Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | The West African nation of Sierra Leone, among the world’s poorest countries despite significant mineral wealth, has been scarred by a brutal civil war and the deadly Ebola virus. Here is some background as Freetown prepares to hold a delayed presidential runoff on Saturday to …
Read More »COMMENT: South Sudan’s wars
SOUTH SUDAN: The revitalisation process can restore the tainted credibility of key players if they avoid previous mistakes. COMMENT | Duop Chak Wuol | Countries are created in line with international treaties and norms, and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the deciding factor for any organised society …
Read More »Dutch-Ethiopian man gets life for ‘Red Terror’ war crimes
The Hague, NETHERLANDS | AFP | A Dutch-Ethiopian man was sentenced to life in jail on Friday after Dutch judges found him guilty of war crimes committed during Ethiopia’s bloody purges in the late 1970s, a period known as the “Red Terror”. Eshetu Alemu, 63, was “guilty of war crimes …
Read More »War crimes judges to award child soldiers compensation
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | International war crimes judges will hand down on Friday landmark reparations to former child soldiers conscripted into a Congolese militia about 15 years ago, who were left brutalised and stigmatised by their horrific experiences. Warlord Thomas Lubanga, 56, was found guilty in 2012 at the …
Read More »Full text of N. Korean leader’s message to Trump
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un Friday warned he would make US President Donald Trump “pay dearly” for threatening the destruction of his country at the United Nations. Here is the full text of his statement as published by the official KCNA news agency: “The speech …
Read More »Germany rejects Polish call for more WWII reparations
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Germany dismissed on Friday Poland’s threat to demand new talks over World War II reparations from Berlin, saying the issue had already been settled in 1953. “Poland made a binding decision in August 1953… to relinquish demands for further war reparations,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said, …
Read More »US, South Korea conduct live-fire exercise after N.Korea ICBM test
Washington, United States | AFP | The US and South Korean militaries conducted a live-fire exercise using surface-to-surface missiles in response to North Korea’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the US Army said Friday. The joint exercise, which occurred Saturday morning South Korea time, came shortly after officials said …
Read More »SPECIAL FEATURE: For Egypt, 1967 war marked end of pan-Arab dream
SPECIAL FEATURE: For Egypt, 1967 war marked end of pan-Arab dream This month, AFP will move a series of stories marking the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War between Israel and neighbouring Arab countries from June 5 to 10, 1967 ****** Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Its vaunted air force …
Read More »SPECIAL FEATURE: How the 1967 Arab-Israeli war began
Over the next four days, AFP will move a series of stories marking the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War between Israel and neighbouring Arab countries from June 5 to 10, 1967 ****** Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | The Arab-Israeli Six-Day War erupted early on Monday, June 5, 1967, a …
Read More »Museveni, Farmajo speeches on ‘Future For Somalia’
The Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as President Farmajo, gave an opening speech outlining the way forward for the country at the conference on Somalia’s future today May 11, 2017.. Joined by the UK Prime Minister Theresa May, presidents from the region, led by Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, also gave …
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