The take-off of 5G in the United States will wait a little longer. The deployment of new frequency bands of the American mobile network, initially scheduled for December 5, 2021, was postponed for the first time to Wednesday January 5, then to January 19, as the new mobile telephone technology could potentially disrupt the on-board instruments.

For several months, the players in the sector have been asking the authorities and telecom operators for guarantees on the subject. But AT&T and Verizon, who bought their new frequencies from the US state in February 2021 for around $ 80 billion (around 70 billion euros), claim to have done what is necessary on their side. Caught between two fires, the Biden administration opted, Tuesday, January 4, for a further postponement of two weeks, hoping that it will finally allow the deployment of 5G smoothly.

Read also Mobile telephony: hopes, promises and doubts around 5G

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, the US aviation regulator) alert for several years on the possible side effects of the deployment of 5G on aviation safety. The problem does not come from the technology itself, but from the fact that certain frequencies allocated to new mobile networks are close to those used in aeronautics.

“There must be vigilance on this subject”

More precisely, radio altimeters, which measure the distance between an airplane and the ground or the water surface, particularly crucial in the landing phase in poor visibility, use the frequency band which goes from 4.2 to 4.4 gigahertz (GHz). However, AT&T and Verizon are preparing to use a very similar band in the United States for the benefit of their 5G networks (between 3.7 and 3.98 GHz).

This cohabitation between services using close frequencies is common. ?Each telecommunications system uses its own frequencies, explains Guillaume Ferré, lecturer at the National Polytechnic Institute of Bordeaux. In principle, they are designed to avoid problems on the neighboring spectrum. There must be vigilance on this subject, but 5G does not pose a new problem. ”

In each country, the regulator distributes frequencies to the various services that call on them, taking care to avoid any conflict. Except that many radio altimeters used in aviation are old and were not designed to block signals from the bands directly below.

“Protection zones”

?Radio altimeters pick up frequencies that they shouldn’t pick up. What we want to avoid is that a passenger switch on 5G on the plane as it approaches the airport and that this prevents the altimeters from working correctly ?, analysis Gilles Brégant, Director General of the National Frequency Agency (ANFR), the referent authority in France. Such interference could, for example, force flights to divert to seek more favorable conditions, disrupting air traffic.

Under the leadership of the US government, operators have also agreed to reduce the power of their networks around airports until July 5, 2022, time for the FAA to study the problem in detail. The question of possible conflicts between 5G and radio altimeters has also arisen elsewhere in the world. However, it is less sensitive in France than in the United States, because 5G uses frequencies more distant from those of aviation (from 3.4 to 3.8 GHz).

Read also The timid beginnings of 5G in France

Despite this additional margin, “Protection zones have been set up around seventeen major French airports in order to limit the transmission power of 5G antennas in the immediate vicinity of these”, indicates the General Directorate of Civil Aviation at World. In parallel, “Tests are underway to remove doubts about the different types of altimeters”, adds Gilles Brégant, of the ANFR, which will make it possible to consider lifting the precautionary measures in the long term.

Adrien Sénécat

Read also Mobile telephony: hopes, promises and doubts around 5G

“There must be vigilance on this subject”

“Protection zones”

Read also The timid beginnings of 5G in France

Adrien Sénécat

“He’s baaaaaaack !!!” In an atmosphere of coronation night, the Chase Center, which has never known one before and where Thompson played for the first time, blew up the decibels to celebrate the long-awaited return of No. 11, 941 days after his break from the anterior cruciate ligament from the left knee, followed by another from the right Achilles tendon in November 2020.

After the emotion, Thompson did not procrastinate by opening his points counter, the first two of his team, by attacking the basket like a starving man. And for those who wondered if the legs were not going to lack tone, his overkill dunk in the 2nd quarter cleared all doubts, warlike pout as a bonus.

The only thing missing was this famous three-point basket, a specialty that made him and Stephen Curry, between 2015 and 2019 with three league titles up for grabs, the “Splash Brothers”, the best pair of shooters in history. The fourth attempt was successful and there were two more successful ones.

In the end, he made a copy full of promises (7/18 on shots, 3 rebounds) in 19 minutes, adding a block, just to remember that before getting injured he was also one of the best defenders in the league.

“I was just happy to be able to do what I love again. I got my rhythm back, it really feels good. A lot of old match day feelings came back to me, it was surreal. I was made … I am so grateful. I will never forget this evening, “he commented.

Thanks to this victory, also due to Curry (26 pts) and the rebounding slaughter of Kevon Looney (18 including 9 offensive), Golden State once again becomes leader in front of Phoenix.

In the other notable poster in the West, Memphis (4th) still marked the spirits among the Lakers (7th), with a 9th success in a row (127-119), without LeBron James being able to do much. , despite another big performance (35 pts, 9 rebounds, 7 assists).

Because opposite, the oiled collective of the Grizzlies shot too easily at 54% success, like Desmond Bane (23 pts at 9/14), while the phenomenon Ja Morant (16 pts, 7 assists) ensured two places in the next Top 10, with an exceptional two-handed counter, inflicted on Avery Bradley, above the rectangle drawn on the panel, and an alley-oop dunk (aerial pass) also stratospheric.

Earlier, Denver had hardly beaten Oklahoma City (99-95), thanks to Nikola Jokic (22 pts, 18 rebounds), to climb to 6th place, three rows ahead of the Clippers, who ended their series of three losses , beating Atlanta (106-93).

In Dallas, end of the series for the Bulls, who were aiming for a tenth success in a row, but were beaten (113-99) by the Mavericks of Luka Doncic, author of a triple-double (22 pts, 14 rebounds, 14 assists ).

A stop without consequence for their first place in the East, even if Brooklyn took the opportunity to approach slightly, by defeating San Antonio (121-119), after extra time.

A basket 1.6 seconds from the buzzer of rookie Cam Thomas came to save the Nets from Kevin Durant (28 pts) and James Harden (26 pts, 12 assists).

Thanks to this victory, also due to Curry (26 pts) and the rebounding slaughter of Kevon Looney (18 including 9 offensive), Golden State once again becomes leader in front of Phoenix.

A stop without consequence for their first place in the East, even if Brooklyn took the opportunity to approach slightly, by defeating San Antonio (121-119), after extra time.

A basket 1.6 seconds from the buzzer of rookie Cam Thomas came to save the Nets from Kevin Durant (28 pts) and James Harden (26 pts, 12 assists).

While opponents of the government’s measures against Covid-19 experienced a resurgence of mobilization during the weekend, the mobilization degenerated in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The deputy of La République en Marche (LRM) Stéphane Claireaux announced Monday, January 10 his intention to file a complaint after being targeted the day before by projectiles in front of his home in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon launched by demonstrators against the health pass .

While the vaccine pass is currently under discussion in Parliament, the health pass must be required in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon in the coming days, announced the prefect on January 2, angering part of population.

?I’m going to file a complaint, that’s obvious. Some may think that the wrong decisions are made. We all receive death threats by email, at some point it has to stop ?, Stéphane Claireaux told the Franceinfo website.

Read also With the extension of restrictive measures in France, more and more death threats against elected officials

The deputy said he was waiting for the protesters, who were to pass ” before [son] domicile », “In order to be able to discuss with them”. “There was a car that was loaded with seaweed, seaweed [ensemble d?algues], and people started throwing me at me. It looked like stoning, he continued. My wife came to join me on the front steps of the house. I avoided to close to 5 centimeters a pebble which passed near our face. “

The assault on Stéphane Claireaux at his own home during the demonstration against the health pass is abso? https://t.co/EOAn0zG2g5

– AnnickGirardin (@Annick Girardin)

The Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, denounced Sunday evening a “Attack”, by asserting that Mr. Claireaux had “Received numerous projectiles violently thrown in the face followed by throwing stones”, while the Minister of Overseas Affairs, Sébastien Lecornu, had considered that he had been “Lynched in front of his family home”. The Minister of Relations with Parliament, Marc Fesneau, for his part denounces on his Twitter account ?Cowardice in the face of a lonely, peaceful and defenseless man attacked in front of his own home. An intolerable degree has been crossed “.

Mr Lecornu also announced that he and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin had “Instructed the prefect of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon to ensure the protection of the deputy”, also supported by the President of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand.

Multiplication of threats of intimidation

The boss of the LRM group in the Assembly Christophe Castaner also condemned on France Inter the “Cowardice in the face of a man alone, who was peaceful, defenseless, and who faced, who came out, wanted to speak”. “There were, in 2021, from what I counted, 322 threats against deputies, of which two thirds against deputies of my group”, recalled the former interior minister.

In recent weeks, threats and attacks against parliamentarians have not ceased. Garage and cars set on fire, tags, messages of intimidation, promise of beheading … At the end of December 2021, the personal garage of the deputy of Oise (LRM) Pascal Bois, in Chambly, was damaged by a fire, while hostile inscriptions, possibly linked to the vaccination pass, were tagged on the perimeter wall of his home.

Read also Vaccination pass: death threats and attacks are increasing against the deputies of the majority

After this event, several other deputies made public the threat messages received, like the deputy for Seine-Maritime Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, spokesperson for the Horizons party, who was threatened with beheading in an email. She shared a snippet of the post on Twitter claiming that“No threat will dictate[it] [s]a way of voting. You mustn’t let anything go, don’t get used to it ?, calling for a mobilization of the political class.

Jacques Krabal (LRM), deputy for Aisne, lodged a complaint after receiving an email from a certain «Onvatetuer» promising him “Beheading on the public highway” and the elimination of“Emmanuel Macron, but also [des] deputies, judges, prosecutors, magistrates, ministers, wise men of the Constitutional Council who collaborated on these last drops of too much “.

Regarding these threats, the President (LRM) of the National Assembly, Richard Ferrand, must make a “Precise point” in January with the interior ministers, Gérald Darmanin, and justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti. The date has not yet been set. A referent was appointed at the end of November within the services of the National Assembly to “Collect reports” and ” to advise “ the elected.

The World with AFP

Read also With the extension of restrictive measures in France, more and more death threats against elected officials

The assault on Stéphane Claireaux at his own home during the demonstration against the health pass is abso? https://t.co/EOAn0zG2g5

– AnnickGirardin (@Annick Girardin)

Multiplication of threats of intimidation

Read also Vaccination pass: death threats and attacks are increasing against the deputies of the majority

The World with AFP

This week marks exactly fifteen years ago that then Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone. The device would unleash a mobile revolution in no time and is now in its thirteenth incarnation.

All in one

In one of his most memorable keynotes, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone with the words, ?An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator? in one device. Is it starting to dawn on you?’ The iPhone made the resolute transition from a mobile phone full of number keys and other buttons, to a real smartphone with a touch screen and – above all – apps. Initially there were not many more than a dozen, but in no time the App Store overflowed with thousands, and later millions of applications.

In January last year, Apple announced that there were one billion active iPhones in circulation worldwide. The success of the phone has been a major factor in making Apple the first company in history to reach a market cap of $3 trillion.

Meanwhile, the development of the iPhone does not stand still. For example, the iPhone 14 (expected around September) could become Apple’s first device without a physical SIM card. Insiders also expect an Apple event in March or April where the company would announce a new iPhone SE with 5G support. The SE is the cheaper entry-level phone, which should make Apple’s gadget available to a wider audience.

The excerpt from Steve Jobs’ 2007 keynote, in which he unveils the iPhone.

Compared to today’s smartphones, the original iPhone with its 3.5-inch LCD display was only a minor feat – no bigger than the iPods of the time. The design may also look a bit old-fashioned now, but in 2007 the contrast with traditional mobile phones could not be greater. In one of his most memorable keynotes, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone with the words: ‘An iPod, a telephone and an internet communicator. .. in one device. Is it starting to dawn on you?’ The iPhone made the resolute transition from a mobile phone full of number keys and other buttons, to a real smartphone with a touch screen and – above all – apps. Initially there were not many more than a dozen, but in no time the App Store overflowed with thousands, and later even millions of applications. In January last year, Apple announced that there were one billion active iPhones in circulation worldwide. The success of the telephone has largely ensured that Apple is the first company in history to reach a market value of 3,000 billion dollars. Meanwhile, the development of the iPhone is not standing still. For example, the iPhone 14 (expected around September) could become Apple’s first device without a physical SIM card. Insiders also expect an Apple event in March or April where the company would announce a new iPhone SE with 5G support. The SE is the cheaper entry-level phone, which should make Apple’s gadget available to a wider audience.The excerpt from Steve Jobs’ keynote in 2007, in which he unveils the iPhone.

This week marks exactly fifteen years ago that then Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone. The device would unleash a mobile revolution in no time and is now in its thirteenth incarnation.

All in one

The excerpt from Steve Jobs’ 2007 keynote, in which he unveils the iPhone.

Before serving his six-year prison sentence, in September 2020, Iranian poet and director Baktash Abtin recorded and posted a video in which he explained his reasons for not fleeing his sentence and his homeland. ?What is lacking in our country are people who resist and who fight. This is why I would like to sacrifice my life, with determination, for freedom while I am young ?, said the 48-year-old Iranian. On January 8, he died in a Tehran hospital from complications from Covid-19 he contracted at the infamous Evin prison.

In a detailed statement, the Iranian Writers Association – an independent organization that fights against censorship and for freedom of expression to which Baktash Abtin belonged – bluntly accuses the Iranian regime of having killed “Deliberately” the poet. The latter’s jailers delayed his access to vital care, taking ten days before transferring him to a hospital where he was finally taken care of, on December 13, 2021. “At that time, he was just a half-living body”, can we read in this press release. The organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also accused the Iranian authorities of being responsible for the death of the poet, for having deprived him of the right to access healthcare.

Read also In Iran, continued degradation of human rights

In 2019, Baktash Abtin was convicted along with two other members of the Iranian Writers Association, Keyvan Bajan and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, for ?gathering and colluding against national security? and ?propaganda? against the Islamic Republic. The poet was arrested in 2016 while participating in the commemoration ceremony for intellectuals killed in 1999 by Iranian intelligence. At the time, the reformist president Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005) had, in an unprecedented gesture, recognized the responsibility of certain agents. However, paying homage to the victims of this dark episode or mentioning them in the press remains impossible, if not risky.

Hardening of repression

In September 2021, Mr. Abtin and his co-defendants received the PEN-Barbey Freedom to Write Award, awarded by the writers’ rights group PEN America to honor their commitment.

Baktash Abtin’s funeral took place on Sunday January 9 in the south of the capital. The day of the ceremony was changed under pressure from the intelligence services who wanted to prevent the presence of a large crowd. Some participants at the funeral chanted slogans against the Iranian regime, ?This free poet is the tyrant’s nightmare! “ and “Death to the murderous government!” “

Since the death of Baktash Abtin, one of the photos of his period of hospitalization has become a symbol of his commitment and the injustice he suffered. In this shot, shared widely on social media, the gray-haired man is lying on a hospital bed reading a book. Dressed in a blue prison uniform, her ankles are chained to each other.

In recent years, dozens of political prisoners have lost their lives in Iranian jails due to the authorities’ refusal to provide them with access to health care. Baktash Abtin is the best known of these victims, testifying to the hardening of repression in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Ghazal Golshiri

Read also In Iran, continued degradation of human rights

Hardening of repression

In September 2021, Mr. Abtin and his co-defendants received the PEN-Barbey Freedom to Write Award, awarded by the writers’ rights group PEN America to honor their commitment.

Ghazal Golshiri

The Burmese junta is still tightening its grip on Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest since the military coup of 1^is February 2021. The former leader was sentenced, Monday, January 10, to four years in prison in one part of her trial, at the end of which she risks decades of detention.

She had already been sentenced in December 2021 to four years in prison for violating the restrictions put in place to fight the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, a sentence reduced to two years by the generals in power. The 76-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is serving this first sentence in the place where she has been held incommunicado since her arrest almost a year ago.

Read also Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence reduced from four to two years

“Fear tactic”

Aung San Suu Kyi was notably found guilty of illegally importing walkie-talkies, according to a source familiar with the matter. According to the prosecution, this contraband material was discovered during the search carried out in the official residence of Aung San Suu Kyi during his arrest. Some members of this commando admitted not having been in possession of any warrant to carry out this raid, according to a source familiar with the matter.

A spokesman for the junta, Major General Zaw Min Tun, confirmed Monday’s verdict to Agence France-Presse, specifying that Suu Kyi would remain under house arrest for the duration of her trial.

This new condemnation “Still risks reinforcing the anger of the Burmese population”, reacted Manny Maung, researcher for the NGO Human Rights Watch. ?Everyone knows these accusations are false. (?) The soldiers use this tactic of fear to keep her in arbitrary detention ? and definitely remove him from the political arena, she added. Sedition, corruption, incitement to public unrest, electoral fraud? Aung San Suu Kyi has been indicted on multiple occasions in recent months.

Read also In Burma, the military junta inflicts its first sentence on Aung San Suu Kyi

Judicial vice

Her trial is being held behind closed doors before a court set up specially in the capital Naypyidaw where she is being tried alongside one of her faithful, the former President of the Republic Win Myint, also arrested on February 1. Several relatives of the former leader have already been sentenced to heavy sentences: seventy-five years in prison for a former minister, twenty years for one of his collaborators. Others went into exile or went into hiding.

The coup plunged the country into chaos: more than 1,400 civilians were killed by security forces, according to a local NGO, and citizen militias opposed to the junta took up arms throughout the country. Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s political influence has greatly diminished since the putsch, with a new generation taking up arms against the junta and having more progressive views. But the daughter of the hero of independence, an icon of democracy during her years under house arrest under previous military dictatorships, still holds a special place in the hearts of the Burmese. The conviction handed down against him in December had “Deeply irritated and provoked floods of protests on social networks”, recalls Manny Maung.

Read also In Burma, the endless tragedy of Aung San Suu Kyi

The Nobel Prize winner lives cut off from the world, her only links with the outside world being limited to brief meetings with her lawyers, who are forbidden to speak to the press and to international organizations. At least 175 people, including many members of his party, the National League for Democracy (LND), are believed to have died in detention, “Most likely as a result of ill-treatment or acts of torture”, denounced, in early December, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. The generals justified their passage in force by alleging massive fraud during the 2020 elections, largely won by the NLD.

Read also Burma: the military junta against Aung San Suu Kyi

The World with AFP

Read also Burma: Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence reduced from four to two years

“Fear tactic”

A spokesman for the junta, Major General Zaw Min Tun, confirmed Monday’s verdict to Agence France-Presse, specifying that Suu Kyi would remain under house arrest for the duration of her trial.

Read also In Burma, the military junta inflicts its first sentence on Aung San Suu Kyi

Judicial vice

Read also In Burma, the endless tragedy of Aung San Suu Kyi

Read also Burma: the military junta against Aung San Suu Kyi

The World with AFP

Novak Djokovic he won his battle. No racket or balls, this time his success comes in a courtroom in Melbourne, where Judge Kelly on appeal called “an unreasonable decision” to remove the Serbian tennis player’s visa and return him to Europe as originally planned for the vaccine case after its landing. He will then be able to stay in Australia and train and compete in the Australian Open: will seek the tenth career success.

The judge then ordered the government to release him from detention and to restore the visa that had been canceled because the world tennis number one arrived in Australia without being vaccinated but with a medical exemption (provided for by the regulations of the Australian Open). A move that had made the entire world of tennis and sport turn up their noses, to put it mildly, provoking political reactions as well. Like that of stopping it right once it lands in Australia and to isolate him, removing his visa. His lawyers, however, appealed the decision and won the case. There judgment arrives five days after Novak was detained at the airport upon arrival on a flight from Dubai but still does not guarantee the certainty that Djokovic can participate in the Grand Slam: the government has announced that it may decide to cancel his visa a second time, too. after the court decision, under an Australian immigration law. And then expel him and ban him from Australia for three years.

Djokovic, that’s why he was exempted from the Covid vaccine: “He contracted the virus in December”

The ruling of the Djokovic case

In the sentence, Judge Kelly read the report ordering the annulment of the decision of the Australian Border Force officer who had canceled Djokovic’s visa, ordering his release within 30 minutes. The judge ordered that the passport and personal effects be returned immediately to the number 1 in the world. “If Djokovic had had more time to consult his lawyers, he would have responded more clearly to the Border Force,” reads the motivations. Djokovic had told the border authorities upon entering Australia that he was not vaccinated and that he was having had Covid twice, in June 2020 and last December 16, then becoming negativized on December 22.

What can happen now?

The Australian government could overturn the judge’s decision once again, again removing the passport from the Serbian champion: “There is no suggestion that he had an acute serious illness in December, when he tested positive,” reads the written memo presented. by the Minister of the Interior Karen Andrews who underlined how, if the judge ruled in favor of Novak (a circumstance that actually occurred), the government could cancel his visa a second time.

Judge Kelly: I’m very worried

?Despite the enactment of this ordinance, the Minister reserved the question of whether to exercise the personal power to cancel the applicant’s visa – explained judge Kelly -. If the minister chooses to use his personal discretion to cancel the visa again, I feel very concerned about the potential outcome. “

Djokovic’s defense

“I arrived here because of these documents, otherwise I would not have been allowed to enter,” said Djokovic, after handing over the Tennis Australia exemption (shown above) to immigration officials. Djokovic learned of the warning that he wanted to consider canceling his visa just before 4am. He was initially given 20 minutes to find a reason to be allowed into Australia. ?I was put in a very awkward position where at four in the morning I couldn’t call the director of Tennis Australia, I couldn’t interact with anyone from the Victorian state government through Tennis Australia. I was put in a very uncomfortable position, ?he explained. Djokovic was told at 5.20 am that he could have until 8.30 am to reply. At 6.14 am he was asked to comment. At 7:29 a decision was made to cancel the visa and was communicated to him at 7:42. Judge Kelly said if Djokovic was allowed until 8:30, he could consult other people about the decision.

The scenarios

Now Djokovic has to wait for the government’s decision, which could still challenge an immigration law and expel him from the country for three years. In this way he would not only not participate in this edition of the Australian Open but also in the next ones. The game, however, has yet to be played, because the lawyers will not stop. And the legal battle will go on.

The vaccine case

But what happened? Djokovic arrived in Australia with a visa and vaccination exemption to participate in the tournament, which begins on January 17, but border officials canceled the visa with support from Prime Minister Scott Morrison. His has become a worldwide case: several times Djokovic has asked for privacy on his choice to get vaccinated or not, however, hinting at his opposition. And until the last week he never revealed whether he was vaccinated or not. Then the exemption clarified every aspect. His lawyers said Saturday that the Serbian had tested positive for coronavirus in mid-December and had been granted a vaccination exemption by Australian Open officials for these reasons.

Djokovic, that’s why he was exempted from the Covid vaccine: “He contracted the virus in December”

The ruling of the Djokovic case

What can happen now?

Judge Kelly: I’m very worried

Djokovic’s defense

The scenarios

The vaccine case

Somalia’s leaders on Sunday (January 9th) announced that they had reached an agreement to complete parliamentary elections by February 25, after repeated delays in the process that threatened the stability of the troubled country. “The current election of the House of the People [chambre basse] will be completed between January 15 and February 25, 2022 “, indicates a government press release.

The agreement was reached after several days of discussions organized by Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble with the heads of the various Somali states in order to emerge from the political crisis that this country in the Horn of Africa has been going through for nearly one year.

Read also Political crisis in Somalia: tension mounts in Mogadishu

Tensions are recurrent between Mr. Roble and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known by the nickname Farmajo, especially with regard to the organization of the elections. The recent escalation between the two men has raised fears that their conflict could escalate into widespread violence.

In December, Farmajo suspended the prime minister, whom he had appointed in September 2020. He immediately accused the president of “Coup attempt” and challenged his authority, while the opposition called on Farmajo to resign.

Crisis at the top of the state

Roble insisted on Sunday that the president reinstate him in office before the resumption of elections, accusing the president of instrumentalizing the armed forces. “Members of the armed forces must remain neutral with regard to political questions and limit themselves to fulfilling their duty to protect the nation while respecting the law”, indicates its press release.

President since 2017, Farmajo saw his term expire on February 8, 2021 after failing to organize an election. The announcement in mid-April of the extension of his mandate for two years had provoked armed clashes in Mogadishu. In a gesture of appeasement, the head of state had instructed Mr. Roble to organize the elections. But in the months that followed, the clashes between the two men continued.

Read also In Somalia, the president suspends his prime minister whom he accuses of corruption

According to Somalia’s complex electoral system, the assemblies of the country’s five states and delegates invested by a myriad of clans and sub-clans choose lawmakers who, in turn, appoint the president. Elections for the upper house have been concluded in all states except Galmudug, and votes began in early November for the lower house.

Many observers believe that the crisis at the top of the state and the electoral stalemate are distracting attention from more important issues in Somalia, such as the jihadist insurgency of the Chabab which has rocked the country since 2007.

To not miss anything on African news, subscribe to the newsletter of World Africa from this link. Every Saturday at 6 a.m., find a week of current events and debates treated by the editorial staff of World Africa.

The World with AFP

Read also Political crisis in Somalia: tension mounts in Mogadishu

Crisis at the top of the state

Read also In Somalia, the president suspends his prime minister whom he accuses of corruption

The World with AFP

An epidemic outbreak, a voluntary shock formula of Emmanuel Macron and here is the Covid-19 that has become central in the presidential campaign. Since the start of the year, the virus has dictated the agenda and has become the variable around which the political offer is organized. The subject is present everywhere. In the National Assembly, in the headquarters, in the street too. Saturday January 8, they were more than 100,000 demonstrators to march against the vaccine pass project. A clearly rising gauge after the words of the Head of State assuming“Piss off” the unvaccinated. And the virus is invading the halls of parties. Apology messages are falling on cellphones everywhere. “Good evening everyone, I have just tested positive for Covid-19”… In case of contact or those tested positive, the political teams are grappling with Omicron.

Read also Presidential election 2022: “Piss off the unvaccinated”, the calculated operation of the quasi-candidate Macron

An order of things linked to the powerful wave caused by the SARS-CoV-2 variant. The outcome, too, of the cleavage around the vaccine pass installed by the ?candidate president?. If they want to exist, the oppositions have no other choice but to invest the health field, with more or less clarity. And to put into practice the sanitary principles stated in their speeches.

For several months in fact, the macronists have understood all the profit they could derive from the health crisis to silence the oppositions. To hear them, any criticism of the management of the crisis would be annihilated, on the grounds that “Nobody would do better” than Emmanuel Macron. Even though the pandemic was a drag on the executive during the first wave, in early 2020, the government now sees it as an asset. “No opposition official has succeeded in instilling the idea that he could have represented a credible alternative to the management of the crisis”, summarizes the spokesperson of the government, Gabriel Attal.

Last week, Mr. Macron decided to officially pose as a leader in pro-vaccines. A strategy intended to leave to the extreme right and to Jean-Luc Mélenchon the defense of vaccinosceptics. Another way of highlighting the inconsistencies of the Les Républicains (LR) party. In the National Assembly, the text aimed at transforming the health pass into a vaccination pass split the LR deputies into three blocks, also divided the Socialists, supporters of compulsory vaccination. In the Senate, the scene could repeat itself.

“A vaccine is not a political bias”

On the left as on the right, everyone refutes the idea that Emmanuel Macron would be the only representative of the vaccinated electorate. Except that he is the only one able to campaign on the management of the crisis. “A vaccine is not a political bias, who gets vaccinated does not become a macronist”, exclaimed the leader of La France insoumise (LFI), Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Wednesday, without departing from a speech of empathy vis-à-vis vaccinosceptics. “Making vaccination a referendum for or against Macron is a political mistake”, for his part decided the environmental candidate, Yannick Jadot, while Christiane Taubira denounced “The choice of contempt, the choice of the permanent fracture of the country”.

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Read also Presidential election 2022: “Piss off the unvaccinated”, the calculated operation of the quasi-candidate Macron

“A vaccine is not a political bias”

You have 50.75% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.

Now the 2022 season starts for Marcus Ericsson.
With the classic Daytona 24-hour.
– I have worked for it for two years, he says.

Ericsson has spent the winter at home in Sweden, but will travel back to the USA during the week. It’s time to prepare for the 24-hour race in Daytona.
He drives car 02, Cadillac DPI for Chip Ganassi Racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team includes former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen, F1 team Williams test driver Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber who won the Le Mans 24-hour on two occasions.
– I was on site before the race last year, but was never there during the race weekend and have talked a bit with Kevin about it. We were teammates last year, even though we did not drive in the same class because he mainly drove IMSA. Now we will drive in the same team and it feels really fun, says Marcus Ericsson.
– I think we have a strong driver lineup in both cars, I am the one who is most new of all.

Season start 2022 for Marcus Ericsson

In the team’s second car, Renger van der Zande, Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon and IndyCar champion Alex Palou drive. Daytona’s 24-hour race is the start of the American racing season and it is a classic race. Ericsson, who has competed in IndyCar for three seasons, has always dreamed of being in the competition, but only after a sixth place in the championship and two race victories has the opportunity come.
– I am really looking forward to it. It will be very fun, he says.

Ericsson unveiled the plan for the F1 blog as early as last fall. He has not competed in anything since IndyCar ended the season in September. He has had a long winter season and is now looking forward to restarting.

– It felt like the season ended too soon. I would have liked to have been able to drive for another month, but now it will be nice to start again, he says.

Klassikern Rolex 24 at Daytona

Rolex 24 at Daytona as the race is actually called is the premiere of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and it has been run since 1962. Even though the first edition was only run over three hours, the competition celebrates 60 years this year.

It has been a 24-hour race since 1966, but in 1981 it was deleted from the World Cup calendar. No Swedish driver has won anything in the competition, but a large number of well-known drivers have been at the top of the podium. Hélio Castroneves, who won the Indy 500 2021 also won in Daytona last year, Scott Dixon won in 2020 along with Kamui Koabayashi (Ericsson’s teammate in Caterham), Fernando Alonso won in 2019, Kyle Larsson (winner of NASCAR 2021) won in 2015 and the former F1 and IndyCar driver Juan-Pablo Montoya has several victories in Daytona’s classic 24-hour race. After the competition in Daytona, a test for Marcus Ericsson awaits before Indycar starts in St Petersburg, Florida, at the end of February.

Several Swedes in Daytona

Linus Lundqvist competed successfully in Indy Lights 2021 and got to test for Andretti Autosport (IndyCar)

This year’s edition of the 24-hour race in Daytona includes additional Swedish drivers. Linus Lundqvist drives a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for the GTD team Alegra Motorsports together with Maximilian Götz (champion in German DTM) and the regular duo Daniel Morad and Michael de Quesada.

Rasmus Lindh runs an LMP3 prototype for Andretti Autosport together with Jarett Andretti, Josh Burdon and Gabby Chaves.

The competition runs on January 29-30. You’re following it here.

Rally Dakar

Mattias Ekström took eighth place in the seventh stage of Rally Dakar.

– Not much happened today, but it was a new experience to be in the lead. We made a few minor mistakes, but the big problem was all the dust that dizziness when fighting with those who lead the competition. Now we have a good starting position tomorrow, he says.

The stage was won by Sebastioen Loeb, but in the summary it is still Nasser Al-Attayah who leads. He is almost 45 minutes ahead now that the last week’s competition has started. More info can be found you here.

Now the 2022 season starts for Marcus Ericsson.
With the classic Daytona 24-hour.
– I have worked for it for two years, he says.

Season start 2022 for Marcus Ericsson

– It felt like the season ended too soon. I would have liked to have been able to drive for another month, but now it will be nice to start again, he says.

Klassikern Rolex 24 at Daytona

Several Swedes in Daytona

Rasmus Lindh runs an LMP3 prototype for Andretti Autosport together with Jarett Andretti, Josh Burdon and Gabby Chaves.

The competition runs on January 29-30. You’re following it here.

Rally Dakar

Mattias Ekström took eighth place in the seventh stage of Rally Dakar.