Afghanistan / AFP US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Afghanistan on Tuesday for talks with President Ashraf Ghani, days after the United States and NATO pledged to keep thousands of troops in the troubled country. Carter flew in to Bagram air base outside Kabul, and was due to meet with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah in the capital later. The ...

  Damascus / AFP Syria’s army has extended a nationwide truce for another three days, but continued Tuesday to press its campaign against rebels in the battered northern city of Aleppo. In a statement late Monday, the armed forces said it would “extend the freeze on fighting on all Syrian territory for 72 hours beginning at 00:01 on July 12.” ...

  Geneva / AFP At least 36,000 people have fled their homes in Juba since heavy fighting erupted in the South Sudanese capital on Friday, the United Nations said on Tuesday. “The latest fighting since Friday has displaced 36,000 people,” Vanessa Huguenin, spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, said, speaking in French. She added that the number was likely ...