Murders of human rights and community activists in Colombia were down to 78 in the first half of the year, the country’s human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday, but the attacks persist. The killing of activists is a top problem for the Andean country, with President Ivan Duque vowing he …
Read More »Turkish military began evacuating from Afghanistan
Turkey’s military has begun evacuating from Afghanistan, the defence ministry said on Wednesday after the Taliban had asked Ankara for technical help to run Kabul airport but insisted it withdraws its military by the end of August. President Tayyip Erdogan’s government had said for months it could keep a presence …
Read More »EU rights court calls on Poland, Latvia to aid migrants on Belarus border
The European Court of Human Rights asked the Polish and Latvian governments on Wednesday to intervene to help migrants camped on the Belarus border. The fate of the migrants has become part of a broader dispute between the European Union and Belarus and groups such as Polish refugee charity Ocalenie …
Read More »Death toll rises to 16 in western Venezuela floods
At least 16 people have died in the western Venezuelan state of Merida following intense rains that have triggered mudslides and caused rivers to overflow. State governor Ramon Guevara told Reuters on Wednesday that more than 1,200 houses had been destroyed and 17 people remained missing as well, as rescue …
Read More »Algeria to allow more international flights in further easing of restrictions
Algeria will increase the number of international flights it allows from Aug. 28, partly to help repatriate Algerians stuck abroad since air travel restrictions were imposed at the start of the pandemic last year. The country began gradually reopening its borders in June although arrivals must comply with strict health …
Read More »Internal UN document says Taliban threatened, beat staff: Reuters
The Taliban stopped an Afghan United Nations staff member as he tried to reach Kabul airport on Sunday. They searched his vehicle and found his U.N. identification. Then they beat him. On Monday, three unknown men visited the home of another U.N. staff member who was at work at the …
Read More »Gunman kills four in attack near French embassy in Tanzania
A gunman killed three police officers and a private security guard on a rampage through a diplomatic quarter of Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, before being shot dead while holed up in a guardhouse at the French embassy’s gate. Videos on the internet, apparently filmed by onlookers …
Read More »Afghans with legal papers will be able to travel beyond August 31:Taliban
The Taliban have told Germany that Afghans with legal documents will be able to travel on commercial flights beyond the Aug. 31 cut-off date after which evacuations from Kabul airport will no longer be allowed, a senior German diplomat said on Wednesday. “Director Stanekzai assured me that Afghans with legal …
Read More »Algeria severs diplomatic ties with Morocco
Algeria announced on Tuesday that it was officially severing ties with neighbouring Morocco “starting today”, after months of tensions between the two countries. Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday evening. “It has been proven that the (Moroccan) kingdom has not ceased its …
Read More »Palestinian teen martyred by Zionist regime in raid on a refugee camp
Israeli forces have martyred a Palestinian teenage boy during a violent raid on a refugee camp in the northern West Bank. According to reports, the incident took place at the Balata refugee camp, situated near the city of Nablus, early on Tuesday, as the Palestinians clashed with the Israeli soldiers …
Read More »Tunisia political limbo: President indefinitely extends suspension of parliament
A state of uncertainty continues to dominate politics in Tunisia, as the country effectively remains without a government one month after President Kais Saied sacked his prime minister, with the chief executive now indefinitely extending the suspension of parliament. According to reports, Saied’s unexpected intervention last month granted him an …
Read More »US far-right Proud Boys leader sentenced to jail for burning BLM banner and having rifle magazine
Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys, has been sentenced to five months in prison for setting a Black Lives Matter banner on fire in Washington as part of protests supporting former president Donald Trump. “Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, 37, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced today …
Read More »Russia navy overhaul: New warships, nuclear subs under construction
Russia is pushing forward with plans to modernize its navy using cutting-edge technology, with President Vladimir Putin revealing that several new warships and nuclear submarines are in the pipeline. Delivering a speech through video conference as part of the Army 2021 expo from the Patriot Park outside Moscow on Monday, …
Read More »US troops at Kabul airport extort money from Afghans seeking evacuation: Report
The US forces stationed at Kabul’s international airport have reportedly been extorting money from Afghan nationals trying to flee the chaos in their homeland, following the collapse of Afghanistan’s military and the Taliban’s takeover of the country. Iran’s Nour News reported Tuesday that US Marines — who control sections of …
Read More »500 tons of medical supplies bound to Afghanistan stuck due to Kabul airport restrictions: WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Kabul’s airport restrictions have blocked the delivery of over 500 tons of medical supplies, including surgical equipment and severe malnutrition kits, as the United States continues with its messy pullout of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The WHO sounded the warning on Monday, stressing that …
Read More »Home Office slammed over ‘chaotic’ handling of Afghan refugee crisis
Thousands of Afghan asylum seekers who have already arrived in the UK are stuck in a “nightmarish limbo” amid mounting pressure to grant them the right to stay in Britain permanently. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said on Monday that the Conservatives’ “chaotic handling” of Afghanistan evacuation “has put lives in danger …
Read More »Washington’s smear campaign against China severely harms Asian Americans in US: Beijing
The Chinese government says Washington’s acts to smear and suppress China have harshly harmed the Asian Americans and intensified the racial discrimination in the US. The US Justice Department started the China Initiative three years ago under former President Donald Trump to counter what it termed China’s “national security threats” and …
Read More »Over 20 killed in weekend raids across northwest Nigeria
More than 20 people have been killed in two separate attacks in Nigeria’s troubled northwest. Local officials said nine people were killed when “unidentified persons” raided the village of Ungwan Dooh in Kaduna state’s Zangon Kataf district on Sunday. “Nine corpses have been recovered so far following a search of …
Read More »US must ‘stop slinging mud’ at others over virus origins, investigate own labs: China
China has called on the United States to stop pointing the accusing finger at other countries over the lab-leaking theory concerning the origin of the coronavirus pandemic and to investigate its own bio-labs instead. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made the call on Monday as he stressed that the …
Read More »Egypt closes Gaza’s Rafah crossing on both sides, gives no explanation
Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing on its border with the besieged Gaza Strip, declining to provide details or reasons for the move. The Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah border crossing with Gaza Strip in both directions on Monday until further notice, blocking the only land opening to the rest …
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