Politics

  Qayyarah / AFP Iraqi forces were making gains as tens of thousands of fighters advanced on Mosul on Tuesday in an unprecedented offensive to retake the city from the IS group. With the crucial battle in its second day, Iraqi commanders said progress was being made as fighters pushed on two main fronts towards the city. The US military, which …

  London / AFP Paramilitary groups and government forces in Iraq have tortured, arbitrarily detained and executed thousands of civilians escaping areas controlled by the IS group, Amnesty International warned Tuesday. The London-based rights group said the abuses, often revenge attacks directed at Sunnis suspected of being complicit with IS, must not be repeated as Iraqi forces advance on the jihadists’ …

  Dhaka / AFP A Bangladeshi radical party allied to the opposition has elected a new chief untainted by war crime allegations, seeking to turn the page after the execution of several of its top leaders. Jamaat-e-Islami said in a statement late Monday it had sworn in former school teacher Maqbul Ahmed as its leader after a secret ballot of party …

  Aden / AFP The United Nations has announced a new ceasefire in war-ravaged Yemen from early Thursday, after a week of escalated fighting sparked new international calls to end the conflict. While President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government and its Saudi backers said they would support the truce, there has been no word from the Iran-backed rebels who control the …

  Johannesburg / AFP South Africa’s government has descended into open warfare as a clash between President Jacob Zuma and his finance minister unveils rivalries that could tip the country into instability. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) party looks set for worsening strife as its divided leadership struggles with falling popular support, a weakening economy and violent student protests. Finance …

  Paris / AFP Britain must fulfil its duties towards unaccompanied migrant children in the Calais “Jungle” camp, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in an article published on Tuesday, just a day after more than a dozen teenagers were transferred to the UK. “(The) French government has now decided to dismantle the Calais camp for good,” Cazeneuve said in …

  Aleppo / AFP Dozens of civilians were killed as air strikes flattened residential buildings in rebel-held east Aleppo Monday, despite Western warnings of sanctions against Syria and Russia over attacks on the city. Once Syria’s thriving commercial hub, Aleppo has been ravaged by bombing raids and intensifying clashes as President Bashar Al-Assad’s forces fight to capture opposition-held parts of the …

  Addis Ababa / AFP Ethiopia has banned access to foreign-based opposition media and restricted foreign diplomats’ travel, in new provisions of a state of emergency. The government declared the six-month state of emergency eight days ago, stepping up its response to an unprecedented wave of protests against its authoritarian rule which has left hundreds dead. New restrictions published in local …

  Dhaka / AFP Bangladesh said Monday it is fast-tracking trials of Islamist extremists, hours after a senior leader of a militant group was hanged for a 2005 blast that killed two judges. Asadul Islam, also known as Arif, was a senior leader of the banned group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which the government has blamed for a deadly siege on …

  Al-Shura / AFP Iraqi forces launched an offensive on Monday to retake Mosul and deal a death blow to the IS group’s “caliphate” in the city where it was declared two years ago. Some 30,000 federal forces are leading the offensive, backed by a 60-nation US-led coalition, in what is expected to be a long and difficult assault on …