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BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Russian warplanes carried out intense air strikes on rebel strongholds in Syria on Friday hours before a ceasefire is due to come into force, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. “From last night to this morning there have been Russian air strikes that are more intense than usual on rebel bastions including on Eastern Ghouta east of Damascus, in the north of Homs province and in the west of Aleppo province,” […]
DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — Voting got under way in Ireland on Friday in an election which could see it become the latest eurozone country to face political instability as anger against hardship and austerity erodes support for traditional parties. Voters began casting ballots at 0700 GMT in schools, sports clubs and church buildings transformed for the day into election centres. Over 2,000 voters who are residents of islands off the west coast of Ireland have already […]
TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) — Iranians went to the polls on Friday (February 26) to vote for the first time since last year’s nuclear deal in elections that could determine whether the Islamic Republic continues to emerge from diplomatic and economic isolation after years of sanctions. The contest will pit supporters of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, who championed the nuclear deal and is likely to seek a second presidential term next year, against conservatives deeply opposed […]
BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) — Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shi’ite mosque in Baghdad on Thursday (February 25), killing at least 15 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State militants. Fifty other people were wounded in the blast in the predominantly Shi’ite Shuala neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital, police and medical sources said. The first bomber detonated his vest inside the mosque and the second blew himself up when security forces gathered […]
PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — North Korea held a mass rally on Thursday (February 25) in Pyongyang, to affirm party loyalty ahead of a rare ruling party conference. Video provided by North Korea’s official news agency KCNA, which Reuters cannot independently verify, showed thousands of people including senior officials gathering at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. During the rally, people marched down a street, chanting and holding banners, one of them saying “Let’s safeguard […]
by Andrew BEATTY WASHINGTON, United States — US President Barack Obama put the onus for upholding a ceasefire in Syria firmly on the regime and its Russian ally Thursday, warning Moscow and Damascus that the “world will be watching.” Hours before the Saturday cessation of hostilities comes into force, Obama huddled with his top national security advisors to plot the way forward and discuss the campaign against the Islamic State group. “Everybody knows what needs […]
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) — Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Friday (February 26) said Japan had little to worry about after a male teenager near Tokyo was found to have been infected with the Zika virus. “It is not yet the season for mosquitoes to be active in our nation, so there is little concern that this case will trigger a large scale infectIon. However the government has held meetings to decide supplementary steps […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — After a brief glimmer of hope, Spain’s Socialists look set to fail in their bid to form a government next week, plunging the country into more political uncertainty. As the country emerges from an economic crisis and faces an independence threat in the northeastern Catalonia region, it still does not have a government, nearly 10 weeks after elections produced a hung parliament. Socialist chief Pedro Sanchez has been racing to garner backing […]
BEIJING, China (CCTV) — China’s defence ministry said on Thursday (February 25) that his country has the legitimate right to deploy defenses in the South China Sea in the face of a militarization process being pushed by the United States. China and the United States have sparred repeatedly over the past week following reports China is deploying advanced missiles, fighters and radar equipment on islands in the South China Sea, especially on Woody Island in […]
MAGDALENA MEDIO VALLEY, Colombia (AFP) — They have seen bloodshed and death in Colombia’s jungles but for some women rebel fighters, the greatest pain was being forced to abandon their children. Wearing green combat fatigues, Rosmira, 29, sits with a group of her sisters-in-arms at a secret mountain camp, where AFP was exceptionally granted access by commanders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). In a half-century-long conflict that has left countless orphans and widows, […]
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — US President Barack Obama warned Russia and Damacus that the “world will be watching”, hours before a partial truce was due to come into force in war-torn Syria on Saturday. Obama said “the coming days will be critical” for the ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington, and agreed to by both President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Syria’s top opposition grouping. The deal — which excludes the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and […]
HESSTON, KANSAS, United States (Reuters) — An employee killed up to four people and wounded as many as 20 others in a shooting spree that ended at his work site in Hesston, Kansas, on Thursday (February 25) where he was shot and killed by authorities, the local sheriff told reporters. The gunman appears to have opened fire at three locations before entering the building of a lawnmower manufacturer where he worked, Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton […]
