The US Army is investigating whether any recruitment procedures were violated when an American-French dual citizen enlisted despite having fought with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Washington Post reported Monday that 29-year-old Guillaume Cuvelier started basic training in January, even though he had espoused extreme right-wing French nationalist views and had fought for the … Read more
The US military says its controversial Thaad missile defence system is now operational in South Korea. The system can intercept North Korean missiles although full operational capability is still some months away. Tensions have been rising around the Korean peninsula, with repeated threats from North Korea and the presence of a group of US warships … Read more
Jihadist fighters killed at least 10 soldiers in the western Iraqi province of Anbar on Tuesday in their latest deadly attack on security forces in the area, officers said. The attack near the remote outpost of Rutba brought to at least 26 the number of members of the Iraqi security forces killed by the Islamic … Read more
The US military says its controversial Thaad missile defence system is now operational in South Korea. The system can intercept North Korean missiles although full operational capability is still some months away. Tensions have been rising around the Korean peninsula, with repeated threats from North Korea and the presence of a group of US warships … Read more
Algeria, where legislative elections are to be held on Thursday, has major oil and gas reserves but faces a financial crisis due to the collapse in oil prices. The country has been led since 1999 by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was re-elected to a fourth term in 2014 despite severe health problems. Algeria became a French … Read more
Unidentified gunmen attacked an Egyptian police convoy near the main ring road around Cairo, killing three officers and wounding five others, the interior ministry said early on Tuesday. “Armed elements riding in two vehicles approached a moving security convoy” around 11:45 pm Monday, the ministry said in a statement. The convoy was crossing a roundabout … Read more
Pakistani troops killed two Indian soldiers in disputed Kashmir on Monday and mutilated their bodies, India’s army said, calling it a “despicable act”. In a statement, the army said Pakistan’s border force attacked a patrol operating between two border posts on the de facto frontier known as the Line of Control in the remote Himalayan … Read more
French soldiers killed or captured about 20 jihadists in Mali’s restive north where a French soldier was killed on April 5, the French chief of staff said on Sunday. Troops from Operation Barkhane, a French counterterror operation whose mission is to target jihadist groups operating in the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert, launched … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday his government is ‘seriously saddened’ by television footage showing US military forces operating alongside Syrian Kurdish fighters that Ankara views as terrorists and Washington believes are the most effective fighting force against Islamic State jihadists. Turkish forces last week launched airstrikes on Syrian Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), … Read more
Mali has extended a state of emergency by six months until October 31, a source in the parliament told AFP on Saturday, as the west African nation battles a jihadist insurgency. MPs meeting on Friday “voted unanimously” to extend the state of emergency, according to this source. The measure has been renewed several times since … Read more
Actor and hockey player Michael Mantenuto, best known for his role in Disney’s 2004 sports drama “Miracle,” has died. He was 35. Mantenuto was found in his car by police after reportedly sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Monday afternoon in Des Moines, Washington, according to TMZ. Seattle’s King County medical examiner’s office told People … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war is part of a worrying assault on human rights and democracy across Southeast Asia, activists said as regional leaders gathered in Manila on Friday. Duterte has been condemned in the West for the crackdown, which has claimed thousands of lives since he took power last year, but he … Read more
“I haven’t once spoken my mother tongue Kilokele in the 62 years I’ve lived in Kinshasa. None of my nine children speak it,” says Charles Tongohala. Tongohala’s native tongue is one of 450 spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a sprawling nation of 71 million people whose lingos — almost all of them spoken, … Read more
The death toll from a roadside bomb targeting a passenger vehicle in Pakistan’s northwest rose to 13 on Wednesday after three critically injured people died overnight in hospital, officials said. The incident, which occurred in the Godar area of Kurram tribal district early Tuesday, has been claimed by both the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) faction of the … Read more
A recent Saudi government and security shake-up aims to strengthen King Salman’s increasingly powerful son against a royal rival and to bolster ties with Washington, analysts and diplomats say. Royal decrees at the weekend saw a number of allies of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moved into key positions and another son of the … Read more
Thoughts of a modern muslim King on achieving success in life The Emir of Kano State in Nigeria, Mallam Mahammadu Sanusi II, has taken a swipe at conservative Muslims leaders who discourage attitudes and activities that would enliven people of Islamic faith. According to him, but for some Muslims leaders’ opposing civilization and modernity, a … Read more
North Korea on Wednesday hailed its largest-ever firing drill, overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un to mark a key military anniversary amid high tensions in the region. Speculation had mounted that the North could carry out a sixth nuclear test or another missile launch to mark the 85 years since the founding of its army on … Read more
Former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn never reported receiving payments from Russian entities on his top-level security clearance form, a senior US lawmaker said Monday. Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz said it appeared Flynn broke the law by failing to disclose the payments from Russia’s RT television on his early 2016 security clearance renewal. … Read more
US special forces on Wednesday begin pulling out of Central African Republic where they deployed in 2011 to help hunt the brutal LRA warlord Joseph Kony. The move, which was announced last month, will see US troops pulling out of the country’s east where they have been helping Ugandan forces track down rebels from the … Read more
Turkish warplanes killed more than 20 Kurdish fighters Tuesday in strikes in Syria and Iraq, where the Kurds are key players in the battle against the Islamic State group. The deadliest bombardment was on the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), who are leading the US-backed fight for the important IS-held town of Tabqa in northern … Read more