Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s government has asked its UN peacekeeping mission for help against Rwandan rebels planning operations against Rwanda from inside Congolese territory, the UN said on Wednesday. Leila Zerrougui, chief of the UN mission known as MONUSCO, said Kinshasa asked in a letter for …
Read More »Race for ‘hypersonic’ weapons heats up as France joins fray
Paris, France | AFP | World powers are vying to develop so-called “hypersonic” weapons that travel several times the speed of sound, with France the latest to join a field led so far by Russia and China. Hypersonics are like missiles that travel at over five times the speed of …
Read More »Kutesa: I am not under any travel ban
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa says he is not under any travel ban despite reports that his name was mentioned in a UN bribery case. Kutesa was responding to a concern raised by Kawempe North Member of Parliament Latif Ssebaggala during a meeting with …
Read More »Fear of Boko Haram attack sees 30,000 flee Nigerian town: UN
Kano, Nigeria | AFP | More than 30,000 people have fled the northeast Nigerian town of Rann and across the border to Cameroon in recent days because of fears of renewed Boko Haram attacks, the UN, civilian militia and residents said on Tuesday. The latest mass movement comes as the world body voiced renewed concern …
Read More »Sudan at UN hears calls to respect demonstrators’ rights
United Nations, United States | AFP | Sudan faced calls from Western powers at the UN Security Council on Thursday to respect the rights of anti-government demonstrators and investigate violence that has left at least 24 dead. The council was meeting to discuss the situation in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region …
Read More »December clashes in west DR Congo killed almost 900: UN
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | At least 890 people were killed during three days of inter-communal clashes in western Democratic Republic of Congo last month, the United Nations said Wednesday. “It is crucial that this shocking violence be promptly, thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators be brought to justice,” UN …
Read More »Morocco complains to UN of W. Sahara truce violations
United Nations, United States | AFP | Morocco has accused Polisario Front fighters in Western Sahara of violating a ceasefire agreement, just weeks before an expected new round of talks on ending the decades-old conflict. In a letter seen by AFP on Friday, Morocco’s UN Ambassador Omar Hilale cited three …
Read More »Russia, China push UN to stay out of DR Congo poll dispute
United Nations, United States | AFP | Russia and China led calls at the United Nations Security Council on Friday for world powers to stay out of an election dispute in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Western nations and observers have questioned the outcome of the December 30 poll, in …
Read More »Nigerian troops retake Baga after Boko Haram attack
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian troops were back in a strategic town on the shores of Lake Chad, military and civilian sources said Thursday, after Boko Haram attacks forced tens of thousands to flee. Fighters from the self-styled Islamic State West Africa Province overran a naval base and another housing troops from a regional …
Read More »UN chief condemns attempted coup in Gabon
United Nations, United States | AFP | UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday condemned an attempted coup in Gabon, his spokesman said, recalling that the UN chief opposes unconstitutional changes of power by force. Gabon’s presidency said in a statement that soldiers burst into a state radio station at …
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