Paris, France | AFP | The UN cultural agency on Tuesday adopted a controversial Arab-sponsored resolution condemning Israel’s actions at a flashpoint holy site in east Jerusalem that has sparked fury in the Jewish state. The UNESCO resolution on “occupied Palestine” was drafted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar …
Read More »Libya: Five restive years after Gaddafi
Tripoli, Libya | AFP | Five years after Libyan strongman Moamer Gaddafi was captured and killed, the country remains unstable, with political and military rivalries sabotaging a viable state and the fight against Islamic State group jihadists. Following are key markers in the oil-rich North African country’s bid to become a …
Read More »Retaking Iraq’s Mosul: a complex offensive
Paris, France | AFP | A complex offensive is taking place to recapture Mosul, the Islamic State group’s last major stronghold in Iraq and the country’s second city. Questions of timing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Monday that operations to liberate Mosul had begun after already calling an operation to …
Read More »Turkey’s Erdogan to Iraqi PM: ‘Know your place’
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday snubbed Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s criticism of the presence of Turkish troops in Iraq ahead of a planned operation to retake Mosul city, urging him to “know your place”. “He is insulting me personally. You are not …
Read More »Burundi declares UN rights investigators persona non grata
United Nations, United States | AFP | Burundi on Monday barred three United Nations rights experts who had accused the government in Bujumbura of being responsible for abuses and warned of a danger of genocide from the violence. In a letter sent by Foreign Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe and seen …
Read More »Germany says new East-West tensions more dangerous than Cold War
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The mounting tensions between the United States and Russia have created a situation that is “more dangerous” than the Cold War, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in an interview published Saturday. Relations between the two have nosedived since a ceasefire they agreed to in …
Read More »ICC announces visit to Israel, Palestinian territories
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | A delegation from the world’s only permanent war crimes court is visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories this week, the chief prosecutor said Wednesday, against the backdrop of a probe into the 2014 Gaza war. The trip from Wednesday until October 10 will be …
Read More »Uganda one of 10 countries hosting half world’s refugees
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Ten countries accounting for 2.5 percent of world GDP are hosting more than half the world’s refugees, Amnesty International said Tuesday as it slammed what it called the selfishness of wealthy nations. In a report on the plight faced by the world’s 21 million …
Read More »US drops Russia talks as Syria pushes Aleppo onslaught
Washington, United States | AFP | The United States on Monday abandoned its effort to convince Russia to impose a ceasefire on the Syrian regime as government forces pursued their relentless onslaught on eastern Aleppo. Accusing Moscow of abetting Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad’s assault on civilian districts of the city, …
Read More »Artillery fire rocks Aleppo as Syria army presses assault
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | Heavy artillery exchanges rocked Syria’s battleground second city Aleppo throughout the night as government forces pressed a two-pronged assault on rebel-held districts, an AFP correspondent reported on Saturday. The government’s offensive to recapture the whole of Aleppo has been bolstered by its Russian ally’s rejection …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price