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By Saidu Bah FREETOWN, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Armed clashes erupted in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown on Sunday after what the government said was an attack on a military armoury, as it imposed an immediate national curfew. Sierra Leone, an English-speaking country in West Africa, has been going through a political crisis following presidential and general elections in June this year. Witnesses told AFP they heard gunshots and explosions in the city’s Wilberforce district, […]
SAN JOSÉ, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Nicaraguan authorities have barred the director of the national beauty pageant from re-entering the country after a Nicaraguan woman seen as a symbol of opposition to the government was crowned Miss Universe, media reports and exiled opposition members said. Karen Celebertti and her daughter were detained upon their arrival at the Managua airport — days after seeing 23-year-old Sheynnis Palacios crowned as the first Miss Universe from Nicaragua […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas released a third group of hostages including a four-year-old American girl Sunday, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners on day three of a truce which a source close to the militants said they were willing to prolong. The transfers under a four-day truce that started Friday have been the first relief for captives’ families since the militant […]
BANGKOK, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – An ethnic minority armed group in Myanmar has seized control from the country’s ruling junta of a lucrative border crossing to China, local media and a security source said Sunday. Clashes have raged across Myanmar’s northern Shan state, close to the Chinese border, after an armed alliance of three ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the military in October. The groups have seized dozens of military positions and […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas fighters were set Sunday to release a third group of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a day after freeing captives including a young woman snatched from a desert rave. In a sign of the fragility of the exchanges, the latest swap Saturday was delayed for hours after Hamas accused Israel of breaching its side […]
ANTANANARIVO, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina has won another term in office, the election commission said on Saturday, but his victory in a vote boycotted by most opposition candidates is already facing legal challenges. Rajoelina won 58.95 percent of the votes cast in the November 16 presidential election first round, according to the results presented by the poll body which need to be validated by the Constitutional Court. These results must […]
By Jean-Philippe CHOGNOT PARIS, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Families and children kidnapped from Israel’s southern Kibbutz Beeri were among the 13 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on Saturday, according to accounts given to AFP by their relatives, Israeli press, and the Hostage Families Forum. The releases came following a Friday agreement between Israel and Hamas, which is supposed to last four days and allow for 50 Israelis and 150 Palestinians to be freed. A […]
JERUSALEM, Nov 26, 2023 (AFP) – Prison authorities in Israel announced early Sunday that they had released 39 Palestinian detainees, after Hamas freed 13 hostages under an agreement that came into force on Friday. The freed Palestinian prisoners are all women and people under the age of 19, while the hostages released by Hamas are all women and children. The agreement is supposed to last four days and allow the release of 50 Israelis and […]
TEHRAN, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Iran said Saturday it helped broker the surprise release of Thai nationals who had been held by Palestinian militants in war-ravaged Gaza since their shock attack on Israel last month. On Friday, Hamas unexpectedly released 10 Thais and a Filipino, along with the 13 Israeli women and children that were part of a temporary truce deal with Israel. Israel in turn freed 39 Palestinian women and children from its […]
By Adel Zaanoun with Hazel Ward in Tel Aviv GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – Hamas on Saturday released a second group of Israeli and foreign civilians it had been holding hostage in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, after an hours-long unexpected delay set nerves on edge. Israeli authorities said 13 Israelis and four Thai citizens had returned to Israel. The joint announcement by the Israeli military and the […]
DUBLIN, Nov 25, 2023 (AFP) – A nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl was among the latest group of hostages released by Hamas fighters on Saturday, Ireland’s prime minister said in a statement. “This is a day of enormous joy and relief for Emily Hand and her family,” Leo Varadkar said. “An innocent child who was lost has now been found and returned, and we breathe a massive sigh of relief. Our prayers have been answered.” Emily was […]
MOSCOW, Nov 24, 2023 (AFP) – President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the West had a “dangerous” monopoly over artificial intelligence and Russia needed to rival “biased” Western chatbots with its own technology. The race to develop AI has heated up since the breakout launch of the ChatGPT generative chatbot last year, with Russia and China spending billions to rival the United States’ dominance in the field. “I think you are well aware that […]
