United Nations, United States | AFP | The United States on Wednesday called for an international arms embargo to be imposed on South Sudan following the failure of the latest ceasefire aimed at ending the four-year war. US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the Security Council that President Salva Kiir’s government …
Read More »US puts pressure on Turkey over Syria push, Erdogan defiant
Kirikhan, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed to press Turkey’s offensive against a Kurdish militia in Syria until “the last terrorist” was killed, as the US ramped up its concerns over the campaign. Turkey on Saturday launched operation “Olive Branch” together with Syrian rebels and Turkish …
Read More »World powers step up pressure on Syria, Russia over chemical attacks
Paris, France | AFP | Two dozen countries agreed Tuesday to push for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson saying Russia “ultimately bears responsibility” for such strikes. Twenty-four nations approved a new “partnership against impunity” for the use of chemical weapons, just …
Read More »Pence in Jerusalem pledges embassy move by end of 2019, faces protest
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | US Vice President Mike Pence pledged to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by the end of 2019 on Monday in a speech to Israel’s parliament that saw Arab lawmakers expelled after they shouted in protest. As Pence spoke, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived …
Read More »Tripoli flights still suspended after fighting
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The Libyan capital’s only working international airport remained closed to flights on Tuesday, the airport said, a day after fighting killed at least 20 people and damaged several planes. Mitiga airport said in a statement that all scheduled flights had been rerouted through the western …
Read More »Clashes force closure of Tripoli airport in Libya
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Fierce fighting forced the closure of the Libyan capital’s only civilian airport on Monday, officials said, after a militia in charge of security there said it had been attacked. The Facebook page of Mitiga International Airport, in eastern Tripoli, said “flights have been suspended because of …
Read More »Erdogan threatens to ‘nip in the bud’ new US-backed Syria force
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday threatened to thwart the creation of a new US-backed 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria before it was even set up. “America has acknowledged it is in the process of creating a terror army on our border. What …
Read More »Israel destroys tunnel from Gaza it says intended for attacks
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel said Sunday it used a combination of air strikes and other means to destroy a tunnel stretching from the Gaza Strip into the country and continuing into Egypt. Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said the tunnel belonged to Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and was …
Read More »Three French soldiers wounded in Mali attack
Paris, France | AFP | Three French soldiers deployed in a counter-terrorism force in Mali’s restive northeast were injured, one seriously, in a suicide bomb attack, France’s army said Friday. The convoy was attacked while travelling between the Menaka and Indelimane regions on Thursday, the fifth anniversary of the launch …
Read More »UN political chief pushes for 2018 elections in Libya
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | The UN’s political chief pushed Wednesday in Libya for the country to hold credible elections this year in a bid to ensure a peaceful shift from a failed unity deal. “The goal is a Libyan goal to end the transition phase with inclusive peaceful process that …
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