Amman, Jordan | AFP | Iraqi soldier Abdullah lost his left hand fighting the Islamic State group but now he has a prosthetic one — thanks to a 3D printing lab in Jordan. Abdullah was wounded in a mine blast as Iraqi forces battled to oust the jihadists from Iraq’s …
Read More »Russia seeks UN Security Council meeting on Eastern Ghouta
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia called for a UN Security Council meeting to be held Thursday on the violence engulfing Eastern Ghouta after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described life for civilians in the rebel-held Syrian enclave as “hell on earth.” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council on …
Read More »UN chief ‘deeply alarmed’ by Eastern Ghouta violence
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said he was “deeply alarmed” by the escalating violence in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta enclave after more than 100 civilians were killed in the second straight day of air strikes. Guterres urged all sides to uphold the basic …
Read More »UNICEF issues blank statement slamming ‘war ON children in Syria’
Amman, Jordan | AFP | The UN children’s fund on Tuesday expressed “outrage” over the killings of children in Syria by issuing a blank statement, adding in a footnote that “no words will do (them) justice”. The statement came after a ferocious Syrian regime bombing campaign pounded the rebel-held enclave …
Read More »Two Kenyan pilots released by S.Sudan rebels
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Two Kenyan pilots held for over a month after crash-landing their plane in rebel-held South Sudan have been released, a rebel spokesman said Tuesday. The two men were flying South Sudanese aid workers close to Akobo in the east of the country early last …
Read More »77 dead as Syria enclave pounded ahead of expected ground assault
Hammuriyeh, Syria | AFP | Heavy Syrian bombardment killed at least 77 civilians in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta on Monday, a monitor said, as regime forces appeared to prepare for an imminent ground assault. The escalation came as pro-government forces were also expected to enter the northern Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, …
Read More »Two aid workers killed in eastern DR Congo
United Nations, United States | AFP | Two aid workers employed by a French charity that helps provide water were killed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and a third is still missing, the United Nations said Monday. The two Hydraulique Sans Frontieres (HYFRO) employees were killed Saturday near Mushikiri …
Read More »For single Syrian women, search for soulmate comes up empty
Damascus, Syria | AFP | Syrian student Nour wistfully examines her bare ring finger, then scans fellow classmates around her at Damascus University. Amid the sea of women, there’s no eligible single man in sight. At 30, Nour says she is eager to get married — but Syria’s protracted conflict …
Read More »US vows investigation into Syria attack involving Russians
Washington, United States | AFP | US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday vowed to investigate an attack involving Russian citizens on American-allied forces in Syria but stopped short of accusing Moscow of orchestrating the assault. Russia has acknowledged that five of its citizens were killed in a US-led coalition …
Read More »Israel strikes Gaza after blast wounds four soldiers
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Israeli jets struck the Gaza Strip on Saturday after four soldiers were wounded when an improvised explosive device blew up along the border with the Palestinian enclave. The explosion earlier Saturday, which left two of the Israeli soldiers severely injured, was one of …
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