Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron that he will recognize two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin announced Monday.
“I deem it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago: To immediately recognize the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic,” Putin said later in an address to the Russian people, before signing a decree to make his intentions official.
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Monday, December 13, 2021
The French territory of New Caledonia has voted against independence in a referendum, provisional results show, amid a big drop in turnout due to a boycott of the vote by the independence movement.
The indigenous Kanak population, who largely favour independence, had called for non-participation in the referendum because they are in a 12-month mourning period following a September surge in coronavirus infections.
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Sunday, December 12, 2021
Voters in the French territory of New Caledonia vote Sunday on whether to remain a part of France, The Associated Press reports.
New Caledonia, an archipelago in the South Pacific with a population of around 250,000, became a French colony in 1853, gained equal citizenship for its native inhabitants in 1957, received a degree of autonomy in 1988, and rejected previous independence referenda in 2018 and 2020. In 2018, 43.6 percent of voters backed independence. In 2020, the share of voters who favored independence rose to 46.7 percent.
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Wednesday, December 1, 2021
The Eastern Caribbean island of Barbados is now a republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and severing centuries-old ties with the British crown on the 55th anniversary of the Caribbean nation’s independence from the United Kingdom.
Barbados today replaced the Queen with Sandra Mason, a former governor-general who also will serve as the island’s first president.
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Monday, October 5, 2020
Voters in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia rejected a bid for independence from France Sunday in a second referendum on the issue.
Results shared by New Caledonia’s High Commission showed that 53.26% of voters chose to reject independence from France while 46.74% voted in favor of independence amid high turnout at 85.64%.
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