Gbarnga, Liberia | AFP | Dekergar Duko, a lean father-of-two who crushes rocks for a living, often reminisces during his days of backbreaking labour about his life under Liberia’s warlord-turned-president, Charles Taylor. Living in a hovel metres (yards) away from the so-called “College of Knowledge” where the dreaded strongman trained child …
Read More »Colombia’s Santos names ex-VP as chief negotiator with rebels
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday named a former vice president as chief negotiator in peace talks with rebels from the National Liberation Army (ELN). In a meeting with journalists, Santos said Gustavo Bell would replace Juan Camilo Restrepo after the latter announced that …
Read More »THIS WEEK: UPDF awarded for good work in Somalia
THIS WEEK: UPDF awarded for good work in Somalia Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | UPDF battle group 22 which has been serving under African Union Mission in Somalia commonly known as AMISOM commanded by Col Bernard Tuhame has been awarded medals of honor by the mission. The troops that …
Read More »Ambassadors of Western nuclear powers to snub Nobel ceremony
Oslo, Norway | AFP | Breaking with tradition, nearly all ambassadors of the world’s nuclear powers will not attend this year’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony which honours efforts to ban atomic weapons, the Nobel Institute said Thursday. Russia and Israel will be the only exceptions, with their ambassadors due to …
Read More »Kagame, Senegal’s Sall urge support for new African security doctrine
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | African leaders on Monday used a regional forum to call for extra support as the continent moves to assure its own security after years of Western interventions. The annual Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security this year brings together the presidents of Mali, Rwanda …
Read More »Peace brings hope for Colombia’s biodiversity: Santos
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos on Friday hailed his country’s peace deal with the FARC guerrilla group as a chance to preserve his country’s biodiversity after decades of violence. “We need to reconcile also with the environment, which was a big victim of the armed …
Read More »Nobel’s shining stars who lost their lustre
Oslo, Norway | AFP | Praised to the skies and bearing great hopes, they went on to disappoint the world: as the case of Aung San Suu Kyi shows, Nobel Peace Prize winners have not always lived up to expectations. The Norwegian Nobel committee’s announcement every October is usually followed by …
Read More »Thousands attend first Mogadishu night-time football match in decades
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Several thousand fans on Friday watched the first night-time football match to be played in Mogadishu since chaos descended on the Somali capital nearly three decades ago, raucously backing their respective teams in what the mayor called a “historic” event. The match — the final …
Read More »Pope in Colombia: 3 highlights
Francis’s 12-hour journey from Rome was the first time the pope’s words have been reported direct from his plane. Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Pope Francis landed in Colombia Wednesday to promote peace after decades of war. Here are three highlights from day one of the Argentine pope’s fifth papal …
Read More »Colombia FARC rebels reborn as ‘revolutionary force’ party
Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s FARC former guerrilla force on Thursday re baptized itself the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force, as it transformed into a political party following its disarmament. In spite of earlier resistance from some members of the movement, the name retains the revolutionary spirit of the communist guerrilla group, which …
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