London / AFP Britain’s two main political parties were in Brexit turmoil on Tuesday as the race to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron began in earnest and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a no-confidence vote from Labour MPs. Five days after the shock vote for Britain to leave the EU, the two parties that have dominated Westminster for nearly a ...
Read More »US accuses Russia of harassing diplomats
Washington / AFP The United States has complained to Russia about a mounting campaign of harassment and intimidation of American diplomats and their families in Moscow, the State Department said. Among those to raise objections, US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said. “Over the ...
Read More »Russia opens first criminal case under ‘foreign agent’ law
Moscow / AFP Russian authorities have launched their first criminal case against a rights activist for failing to comply with Moscow’s controversial “foreign agent” law, the activist said on Tuesday. Valentina Cherevatenko, who runs two women’s rights NGOs in the southern Rostov region, could face up to two years in prison if she is charged under legislation which critics ...
Read More »Boko Haram fighters target Niger after fleeing Nigeria stronghold
Bloomberg Driven from its stronghold in northeastern Nigeria, the militant group Boko Haram is targeting the world’s least developed country: Niger. The Nigeria-based militants stepped up attacks in southeastern Niger this month, raiding villages for food and cattle and attacking the town of Bosso, near Lake Chad, to steal weapons. A looting spree in villages near the lake on ...
Read More »Europeans, Asians battle for UNSC power seats
United Nations / AFP Three European countries and two Asian nations are battling for seats on the UN Security Council in elections on Tuesday that are drawing attention to the refugee crisis and human rights. Five non-permanent seats are up for grabs in the vote at the UN General Assembly, but two are all but decided. Ethiopia and Bolivia ...
Read More »Duterte looking to destroy ‘Imperial Manila’
Manila / AFP Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte takes office this week looking to end the domination of “Imperial Manila” with a radical shift to federalism that he says is vital to fighting poverty and ending a deadly Muslim separatist insurgency. Duterte, who won last month’s elections in a landslide, has vowed to have the constitution rewritten to achieve his bold ...
Read More »Boat carrying 11 people missing off Tonga
Nuku’alofa/ AFP Rescuers launched an air and sea search on Tuesday for a boat missing in Pacific waters off Tonga carrying 11 people, including up to five children. Tongan police said the boat set off from the capital Nuku’alofa with another vessel on Monday afternoon and was due to arrive overnight in Fonoifua island, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) ...
Read More »Lebanon army raids Syrian refugee camps after blasts
Lebanon /Â AFP Lebanese troops raided makeshift refugee camps near a predominantly Christian village on the border with Syria on Tuesday a day after two waves of suicide attacks. But Interior Minister Nuhad Mashnuq said the attackers who carried out Monday’s violence had come from inside Syria, not refugee settlements nearby. “We are worried that there are more terrorists, so ...
Read More »Putin to call Erdogan today, says Kremlin
Moscow / AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin is to hold his first phone call with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan since Ankara downed one of Moscow’s warplanes in Syria, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation would take place on Wednesday at the “initiative of the Russian side” after the Turkish strongman sent a letter ...
Read More »11 Kurdish rebels, guards killed in Iran
Tehran / AFP Eleven Kurdish rebels and three of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards were killed in clashes near the Iraqi border, the Fars news agency reported on Tuesday. “A group of 11 counter-revolutionaries linked to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), who were attempting to infiltrate the country were immediately detected… and were eliminated after 10 days of ...
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