Washington, United States | AFP | Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was believed to be dead after a US military raid in Syria’s Idlib region, US media reported early Sunday. Baghdadi may have killed himself with a suicide vest as US special operations forces descended, media said citing multiple government …
Read More »TRUMP: Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool
Trump letter to Erdogan: ‘Don’t be a fool’ Washington, United States | AFP | “Don’t be a fool,” Donald Trump warned his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an extraordinary letter sent the day Turkey launched its incursion into northeastern Syria — warning history risked branding him a “devil.” Three days …
Read More »Pelosi clashes with Trump, again
Trump, Pelosi clash in heated White House meeting on Syria Washington, United States | AFP | Top congressional Democrats walked out of a fractious White House meeting on Syria policy Wednesday when US President Donald Trump attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a “third-rate politician.” One of the Democrats attending …
Read More »Ethiopia and Eritrea: Decades of discord, then detente
Paris, France | AFP | Eritrea and Ethiopia ended decades of tensions in 2018 after a whirlwind peace process for which Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize Friday. Here is a recap of the tensions and reconciliation between the Horn of Africa neighbours. – Eritrea breaks …
Read More »US to send 200 troops, Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia
Washington, United States | AFP | The Pentagon announced Thursday the deployment of 200 troops with Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia to help with the country’s defense in the wake of last months attacks on oil installations blamed on Iran. “This deployment will augment the kingdom’s air and missile defense …
Read More »Iran warns of ‘World War III’
Iranian FM warns US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war: CNN Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iranian FM has warned that a US or Saudi attack would trigger ‘all-out’ war, CNN has reported. This came hours after Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Iran’s foes Thursday of agitating for war, as Washington and …
Read More »Amnesty chief Naidoo says US strike would worsen Mideast suffering
Washington, United States | AFP | The head of Amnesty International warned Monday that a US military intervention in response to the attack on Saudi oil facilities blamed on Iran would only aggravate suffering in the Middle East. The rights group’s secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, said the world instead should …
Read More »As troops pull out, Ukraine frontline village fears for future
Stanytsya Luganska, Ukraine | AFP | While Ukrainian troops were stationed in her village, Anna felt safe despite living on the frontline of a war that has claimed thousands of lives over the last five years. But since they started to withdraw two months ago from Stanytsya Luganska, eastern Ukraine, she …
Read More »AU leaders set to sign landmark trade deal at African Summit
Niamey, Niger | AFP | African leaders will meet Sunday in Niger for the African Union (AU) summit, to sign a landmark free trade agreement, and to discuss looming security and migration crises on the continent. In a “historic” moment for the 55-member bloc, according to its chairman Moussa Faki, …
Read More »Kiir, Machar agree 6 month delay to unity govt
South Sudan rivals agree to delay forming unity government Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | South Sudan’s warring parties agreed Friday to delay by six months the formation of a power-sharing government just days before it was due to be installed in the capital Juba. Representatives for President Salva Kiir …
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