Tag: conflict

Yemen forces launch assault on rebel-held port city

by Fawaz al-Haidari © Agence France-Presse AL JAH, Yemen (AFP) — Yemeni forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive to retake the rebel-held port city of Hodeida, a key aid hub, sparking calls from the international community for restraint. Pro-government troops began the assault Wednesday despite mounting international fears about the humanitarian fallout, pressing toward Hodeida airport south of the city after receiving a “green light” from the coalition. The UN Security Council will […]

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Top US, Russian military brass to meet in Helsinki

    HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) — Top US and Russian military officials will meet in Helsinki on Friday as part of recurring talks to prevent conflicts such as Syria and Ukraine from escalating, Finnish and US officials said. The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joe Dunford, will meet his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov at an undisclosed location in the Finnish capital, the Finnish military announced Thursday. The men sometimes speak by […]

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Israeli minister slams Argentina team over football cancellation

  JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday slammed the Argentina national football team over the cancellation of a planned friendly against Israel in Jerusalem, calling it a surrender to hate. “It’s a shame that Argentina’s footballing nobility did not withstand the pressure from Israeli-hating inciters,” he wrote on Twitter in the first response from an Israeli cabinet minister. The Israeli embassy in Argentina earlier announced the “suspension” of Saturday’s sold-out game because […]

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US will veto UN draft on protecting Palestinians: Haley

  UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United States will “unquestionably veto” a UN draft resolution calling for the protection of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said ahead of a Security Council vote on Thursday. Haley described the text put forward by Kuwait on behalf of Arab countries as a “grossly one-sided approach that is morally bankrupt and would only serve to undermine ongoing efforts toward peace between the […]

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Over 50 Taliban leaders killed in US operation

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US forces killed over 50 Taliban leaders in a series of strikes against those behind a recent attack in the Helmand provincial capital of Farah, US military and NATO commander General John Nicholson said Wednesday. After pushing out fighters in Farah, Afghan and US forces continued to pursue them, Nicholson told reporters at the Pentagon via video link. Under surveillance by the Marines, the Taliban fighters returned to their Helmand stronghold, […]

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No ‘facts’ to support MH17 charges, says Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov

  Russia said Friday the Netherlands had provided no evidence that Moscow was directly behind the 2014 shooting down of flight MH17 over war-torn east Ukraine, accusing the Dutch of promoting their own agenda. “Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok called me today,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Saint Petersburg. “They have practically no doubt that the BUK missile came from Russia. I asked him about facts proving these claims. He did not give […]

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A year after Marawi siege, kin of 10 “missing” construction workers still hope for their return

  by Ayee Macaraig Agence France Presse ILIGAN, Philippines (AFP) — Ten men from the same family vanished after jihadists invaded the Philippine city of Marawi a year ago — each day since, their wives have prayed their bones do not lie in its devastated landscape. The women have been told to accept their husbands were likely among the 1,200 killed in the five-month battle that flattened swathes of the city, but they refuse to […]

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Gaza toll rises to 59 with more protests against Israel planned

by Joe Dyke and Adel Zaanoun Agence France Presse GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Fresh protests were expected Tuesday a day after Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflict’s bloodiest day in years. Palestinians on Tuesday mark the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s […]

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Israeli forces kill 55 in Gaza clashes as US opens Jerusalem embassy

  by Jonah Mandel with Joe Dyke in Gaza City Agence France-Presse JERUSALEM, Undefined (AFP) — Israeli forces killed 55 Palestinians on the Gaza border in the conflict’s bloodiest day in years on Monday as clashes and protests coincided with the deeply controversial opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The clashes, which left more than 2,400 Palestinians wounded, erupted before a White House delegation and Israeli officials opened the embassy at an inauguration ceremony in Jerusalem […]

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On eve of Israel embassy move, US says ‘hard at work’ on peace

  by Ian Geoffrey Timberlake © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Top US officials insisted Sunday that they could still push forward the troubled Israeli-Palestinian peace process despite outrage across the Arab world over the opening of the new American embassy in Jerusalem. Speaking on the eve of the embassy opening, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was hopeful of success in efforts to end the decades-old conflict while National Security Advisor John […]

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Russia urges ‘restraint on all sides’ after Israeli strikes in Syria

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A Russian deputy foreign minister called for “restraint on all sides” on Thursday following Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and said Moscow was “concerned” at the escalation. “We have established contacts with all parties and we call for restraint from all parties,” deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov said, adding that Moscow was “concerned” at the development. Israel’s army said Thursday it had hit dozens of Iranian military targets around […]

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Israeli strikes used 28 planes, fired 70 missiles: Russia

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Israel’s strikes on Syria saw 28 planes take part in raids with a total of around 70 missiles fired, Russia’s defense ministry said on Thursday. “28 Israeli F-15 and F-16 aircraft were used in the attack, which released around 60 air-to-ground missiles over various parts of Syria. Israel also fired more than 10 tactical ground-to-ground missiles,” the ministry said in a statement, quoted by Interfax news agency. © Agence France-Presse

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