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☆ Heavy gunfire quickly shatters Sudan truce deal pushed by U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"We have not received any indications here that there's been a halt in the fighting," United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York. The ceasefire deal will not extend beyond the agreed 24 hours, Army General Shams El Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan's ruling military council, said earlier on al Arabiya TV. A Reuters reporter in Khartoum said he heard tanks firing shortly after the truce was due to take hold. In video verified by Reuters, RSF fighters could be seen inside a section of the army headquarters in Khartoum. Maxar satellite imagery of destroyed fuel trucks at fuel depot in Khartoum, Sudan.

☆ Egyptian female Islamic chanters break into male-dominated field
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Then at the age of 17, her mother encouraged her to learn "Maqamat" - the art of singing Arabic music melodies which would prepare her for Inshad chanting. Now 27, she is the founder of "Al Hoor" - an all female Islamic chanting troupe in Egypt. "I felt women were underrepresented in this field and I wanted us to take part in developing the art form of chanting," she said. Shaimaa El Nouby, another Egyptian female chanter, said she faced similar challenges. "I want to develop chanting as an art form while protecting the old schools of Inshad," she said.

The regular army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued statements accusing each other of failing to respect the ceasefire. "We have not received any indications here that there's been a halt in the fighting," United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York. The fighting has triggered what the United Nations has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system. Fighting also raged in the west of the country, the United Nations said. [1/7] Satellite image shows a closer view of a burning building at the Merowe Airbase, Sudan, April 18, 2023.

☆ The GOP risks blowing its 2024 chances by enlisting fringe pols and pushing issues normal voters don't care about
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The New York Times reported Trump wanted to hire far-right xenophone Laura Loomer to his campaign. The potential hire shows how far the Republican Party has moved from the median voter. It's just another example of how out of touch the Republican Party has become with the average voter. The Republican Party has yet to win the popular vote in presidential elections since 2004. Should the party keep hiring oddballs and pursuing culture war issues while failing to address substantive issues affecting the country, it's unclear that will change.

UNITED NATIONS/KABUL, April 5 (Reuters) - U.N. chief Antonio Guterres condemned on Wednesday a ban by Afghanistan's Taliban authorities on Afghan women working for the United Nations, calling it "an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights" that should be immediately revoked. The United Nations has told some 3,300 Afghan staff - of which about 400 are female - not to report to their offices until further notice for security reasons. "Banning Afghan women from working with the U.N. in Afghanistan is an intolerable violation of the most basic human rights," Guterres posted on Twitter. Top U.N. officials in Kabul met with the Acting Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday after the Taliban authorities signaled on Tuesday that they would enforce a ban on Afghan women working for the world body. So far it is only 5% funded and the United Nations says nearly three-quarters of the country's 40 million people need help.

☆ Up to 1 mln people 'disappeared' in Iraq in last half century - UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, April 4 (Reuters) - Up to 1 million people have been "disappeared" in Iraq during a tumultuous last half century spanning the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein, U.S.-led military occupation and the rise of Islamic State militants, the United Nations said on Tuesday. The U.N. Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Iraq, which has one of the highest numbers of missing people in the world, to seek victims and punish perpetrators. But that was hampered by the lack of definition of enforced disappearance as a crime in Iraqi law, its report said. "The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances urged Iraq to immediately establish the basis to prevent, eradicate and repair this heinous crime," it said. Up to 290,000 people, including some 100,000 Kurds, were forcibly disappeared by Hussein's "genocidal campaign" in Kurdistan between 1968 and 2003, the U.N. report said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would view any ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in their country as "unacceptable and, frankly, inconceivable", he said. The restrictions did not initially apply to the United Nations and some other international organisations. In January, the U.N Deputy Secretary-General flagged concerns that authorities could next restrict Afghan women working at international organisations. It was not immediately clear whether foreign embassies in Kabul had received similar instructions on female staff. Article 8 of its governing charter requires the U.N. not to place any restrictions on men and women working for U.N. agencies.

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - The United States has decided to extend the deployment of the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group to provide options to policymakers after last week's deadly attacks in Syria by Iran-backed forces, U.S. military officials said on Friday. Buccino also noted a scheduled, expedited deployment of a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to the region. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Bush strike group was expected to remain in the European Command area of responsibility. President Joe Biden warned Iran last week that the United States would act forcefully to protect Americans.

☆ Genetic study details complex ancestry of East Africa's Swahili people
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Radu Sigheti/File PhotoMarch 29 (Reuters) - A study of centuries-old DNA has deciphered the complex ancestry of coastal East Africa's Swahili people, revealing how a cosmopolitan and prosperous medieval civilization arose thanks in large part to women from Africa and men arriving from Persia. After around 1500 AD, the bulk of the Asian genetic contribution shifted to Arabian sources, the study showed. "However, in this case, because Bantu populations in East Africa often have more matrilineal tendencies, African women likely had more autonomy in choosing their partners for building a family. It may be, the researchers said, that the African women and their communities chose to form families with Persian princes or traders, reinforcing trade networks of African and Persian merchants. The evidence of Indian ancestry adds a surprising new layer to the history of the East African coast, Brielle added.

☆ Belgian Authorities Detain Eight Over Suspected Terrorist Threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Laurence Norman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Three of the eight people suspected of preparing to commit a terrorist attack were arrested in and around Brussels, Belgium. Belgian police detained eight people across the country in several raids conducted on Monday evening connected to the suspected preparation of Islamist terrorist attacks, the federal prosecutor’s office said. The arrests resulted from two separate investigations into terrorist threats that authorities say may be linked.

☆ U-20 World Cup draw in Bali postponed amid protest against Israel participation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Rohith Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 26 (Reuters) - The draw for the Under-20 FIFA World Cup that was scheduled to take place in Indonesia next week will be postponed, a source told Reuters after Bali's governor refused to host Israel's team. The Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) said the draw that was to be held on Friday had been cancelled. "Previously, Bali governor Wayan Koster rejected the presence of the Israeli national team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup event... This can be a reason for FIFA to cancel the U-20 World Cup draw," the PSSI said in a statement. "The chairman will also report to Mr President at the first opportunity to find a solution to all this, both diplomacy and foreign policy... to save Indonesian football that we love," Sinulingga added.

[1/2] U.S. Joint Chiefs Chair Army General Mark Milley speaks with U.S. forces in Syria during an unannounced visit, at a U.S. military base in Northeast Syria, March 4, 2023. The attack against U.S. personnel took place at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1:38 p.m. (1038 GMT) on Thursday, it said. The other two wounded American troops were treated at the base in northeast Syria, the Pentagon said. Thousands of other Islamic State fighters are in detention facilities guarded by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, America's key ally in the country. American officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat.

Just a day after the deadly attack on U.S. personnel in Syria, which Washington blamed on a drone of Iranian origin, sources said a U.S. base in Syria's northeast was targeted with a new missile attack. The U.S. strikes were in response to an attack earlier on Thursday by an attack drone against U.S. personnel at a coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria. Three service members and a contractor required medical evacuation to Iraq, where the U.S.-led coalition battling the remnants of Islamic State has medical facilities, the Pentagon said. NEW ATTACK INEFFECTIVEA U.S. base at the Al-Omar oil field in Syria was targeted with a missile attack on Friday morning, according to Lebanese pro-Iranian TV channel Al Mayadeen and a security source. U.S. forces first deployed into Syria during the Obama administration's campaign against Islamic State, partnering with a Kurdish-led group called the Syrian Democratic Forces.

☆ 6 ways to support Muslim coworkers who are fasting during Ramadan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Allana Akhtar | Marguerite Ward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For many Muslims, Ramadan means abstaining from food and drink while at work. So, how can non-Muslim colleagues be supportive, while also not accidentally making a micro-aggression toward someone who is observing Ramadan? At one office where Nasr worked, a boss privately asked her if she needed any special accommodations while observing Ramadan. Most Muslims use the Arabic phrase "Ramadan Mubarak," which translates to "have a blessed Ramadan" or "happy Ramadan, to greet each other. Plus, there are many other reasons why Muslims don't fast, like during illness or travel.

☆ Factbox: Who has run Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

BAGHDAD, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was designed to pave the way for a thriving democracy but the mostly ineffective governments elected since 2003 have left many Iraqis disappointed. Sadr led an armed insurgency against the U.S. occupation of Iraq after American and international troops toppled Saddam. But the tables turned in 2003 with the U.S.-led invasion that ushered in Shi’ite dominance leaving Sunnis, vulnerable. Sunnis have been divided by clan and ideological rivalries since 2003, which Sunni voters complain makes them weak against Shi'ite rivals. Halbousi, an engineer from western Iraq, has formed good relations with Shi'ites and Kurds who helped him become speaker.

☆ Police deploy to sensitive sites in Vienna, warning of Islamist attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, March 15 (Reuters) - Vienna police stepped up armed patrols at sensitive sites in the Austrian capital including churches on Wednesday after the country's domestic intelligence agency received information suggesting an Islamist attack was being planned. The city's police took the rare step of warning the public on social media that there would be a heightened presence of armed police, including special forces, in the city. Vienna is among the safest capitals in the world and militant attacks are rare. "Our intelligence services have reason to believe that an assault with an Islamistic motive is planned to be carried out in Vienna," Vienna police said in English on Twitter. The tourist-filled streets of central Vienna were busy as usual after the police warning.

☆ Saddam Hussein fell. Then violence in Iraq spiralled
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Ahmed Rasheed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] The site of a twin suicide bombing attack in a central market is seen in Baghdad, Iraq January 21, 2021. He took another risk in 1990-1991, when Saddam's forces invaded neighbour Kuwait, a move that turned Iraq into a pariah. A U.S.-led coalition hammered Iraqi forces and the United Nations imposed sanctions on Iraq for more than a decade. Amer went into hiding again. Amer said he is still determined to leave Iraq, two decades after U.S. troops and Iraqis pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein in central Baghdad.

☆ Iran upholds death sentence of Swedish-Iranian Arab dissident
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Chaab was sentenced to death after several court sessions with the presence of his lawyer ... The Supreme Court confirmed his death sentence," Iran's judiciary's Mizan news agency reported. He was sentenced to death for being "corrupt on earth", a capital offence under Iran’s strict form of Islamic law, Iranian state media said. Arabs and other minorities have long said they face discrimination in Iran, a charge the Islamic Republic denies. Iran has rejected former Iranian official Hamid Noury's sentence as "baseless, distorted and fabricated".

☆ U.S.-led Iraq war ushered in years of chaos and conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A general view of Tahrir square as demonstrators take part during the ongoing anti-government protests in Baghdad, Iraq November 5, 2019. Here is a look at some of the violence, including suicide bombings and beheadings, that has plagued Iraq, a major OPEC oil producer and key U.S. ally, since the 2003 war. * March 20, 2003 - U.S.-led forces invade Iraq from Kuwait to oust Saddam Hussein. * October 2004 - Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi starts waging bloody attacks designed to turn majority Shi’ite Muslims against minority Sunnis in a civil war. * January 2007 - Bush announces a new war strategy including a “surge” of U.S. troops into Iraq to combat the insurgency.

☆ Afghan broadcaster airs rare all-female panel to discuss rights on Women's Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, March 8 (Reuters) - Afghan broadcaster Tolo News on Wednesday aired an all-female panel in its studio with an audience of women to mark International Women's Day, a rare broadcast since the Taliban took over and many female journalists left the profession or started working off-air. A survey by Reporters Without Borders last year found that more than 75% of female journalists had lost their jobs since the Taliban took over as foreign forces withdrew in August 2021. The Taliban last year restricted most girls from high school, women from university and stopped most Afghan female NGO workers. Another panellist, former university professor Zakira Nabil said women would continue to find ways to learn and work. The United Nation's Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Wednesday called on the Taliban to reverse restrictions on the rights of girls and women, calling them "distressing."

☆ UN warns of aid cuts over Taliban crackdown on women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States was the largest donor to the 2022 U.N. aid plan in Afghanistan, giving more than $1 billion. The Taliban administration, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law. "They systematically deprive women and girls of their fundamental human rights," United Arab Emirates U.N. "They say their elimination from public life is no better than fearing violent death," Otunbayeva told the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, which coincided with International Women's Day. "Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women's rights," she said.

☆ Pentagon chief makes unannounced trip to Iraq as 20-year anniversary of invasion nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Austin, the most senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Iraq, was the last commanding general of U.S. forces there after the invasion. “I'm here to reaffirm the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq,” Austin said. The United States is broadly interested in a strategic partnership with the government of Iraq," the senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters. The United States and Iran came close to full-blown conflict in 2020 after Iran's Revolutionary Guards' top commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a drone strike. "I think that Iraqi leaders share our interest in Iraq not becoming a playground for conflict between the United States and Iran," the defense official added.

☆ Taliban's persecution of women could be 'crime against humanity' - UN report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 6 (Reuters) - The Taliban's treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan could amount to a crime against humanity, according to a U.N. report presented on Monday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. In a report covering July to December 2022, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, found that the Taliban's treatment of women and girls "may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity". "The Taliban's intentional and calculated policy is to repudiate the human rights of women and girls and to erase them from public life," Bennett told the United Nations Human Rights Council. "It may amount to the international crime of gender persecution for which the authorities can be held accountable." Bennett said the Human Rights Council should send a strong message to the Taliban that the "abysmal treatment of women and girls is intolerable and unjustifiable on any ground, including religion".

☆ Iran's Khamenei calls girls' poisoning 'unforgivable' after public anger
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Over 1,000 girls have suffered poisoning since November, according to state media and officials, with some politicians blaming religious groups opposed to girls' education. The poisonings have come at a critical time for Iran's clerical rulers after months of protests since the death of a young woman held by police for flouting hijab rules. "Authorities should seriously pursue the issue of students' poisoning," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by state TV. "If it is proven deliberate, those perpetrators of this unforgivable crime should be sentenced to capital punishment." At least one boys' school has also been targeted in the city of Boroujerd, state media reported.

American officials say that Islamic State could still regenerate into a major threat. Asked by reporters traveling with him if he believed the Syria mission was worth the risk, Milley tied the mission to the security of the United States and its allies, saying: "If you think that that's important, then the answer is 'Yes.'" Four U.S. troops were wounded during a helicopter raid last month when an Islamic State leader triggered an explosion. U.S. Army Major General Matthew McFarlane, who commands the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, described the attacks as a "distraction from our main mission." McFarlane cited progress against Islamic State, including through the reduction in the numbers of internally displaced people at refugee camps -- a pool of people who could be recruited by Islamic State.

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