DOLLY PARTON RETURNS TO PUBLIC EYE TO CELEBRATE OPENING DAY AT DOLLYWOOD . (PHOTO).

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 Dolly Parton returns to public eye to celebrate opening day at Dollywood     Dolly Parton made her first public appearance in months to celebrate the opening day of Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, on Friday. The country music icon reflected on the past year, a year after the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, saying she is “doing good” and has been working to rebuild herself spiritually, emotionally, and physically after grieving and dealing with health issues that kept her from touring. Joined on stage by Dollywood president Eugene Naughton, Parton brought her trademark humor to the crowd, joking about rumors of a new husband while reaffirming her devotion to Dean. She also shared updates on her ongoing projects, including a new Broadway musical and her Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum in Nashville. Parton previewed the park’s 41st season, highlighting the upcoming NightFlight Expedition ride, a new “Run Dollywood” race weekend, an updated ...

FRANCE BEGINS TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM CHAD AFTER EXIT ORDER. (PHOTO).


 France begins to withdraw troops from Chad after exit order


France began withdrawing soldiers from Chad on Friday, Chad's defence ministry said, after N'Djamena last month abruptly ended military cooperation with the former colonial power, AFP reported.


A contingent of 120 soldiers departed for France from a military airport in the capital, the ministry said in a statement on Facebook, 10 days after French fighter aircraft left the Sahel country for good.


Chad had been a key link in France's military presence in Africa and its last foothold in the wider Sahel region after the forced withdrawal of French troops from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger in the wake of a series of military coups.


But it announced on November 28 its decision to end a defence accord with Paris mainly dating from independence in 1960.


"At midday, 120 French soldiers took off from the military airport of N'Djamena on board an Airbus A330 Phoenix MRTT, headed for France," the ministry said in a statement on Facebook.


The French army, which had some 1,000 personnel in the country, did not immediately comment on the announcement.


The departure on Friday of French soldiers took place in the presence of Chadian military authorities, a move which "testifies to the intensity of cooperation between the two countries in the field of security", the statement said.


French soldiers and fighter aircraft have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country's independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.


Chad's decision to break military ties with France came only hours after a visit by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, whose delegation appeared unaware the move was looming.


The central African country was the last Sahel nation to host French troops.


Its decision also came shortly after Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told AFP in an interview that France should close its military bases in the West African country.


Military equipment will leave Chad on an Antonov 124 plane planned for the coming days, the Chadian ministry statement said.


Military vehicles from three French bases are also due to be repatriated to France via the Cameroonian port of Douala, it added.


The Chadian president has previously said that the ending of the defence agreement did not mean "a rejection of international cooperation or a questioning of our diplomatic relations with France, whatsoever".

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