BRUSSELS – The European Union on Wednesday denounced what it said was the “brutality” of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, which recently captured the key city of El-Fasher. The statement came as reports emerged of mass atrocities there and the killing of five Red Crescent volunteers in Kordofan. “Civilians being targeted based on...
GAZA CITY – Israel said it had carried out strikes on dozens of Hamas targets following the death of a soldier, with Gaza experiencing its deadliest night of bombing since a US-brokered truce went into effect earlier this month. After the strikes, the Israeli military said it had begun “renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”, though...
BERLIN – German human rights activists yesterday accused Berlin-based agricultural company Amatheon Agri of violently forcing Zambian farmers off their land and seizing their livestock. Amatheon Agri strongly denies the allegations. At least four villages in Zambia were violently cleared in 2024 to make way for the company’s farming activities, German NGO FIAN said, with...
ABIDJAN – Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara was set to secure a fourth term yesterday as early results indicated a landslide win in a weekend poll that excluded two of his main rivals. Nearly nine million voters were eligible to cast their ballot Saturday in the world’s top cocoa producer, which has resisted coups and...
PORT SUDAN – Thousands of civilians remained trapped in Sudan’s stricken city of El-Fasher, with fears growing for their safety, the United Nations and local groups said yesterday after paramilitary forces claimed control of the army’s last stronghold in the western Darfur region. Since May 2024, El-Fasher has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces...
TOKYO – Donald Trump arrived in Japan on Monday, on the next leg of an Asia tour that could see the US president and China’s Xi Jinping end their bruising trade war. Speaking on Air Force One, Trump said he was hopeful of a deal when he sees Xi on Thursday, while also indicating he...
MOSCOW – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced yesterday a successful final test of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, amid Moscow’s ongoing Ukraine “offensive and uncertainty” over a new summit with US leader Donald Trump. “The decisive tests are now complete,” Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin during a meeting with...
KINGSTON – Hurricane Melissa was cutting a deadly path through the Caribbean yesterday, strengthening into a Category 4 storm as it crawled along a worryingly slow course toward Jamaica and the island of Hispaniola. Melissa has already been blamed for three deaths in Haiti this week, as its outer bands brought heavy rains and landslides...
THESSALONIKI – Greek police arrested 37 people yesterday in a sweep related to a multi-million EU farm subsidy scandal, which the prime minister warned could cost the primary sector gravely. The arrests were carried out in the greater Athens area, Thessaloniki, the island of Crete and other areas in an ongoing operation, police said.This followed...
OSLO – Norway’s sovereign wealth fund said Wednesday that it would incorporate artificial intelligence tools into its investment analysis process to avoid losses stemming from climate change. The sovereign fund, the world’s largest, is sustained by Norway’s vast oil and natural gas reserves, but it pushes the companies it invests in to take action against...