Aleppo battle: Hopes rise for evacuation of rebel-held areas
Hopes have risen that a planned evacuation of rebel-held parts of the Syrian city of Aleppo will now begin soon, after an earlier deal collapsed.
Rebel sources said a new truce had been in effect from 03:00GMT and evacuations would take place early on Thursday.
Sources from the Syrian military, the pro-government Hezbollah and Russian media said preparations were under way.
Rebel fighters and civilians had been due to leave early on Wednesday, but a ceasefire collapsed.
Only swift action can avert South Sudan genocide, says UN human rights chief
Targeted sanctions and peacekeeping force among measures urged at special session of UN human rights council as violence compared with Rwanda
Conditions in South Sudan were repeatedly likened to those in Rwanda on the eve of its genocide at a special session of the UN human rights council held on Wednesday, with a top official warning that escalating ethnic violence has left the country teetering on the brink of disaster.
On the third anniversary of the civil war in the world’s youngest country, members states heard that swift action was required to prevent a genocide, including targeted sanctions and the deployment of a 4,000-strong protection force to separate the warring parties.
The meeting heard severe criticism of the role of the existing UN peacekeepers in South Sudan, who risked becoming “guilty bystanders” to atrocities.
Hundreds of airline pilots are suicidal or thinking of self-harm, study finds
Pilots 'are managing depression, and even suicidal thoughts, without the possibility of treatment due to the fear of negative career impacts'Ian Johnston, Simon Calder
Hundreds of airline pilots – potentially even thousands – are so depressed they are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, a new study suggests.
Academics from Harvard University in the US carried out an anonymous survey of pilots after Andreas Lubitz, the depressed co-pilot of Germanwings plane deliberately flew it into a mountain, killing 149 people, last year.
Some 4.1 per cent reported having “thoughts of being better off dead or self-harm within the past two weeks”, according to a paper in the journal Environmental Health.
China installs weapons on disputed Spratly islands - report
A US think tank says China appears to have put anti-aircraft and anti-missle systems on islands in the South China Sea. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative says it's been tracking satellite images since June.
Chinese weapon systems have been built on all seven of the artificial islands that China has reclaimed in a disputed area of the South China Sea, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said on Wednesday.
AMTI said it began tracking the construction of identical, hexagon-shaped structures on the several reefs that make up the Spratly islands over the summer. The islands are disputed by China and several of its Southeast Asian neighbors.
The think tank's report coincided with comments on Wednesday by the US' Pacific military commander Admiral Harry Harris, who warned that Washington would continue to challenge Beijing's "assertive, aggressive behavior in the South China Sea."
15 December 2016 - 09H19
Ethiopian photographer seeks new portrayal of Africa
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) -
Surrounded by untidy stacks of paper and abandoned half-empty coffee cups, photographer Aida Muluneh chain smokes cigarettes in her Addis Ababa office and rails against the negative portrayals of Africa by foreigners.
The 42-year-old came returned to Ethiopia nine years ago after living in Yemen and Canada and set herself the task of changing perceptions of the continent, replacing the outsiders' dominant eye with an African one.
The Addis Foto Fest, which she founded and which opens its fourth edition Thursday, is one way of doing this, she said.
Philippines President Duterte should be impeached for 'mass murder': critic
Updated 0701 GMT (1501 HKT) December 15, 2016
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte should be impeached after he admitted to personally killing drug suspects, one of his top critics told CNN.
On Monday, Duterte said that when mayor of the southern city of Davao, he would patrol the streets "looking for an encounter so I could kill."
Since taking power in June, Duterte has waged a brutal "war on drugs" that has been linked to more than 5,900 deaths in less than six months.
No comments:
Post a Comment