Saturday, August 13, 2022
The Ethiopian government and Tigrayan rebels have had “direct engagements,” the African Union said in a statement made public on Thursday, in the first official confirmation of such contacts between the two warring sides.
The government has been locked in a grinding conflict with the rebels, but in recent weeks both sides have mooted the possibility of talks to end the 21-month war, with Ethiopia pushing for the AU to lead any negotiations.
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Thursday, August 11, 2022
One of Colombia’s most feared armed groups has announced a “unilateral” ceasefire in the hopes of entering peace talks with the government of Colombia’s new leftist leader, Gustavo Petro.
The Gulf Clan, a notorious drug-trafficking militia, has unleashed a campaign of terror following the May extradition to the US of its leader – Dairo Antonio Úsuga, or “Otoniel”, assassinating dozens of police and holding large swaths of the country hostage.
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Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Taiwan’s foreign minister accused China on Tuesday of using U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taipei as a pretext for launching large-scale military drills in preparation for an eventual invasion.
Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu called Beijing’s military exercises in response to Pelosi’s trip a “serious provocation” and an attempt to overturn the status quo in the sensitive Taiwan Strait.
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Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have agreed a ceasefire, raising hopes of an end to the most serious flare-up in hostilities between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip for more than a year.
The agreement, brokered by Egyptian officials, took effect at 11.30pm local time on Sunday, and followed three days of fighting during which Israeli forces bombarded sites in Gaza and Islamic Jihad militants fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.
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Monday, August 8, 2022
Russian forces began an assault Saturday on two key cities in the eastern Donetsk region and kept up rocket and shelling attacks on other Ukrainian cities, including one close to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s military and local officials said.
Both cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka have been considered key targets of Russia’s ongoing offensive across Ukraine’s east, with analysts saying Moscow needs to take Bakhmut if it is to advance on the regional hubs of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
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