United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia on Friday voiced reservations over a French proposal to set up a UN sanctions regime for Mali to punish those who are obstructing a 2015 peace deal. France last month circulated a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on establishing a …
Read More »War-torn South Sudan passes budget despite lacking funds
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan’s parliament has passed a $300 million (250 million euro) budget despite the war-torn country’s government conceding it lacked the funds to pay for it. Nearly four years of civil war, as well as inadequate and decrepit infrastructure, have left the country with few …
Read More »Russia sends new submarines to Mediterranean
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia has sent two large newly-upgraded submarines to reinforce its naval presence in the Mediterranean, where it has a Syrian base, the defence ministry said Monday. “The Black Sea fleet’s new large diesel and electric submarines, Kolpino and Veliky Novgorod… have arrived in the Mediterranean,” the …
Read More »UN chief seeks ‘dream’ of Israel-Palestinian peace in first visit
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP |UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres held talks with Israeli leaders Monday on his first visit since taking office, making a forceful argument for a two-state solution with the Palestinians and speaking of his “dream” for peace. Guterres also spoke of what he called obstacles to peace …
Read More »US reporter, 18 Sudanese killed in Kaya clashes
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | An American journalist has been killed while covering clashes between government and rebel forces in restive South Sudan, local officials and the US mission in Juba said on Sunday. A spokesman confirmed the clashes had resulted in 19 deaths. Christopher Allen, a freelance reporter …
Read More »Netanyahu, Putin to meet over Syria conflict
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Russia on Wednesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, mainly focussing on the war in Syria, his office said late Saturday. The two leaders will meet in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to “discuss the …
Read More »ICC rules jihadist liable for 2.7 mn euros for Timbuktu rampage
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | War crimes judges said Thursday that a Malian jihadist was liable for 2.7 million euros in personal damages for destroying Timbuktu’s fabled shrines in 2012, as they ordered reparations in a landmark ruling. The International Criminal Court ordered that the victims of the razing …
Read More »More than one million South Sudan refugees in Uganda
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | South Sudan’s brutal civil war has forced more than one million people to flee to neighbouring Uganda alone, with another million seeking refuge elsewhere in the region, the UN’s refugee agency said Thursday. The UNHCR said additional funds were desperately needed to help the refugees …
Read More »Colombia declares FARC war over as last guns roll away
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country’s 50-year conflict with FARC guerrillas “truly over” Tuesday, as the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons rolled away to be melted down. Santos himself shut a padlock on the last lot of decommissioned rifles before it was taken out …
Read More »Yemen cholera cases soar past half-million: WHO
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Cholera is believed to have affected more than 500,000 people and killed nearly 2,000 since late April, the World Health Organization said Monday. A full 503,484 suspected cases and 1,975 deaths are attributable to the outbreak that erupted less than four months ago in the …
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