France has asked the UN Security Council to authorise the deployment of a five-nation African military force to fight jihadists and criminality in the Sahel region, with a vote expected as early as next week. What are the origins of the force composed of troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, and why … Read more
The EU is giving 50 million euros to set up a joint African military force in the Sahel region to fight jihadists, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief said Monday. The funds will help pay for the troops to fight terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal immigration, European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said in the Mali … Read more
European Union president Donald Tusk said talks with US President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed no “common position” on Russia, a subject on which the US leader faces pressure at home. Tusk, along with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, also argued for the benefits of open trade and the Paris climate agreement that Trump is … Read more
A senior European Union official has urged Myanmar to allow full aid access to the north of Rakhine state, where thousands have fled their homes after a months-long army crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. The area along the country’s northwestern border has been under lockdown since October, when the military launched a campaign to hunt down … Read more
Brussels is ‘crossing its fingers’ for a victory for Emmanuel Macron after EU officials broke with protocol to support the centrist French presidential candidate. The EU has pinned its hopes on pro-European Macron beating the eurosceptic Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s French run-off vote. A host of top Brussels figures led by European Commission President … Read more
Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday rejected a decision by the UN’s rights council to investigate allegations of crimes by Myanmar’s security forces against minority Rohingya Muslims. The UN body agreed in March to dispatch a fact-finding mission to the Southeast Asian country over claims of murder, rape and torture in Rakhine state. “We do … Read more
The political and economic crisis in Venezuela is costing US companies dearly, as General Motors can attest following the unexpected nationalization of its plant there. The big auto-maker shut down its operations in Venezuela and laid off its 2,700 workers after the government on Wednesday seized the plant, which had been idle because of the … Read more
International outrage is mounting over a suspected chemical attack that killed scores of civilians in a rebel-held town in northwest Syria on Tuesday morning. AFP’s correspondent in the town of Khan Sheikhun saw lifeless bodies lying at a field hospital, which was itself hit in air strikes hours after the attack. It remains unclear what … Read more
A suspected chemical attack that killed at least 58 civilians in rebel-held northwestern Syria has prompted widespread outrage and calls for international action. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike in Idlib province Tuesday which released “toxic gas” was likely carried out by government warplanes, a charge the regime denied. UN … Read more
For Diaeddin Al Zamel, the call to save Syria at a EU-UN conference in Brussels was not supposed to be a punch to the gut. The gathering was meant to be an all-too-typical plea for aid from rich donors — but then came the text message from the world’s bloodiest battleground. A source on the … Read more