Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP |Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed a UNESCO vote Friday declaring old Hebron an endangered world heritage site and announced a $1-million cut in funding to the United Nations. “It is another delusional decision by UNESCO,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew, in a video posted online. “This …
Read More »US, Russia agree on ceasefire in south Syria from Sunday: Lavrov
Hamburg, Germany | AFP |Russia and the United States have agreed to a ceasefire in southern Syria starting from midday on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Friday in Hamburg. “Today in Amman Russian, American and Jordanian experts… agreed on a memorandum of understanding to create a de-escalation zone” …
Read More »Absence of victims leaves holes in Juba hotel trial
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | Witnesses described looting and finding a dead body, but the trial of 12 soldiers accused of raping foreign aid workers in Juba proceeded Thursday in the absence of the victims. The chilling attack on a hotel compound during fierce fighting in the South Sudanese capital …
Read More »Beachgoers killed, flights halted by clashes at Libya airport
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Stray fire from fighting between armed groups that control Libya’s Mitiga airport killed five people at a nearby beach and forced the suspension of flights on Wednesday, authorities said. The clashes broke out Tuesday between the groups at Mitiga, a former military airbase east of …
Read More »Erdogan hosts Russia defence chief amid Syria border tensions
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday held talks with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Istanbul as tension soared on the Syrian border between Turkish troops and a Kurdish militia. Turkey and Russia were long at loggerheads over the Syrian conflict, with Ankara seeking …
Read More »Somali refugees regret returning home from Kenya
Baidoa, Somalia | AFP | As a teenager, Aden Hussein chose to become a refugee to get an education. With Somalia in collapse, he left his family for neighbouring Kenya where Dadaab, one of the largest and oldest refugee camps in the world, offered a de-facto city served by the …
Read More »South Sudan cancels independence day celebrations
Juba, South Sudan | AFP | South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation gripped by civil war, has cancelled its official independence day celebrations for the second year running. “We are not celebrating… because our situation does not require us to celebrate at a time when there are people in need …
Read More »Egypt delivers fuel to ease Gaza electricity crisis
Rafah, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Egypt began on Wednesday to deliver a million litres of fuel to Gaza, a Palestinian official said, in an attempt to ease the Palestinian enclave’s desperate electricity crisis. The fuel, trucked in through the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza, will be routed to …
Read More »UPDATE: Record 65.6 million people displaced worldwide
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | Devastating conflicts, violence and persecution in Syria, South Sudan and elsewhere left a record 65.6 million people uprooted from their homes by the end of 2016, the UN said Monday. That number marks a jump of just 300,000 from the end of 2015, but is …
Read More »At least 40 killed in C.Africa day after ceasefire agreed
Clashes erupt in C. Africa a day after peace deal Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Intense fighting in the Central African Republic killed at least 40 people Tuesday and injured dozens more, dashing hopes for stability in the strife-torn country the day after the signing of a ceasefire deal. …
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