Tag: unrest

Syrian Democratic Forces advance towards Raqqa’s city centre

RAQQA, Syria (Reuters) – Syrian Democratic Forces are pressing their offensive against Islamic State (IS) in Raqqa, advancing further towards the city centre. One fighter said they were advancing quickly against IS, noting that mines left by IS militants were slowing down their progress towards the city centre. Video footage obtained by Reuters showed a number of fighters gathering, testing drones and preparing military equipment. The Syrian Democratic Forces, made up predominantly of Kurdish fighters, […]

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Iraq forces push into Mosul Old City, warn IS ‘surrender or die’

by Jean Marc Mojon Agence France-Presse MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) – Iraqi forces pushed deeper into Mosul’s Old City on Monday after launching a final assault on the Islamic State group, warning civilians to stay inside and telling jihadists to “surrender or die”. Iraqi forces launched the operation Sunday to retake the district, the last part of Iraq’s second city still held by IS after a months-long offensive. Commanders say the jihadists are putting up fierce […]

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Argentines protest against cancelation of benefits for disabled

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) – Hundreds gathered in downtown Buenos Aires on Thursday (June 15) after the Argentine government announced cuts to pensions that could affect citizens living with disabilities. Conservative President Mauricio Macri is looking to trim government debt and spending. But protesters say any austerity measures that target citizens with disabilities go too far. According to the government, 70,000 people receiving the disability pension have been affected after they missed this month’s welfare […]

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Venezuela’s assembly seeks to replace pro-Maduro Supreme Court judges

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition-majority National Assembly discussed on Tuesday (June 13) a selection process to choose new judges for the Supreme Court, amidst criticism that the country’s highest judicial body is biased toward President Nicholas Maduro. In 2015, the then government-majority National Assembly elected judges to the Supreme Court. Now, the opposition says that it has the constitutional power to set a new panel of judges. The move follows a controversial March ruling from […]

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Venezuelans looking to BusTV for news amid lack of information

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) – Returning from an anti-government protest in Caracas early May, artist Claudia Lizardo noticed that many people on the bus around her were unaware of the reasons so many had taken to the streets. Among shortages of basic goods and medicines gripping the crisis-hit nation, she noticed something else missing: information. The result was Bus TV, a spoken news journal presented by Lizardo and other journalist- and actor-friends aboard the capital’s buses, […]

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Israel reduces power supply to Gaza

GAZA, Israel (Reuters) – Palestinians in the Gaza Strip prepared for Iftar on Tuesday (June 13) by candlelight as Israel began reducing the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian Authority limited how much it pays for power to the enclave run by Hamas. The decision by Israel’s security cabinet is expected to shorten by 45 minutes the daily average of four hours of power that Gaza’s 2 million residents receive from an […]

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Syrian government forces vow continued offensive after controlling border with Iraq

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC (Reuters) – The Syrian government forces on Monday vowed to continue their offensive in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor after advancing to the Syrian-Iraqi border in the eastern Syrian desert. After reaching the Syrian-Iraqi border region east of the Syrian city of Homs, the government forces’ next plan was to capture the Al-Tanf border crossing, one of the three official border crossings between Syria and Iraq, from the hands of United […]

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Iran leader shrugs off IS attacks in Tehran

by Ali Noorani and Eric Randolph Agence France-Presse TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) – Iran’s supreme leader shrugged off attacks on Wednesday by gunmen and suicide bombers in Tehran that killed 13 people as United States president Donald Trump warned the nation was reaping what it sowed. The assault was the first claimed by the Islamic State group in Iran, and was the worst terror strike to hit the nation in years.  “These fire-crackers that happened today […]

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Angry at truck bomb blast Afghan protesters clash with police

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) – More than 1,000 demonstrators, many carrying pictures of victims, rallied near the site of Wednesday’s blast, which killed more than 80 people and wounded 460, holding Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah responsible. Police in riot gear used water cannon and tear gas to block the protesters, many throwing stones, from gaining access to the road leading to the presidential palace, occasionally firing automatic weapons into the air. Wednesday’s attack, at […]

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UPDATE: Singapore detains 8 Bangladeshis for alleged IS-related terror plot

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) Tuesday 5/3/2016 – The Singapore government on Tuesday announced the arrest of eight Bangladeshi men who allegedly plotted terror attacks, including assassinations, back home to establish an Islamic state. The suspects were arrested under the tough Internal Security Act in April and had originally planned to go to Syria to join the Islamic State group, the Singapore home ministry said. Items seized included bomb-making manuals, and a list of government and military officials targeted for […]

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Suicide bomber kills six at Iraq Shiite mosque

  BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) Friday 4/22/2016 – A suicide bomber targeted Shiite worshippers at a Baghdad mosque after Friday prayers, killing at least six people, security and medical officials said. The attack in southwest Baghdad also wounded at least 25 people, the officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State jihadist group carries out frequent suicide bombings targeting Shiites, whom it considers heretics. IS overran swathes of territory north and […]

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Beauty queen the latest victim in Venezuela unrest

(Reuters) – A local beauty queen died of a gunshot wound on Wednesday, the fifth fatality from Venezuela’s political unrest, as imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to keep fighting for the departure of the socialist government. Tensions have risen in Venezuela since Lopez, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist, turned himself in to troops on Tuesday after spearheading three weeks of often rowdy protests against President Nicolas Maduro’s government. The latest victims of the unrest […]

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