Mali to gift another camel to Hollande after first was eatenApril 10, 2013 - 16:13 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - An official said Mali is to send the French president a replacement camel after the first, given to him as a gift, was eaten, BBC News reported. Francois Hollande had left the creature with a family in Timbuktu for safekeeping, after it was presented to him by local residents in February. But it was promptly slaughtered and used in a tagine. France sent troops to Mali in January to regain the north from a loose coalition of militant Islamist groups. During the young camel's handover ceremony, Hollande had joked about using "it as much as I can as a means of transport" around the Parisian traffic jams. French officials had originally planned to transport the animal to a zoo in France, but because of the complex logistics it was decided instead to entrust the beast to a local family. The French defense minister informed the president of the camel's death during a recent cabinet meeting, Valeurs Actuelles magazine said. "As soon as we heard of this, we quickly replaced it with a bigger and better-looking camel," an unnamed Malian official said. "The new camel will be sent to Paris. We are ashamed of what happened to the camel. It was a present that did not deserve this fate." France currently has 4,000 troops in Mali, backed by thousands of Malian, Chadian and other African forces. France's defense ministry said this week it had started the withdrawal of its forces from Mali. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Lithuania sending €100,000 to help Armenia fight floods consequences Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. Armenia: Rescue workers restore pedestrian bridge for flood-hit community Rescue workers on Wednesday, June 5 restored a pedestrian bridge in the town of Alaverdi in Armenia’s north. Turkey condemns Uruguay’s recognition of Armenian Genocide Turkey has condemned a newly passed law in Uruguay that recognizes the Armenian Genocide, TRT reports. |