Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | With a devastating drought worsening an already horrendous humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, parents are increasingly compelled to “sell” young daughters into marriage to pay off debt or buy food, the UN said Tuesday. In the drought-hit Herat and Baghdis provinces of Afghanistan, the UN children’s …
Read More »China’s Xi Jinping arrives in Spain for business-driven visit
Madrid, Spain | AFP | China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Spain on Tuesday for a business-focused state visit as Beijing, currently engaged in a trade war with the United States, seeks to strengthen ties with Europe. Xi accepted a bouquet of red flowers from children after disembarking from the …
Read More »Saudi prince MBS lands in UAE on first foreign tour since Khashoggi murder
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman embarked Thursday on a regional tour starting with the United Arab Emirates, his first official trip abroad since critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder tipped the kingdom into crisis. Prince Mohammed will visit a “number of brotherly” Arab states …
Read More »Trump thanks Saudi Arabia for lower oil prices
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ignored criticism that he gave Saudi Arabia a free pass on the murder of a dissident journalist, instead praising the Islamic kingdom for keeping oil prices low. Trump, on holiday at his Florida Mar-a-Lago Club, doubled down on …
Read More »Trump thanks Saudi Arabia for lower oil prices
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump thanked Saudi Arabia Wednesday for lower oil prices — a day after pledging the US would remain a “steadfast partner” of the kingdom despite the murder of a dissident journalist. “Oil prices getting lower. Great! Like a big Tax Cut …
Read More »Saudi prince could have known of murder, ties unchanged: Trump
Washington, United States | AFP |President Donald Trump acknowledged Tuesday that Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman could have known of the murder of a dissident journalist — but said there would be no fallout anyway for Saudi-US relations. “It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of …
Read More »Trump says bin Laden should have been captured sooner
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump repeated Monday that Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, killed by US Navy SEALs in May 2011, should have been captured much earlier, casting blame on his predecessors and Pakistan. “Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we …
Read More »AU warns Gabon as Bongo remains incapacitated
Libreville, Gabon | AFP | The African Union on Saturday warned Gabon to respect constitutional order after a high court intervened in a crisis surrounding the country’s hospitalised President Ali Bongo. A statement by AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat emphasised that the 55-member group of African nations had a …
Read More »Canada will not extend Mali peacekeeping mission: minister
Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Canada will not extend its peacekeeping mission in Mali beyond July 2019, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in an interview that aired Saturday. Sajjan, interviewed by CBC Radio on the sidelines of the Halifax International Security Forum, said that UN officials were “working with other …
Read More »CIA concludes Saudi Crown Prince behind Khashoggi murder: reports
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Central Intelligence Agency has concluded Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US media reported Friday, citing people close to the matter. The US assessment directly contradicts the conclusions of a Saudi prosecutor …
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