The Pakistani army has completed its offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan, but may soon pursue similar operations in other parts of the lawless tribal belt along the Afghan border, the country’s prime minister has said.
Tuesday, 15 December, 2009
Sudan: South and North Sudan leaders agree on South Sudan secession referendum on 2011
Sudan’s leaders have settled their differences Sunday over the hotly disputed 2011 referendum on southern independence, the official news agency reported, clearing a main hurdle facing the fragile four year-old north-south peace deal.
The referendum bill has been straining relations between the former rivals for months.
Puntland: A roadside bomb kills 3 troops of Puntland and injured 9 others
A roadside bomb killed three soldiers of Puntland and injured nine others in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region, an eyewitness said on Tuesday.
The bomb hit a vehicle carrying troops on a routine patrol on Monday night on the main street of Bosaso, a port in the northern region.
“The vehicle was totally destroyed … blood was on the ground. Three soldiers died on the spot,” eyewitness Abdiqadir Farah said.
Monday, 14 December, 2009
Yemen: 90 al-Houthi rebels surrender, Sa’adah military campaign drawing to a close
Since the commencement of military operations in Sa’adah City on Monday, the number of surrendered or captured suspected al-Houthi rebels has risen to ninety, thirty of whom are women, a security source embedded in Sa’adah confirmed on Saturday.
The estimated 400 rebels who remain in the northwest sector of Sa’adah are facing an increasingly pressing military blockade.
Until the national armed forces entered into Sa’adah’s old city on Monday, al-Houthi forces had controlled large swaths of the city.
Sri Lanka: “We are not going to start another armed struggle” says Sitharathan, leader of People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE)
“We are not preparing ourselves to launch another armed struggle. The accusations that we had abducted minors from Vavuniyaa camps are baseless,” Sitharathan, the leader of People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) said in a press meet held Saturday in PLOTE office in Jaffna. He further said that after the talks held with Sri Lanka President, Mahinda Rajapakse, his party has decided to support him in the forthcoming presidential election, sources in Jaffna said.
Sunday, 13 December, 2009
Rwanda joins Commonwealth
Rwanda has finally been admitted into the Commonwealth group of nations.
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) taking place in Trinidad and Tobago yesterday evening (November 29 2009) confirmed Rwanda’s entry into the 53-nation group mainly composed of former British colonies.
“We haven’t received all the details, but it is confirmed that the Heads of State summit admitted Rwanda into the Commonwealth,” Rwanda’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Claver Gatete, told The Sunday Times from Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.
Saturday, 12 December, 2009
Abkhazia: First presidential elections started in Abkhazia
A presidential election has begun in Abkhazia, the first poll in the breakaway Georgian region since Russia recognised its independence last year.
All five candidates support strong ties with Moscow, including the incumbent Sergei Bagapsh. Russia now provides security and 60% of Abkhazia’s budget.
Most of the region’s ethnic Georgians, who constitute almost one third of the population, are not eligible to vote.
Georgia, which disputes Abkhazia’s independence, says the poll is illegal.
Correspondents say the challenge for the winner will be to persuade Western countries to recognise Abkhaz independence without isolating Georgia.