of the government during his address from the prime minister’s office in Singha Durbar on the occasion of the third anniversary of the government on Monday.

Nepal plunged into a political crisis on December 20 after Oli, in a surprise move, dissolved the House of Representatives, amidst a tussle for power with his rival Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'. His move to dissolve the 275-member House sparked protests from a large section of the NCP led by Prachanda, also a co-chair of the ruling party.

The Prachanda-led faction has been holding anti-government protest rallies and public gatherings in various parts of the country, including Kathmandu.

Both Prachanda and the rival Oli group claim to control the Nepal Communist Party and the issue is being disputed at the Election Commission.

JAPAN BEGINS COVID-19 VACCINATION DRIVE AMID SUPPLY WORRY

Japan's first coronavirus shots were given to health workers Wednesday, beginning the vaccination campaign considered crucial to holding the already delayed Tokyo Olympics.

The government gave its belated first approval for shots developed and supplied by the Pfizer shots, already been used in many other countries since December.

Supplies of imported vaccines are a major concern because of supply shortages and restrictions in Europe, where many are manufactured.

Some of 40,000 doctors and nurses from 100 selected hospitals across the country received their first shots Wednesday, with their second shot planned for March 10. Half will participate in a 7-week health survey.

Inoculations of 3.7 million more health workers will begin in March, followed by about 36 million people aged 65 and older starting in April. People with underlying health issues, as well as caregivers at nursing homes and other facilities, will be next, before the general population receives its turn.

‘NORTH KOREAN HACKERS TARGETED VACCINE TECHNOLOGY’

North Korean hackers attempted to steal information about coronavirus vaccines and treatments, South Korea’s intelligence service said on Tuesday, but it denied a lawmaker’s claim that vaccine maker Pfizer Inc. was targeted.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ha Tae-keung, a Member of Parliament’s intelligence committee, told reporters that the National Intelligence Service told him and other lawmakers during a closed-door briefing that North Korea hacked Pfizer to obtain COVID-19 vaccine technology.

After Mr. Ha’s comments made headlines, the NIS said it didn’t mention any pharmaceutical company by name when it told lawmakers that North Korean hackers were going after coronavirus vaccine information. In an unusual rebuke, the NIS public affairs office called Mr. Ha’s comments “wrong.”

Mr. Ha stood by his claim when contacted by The Associated Press, saying the NIS documents he was shown said that “North Korea stole Pfizer (vaccine information) and attempted to steal (technology) from South Korean vaccine and pharmaceutical firms.”

Ha said the wording about Pfizer “was so clear that I didn’t even ask about that verbally” during the briefing.

The NIS, which has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea, rarely comments on North Korea-related information it provides to lawmakers at private briefings. Mr. Ha suggested the NIS was likely trying not to anger North Korea too much.

Kwon Bo-young, a public relations manager at Pfizer’s South Korean office, said in text message that it was checking Ha’s claim with its global headquarters.