The Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul has instructed the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Obed Akwa to immediately begin investigations into allegations of some military men protecting illegal gold mining concessions especially in the Ashanti Region. He said his outfit will ensure that any military personnel caught to be engaged in the illegal act will … Read more
India announced Tuesday it had fired mortars at Pakistani army posts across their disputed border in Kashmir, a rare public disclosure of such a pre-emptive assault against its neighbour. Troops fired at military camps in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir which were being used to harbour militants, an Indian army spokesman said. “As part of our counter-terror operations, … Read more
Tunisian officials warned Tuesday that tensions in the country’s south could escalate following a protester’s death after clashes with security forces at an oil and gas plant. The young demonstrator died of wounds sustained Monday when he was “accidentally” run over by a national guard vehicle outside the El Kamour pumping station, the health and … Read more
Philippine security forces hunting one of the world’s most-wanted Islamist militants were battling gunmen in a southern city on Tuesday, authorities said. Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnapping-for-ransom gang who the Islamic State group has appointed its Philippine chief, was believed to be among those fighting police and soldiers in Marawi … Read more
At least 10 Afghan soldiers were killed when militants attacked their army base in the southern province of Kandahar, the defence ministry said Tuesday, in the latest attack on Western-backed forces. The assault in Shah Wali Kot district late Monday came just a day after 20 Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their … Read more
Myanmar’s army on Tuesday cleared itself of allegations that troops may have carried out ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, but said a soldier had been jailed for taking a motorbike. More than 70,000 members of the persecuted minority fled to neighbouring Bangladesh after the military launched a widespread crackdown late last year in the north … Read more
Beyond the gleaming towers of modern high-tech Seoul, it is the dark past of South Korea’s years of dictatorship, violence and upheaval that have inspired the country’s staggering rise as a cinematic powerhouse. No fewer than five South Korean movies are showing in the elite selection of this year’s Cannes film festival. And Bong Joon-Ho’s … Read more
A letter to President Alassane Ouattara: You reap what you sow Mr. President, from my rat hole somewhere on the outskirts of Accra, I extend my warmest greetings to you, in your presidential palace. I do not intend to beat around the bush to cut to the chase because we have a serious bone for … Read more
A young protester was killed Monday after a national guard vehicle “accidentally” ran him over in south Tunisia, raising fears of more social unrest in a region already rocked by weeks of protest. The death comes as tensions have risen between protesters and security forces outside the El Kamour oil and gas pumping station. Protesters … Read more
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir declared a unilateral ceasefire Monday as he launched a national dialogue, a controversial bid to end a civil war that excludes his rival Riek Machar. It is not the first time Kiir has vowed the army will lay down arms in the three-year conflict, and he warned that his troops … Read more
A young protester was killed Monday after a national guard vehicle “accidentally” ran him over in south Tunisia, raising fears of mounting social unrest in a region rocked by weeks of protest. The death comes as tensions have risen between protesters and security forces outside the El Kamour oil and gas pumping station. Protesters have … Read more
A small bomb struck a Bangkok military hospital on Monday wounding more than 20 people, police said, three years to the day since the army seized power of the politically unstable kingdom. Thailand remains starkly divided since the May 22, 2014 coup, but dissent has broadly been silenced by a military with sweeping security powers. … Read more
Three years after their latest coup, Thailand’s arch-royalist military is firmly dug-in. Dissent is banned, a junta-appointed legislature makes the law — and awards the army an ever-burgeoning budget — while a new constitution gifts the military power to write the script for Thailand’s next 20 years. But discontent lingers and is at its sharpest … Read more
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul says government is likely to deploy military personnel in the coming days to augment the fight against illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey. He explained that the military’s involvement to combat the menace will be part of their duties to maintaining internal securities. “I can assure you that the … Read more
A Kenyan politician being investigated for the raids in private farms in the Laikipia region has been found dead. Thomas Minito’s body was found floating in a river in Machakos, 50km (30 miles) from the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi. Police say he was also being investigated for possible involvement in the shooting of Italian-born … Read more
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has ordered an immediate investigation into the cost of a new Military Cemetery at Burma Camp valued at $6 million. According to the Minister, the cost is simply outrageous and must be probed for a possible review. The cemetery is being constructed as an alternative to the Osu Military … Read more
Following a string of mutinies, plummeting cocoa prices, depressed growth and social unrest, Ivory Coast’s economic “miracle” has taken a battering and runs the risk of turning into a mirage. Crippled by a decade-long conflict that began in 2002, the world’s top cocoa producer has made a spectacular comeback since President Alassane Ouattara took office … Read more
President Emmanuel Macron arrived Friday in conflict-torn Mali to visit French troops fighting jihadists on his first official trip outside Europe since taking power. At the end of his first week in office, Macron flew into Gao, a city in Mali’s deeply-troubled north, where he will hold talks with his Malian counterpart Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. … Read more
The government has warned the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners that any attempt to breach the six-month freeze on all forms of small-scale mining will be considered as a violation of the laws of the country. If they do return to mining sites, the security forces would be awaiting them, the Minister of Lands … Read more
The Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has ordered an immediate investigation into the cost of a new Military Cemetery at Burma Camp valued at $ 6 million. According to the Minister, the cost is simply outrageous and must be probed for a possible review of the cost. The cemetery is being constructed as an alternative … Read more