Troops advance on western Mosul as Mattis holds talks
With aerial support from US-led coalition, Iraqi forces launch offensive to drive ISIL from Mosul's western half.
Iraqi forces advanced into the southern outskirts of Mosul on the second day of a push to drive ISIL from the city's western half, as the visiting US defence secretary met officials to discuss the fight against the armed group.
With aerial support from the US-led coalition, Iraqi police and army troops launched the offensive on Sunday, part of a 100-day-old campaign that has already driven the fighters from the eastern half of the city.
Iraqi helicopters fired rockets at the village of Abu Sayyaf early on Monday, targeting a hill that overlooks the city's airport.
Tokyo Olympic golf course must give female members equal rights or lose event, says IOC
Kasumigaseki Country Club is due to host the men’s and women’s tournaments in 2020 but the IOC has demanded it allows full access to both sexes
The venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic golf tournament could have the event taken away unless it grants equal playing rights to female members, the International Committee (IOC) has warned.
Kasumigaseki Country Club, a private golf course in Saitama prefecture, north-west of Tokyo, forbids women from becoming full members and from playing on Sundays.
The club is due to host the men’s and women’s tournaments in 2020, four years after golf was reinstated as an Olympic sport in Rio last summer.
Victory over Isis in Mosul could mean defeat in Syria's Deir Ezzor 250 miles west
While US Defence Secretary James Mattis heads to Baghdad to appease Iraqis, Donald Trump merely wants his 'war news story', writes Robert Fisk
“The re-conquest of western Mosul begins.” Or so several headlines in the Arab press have announced. And it’s true that the Iraqi army and its Shia militia allies and a few token soldiers from the US, Turkey, Britain and Kurdish forces have captured some small villages abandoned by Isis near the old Mosul airport. But it is likely to be weeks – perhaps months – before they can claim victory over Isis in Mosul. And even if they are successful, the real blow may fall on a Syrian city hundreds of miles to the west.
For behind the dust clouds and shellfire of the latest Iraqi armoured offensive against Isis in western Mosul – and the usual promises of success from the Iraqi prime minister and assorted American generals – lies the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, its government defenders and perhaps 90,000 civilians now isolated by Isis into two pockets of resistance in the desert. Supplied by helicopter and led by a ferocious Druze Syrian general, the regime’s forces have held out for five years. But if Isis breaks out from Mosul in the coming weeks, its fighters are likely to speed 340 miles west to the surrounded Syrian city to support their comrades there. Victory in Mosul, in other words, could mean defeat in Deir Ezzor.
Exclusive: a Guinean NGO goes undercover to catch corruption on camera
An NGO in the West African nation of Guinea secretly filmed corrupt practices going on at four different roadblocks in the capital Conakry. They edited their damning footage into a 5-minute long film and sent it exclusively to the FRANCE 24 Observers team. This film highlights the widespread illegal activity perpetrated by soldiers, gendarmes and civilians alike, despite government regulation.
In the Soussou language that is spoken in Guinea, bribes are known as "wo feraba" (“come forward” or “show yourself”) and "wo décompté" (“count yourselves”) because that’s what soldiers and gendarmes often say when people pass through their checkpoints.
In reality, these questions mean that the driver will have to pay up. Soldiers or others at a roadblock usually invent a reason to ask for money. Often, they’ll claim that the driver has to hand over money because he or she wasn’t carrying an ID. Other times, they say it is a charge for extra passengers.
Rohingya insurgency heralds wider war in Myanmar
The Harakah al Yaqin insurgent group, with leadership in Saudi Arabia and ties to Bangladeshi extremist groups, threatens to bring global jihad to Myanmar
YANGON, FEBRUARY 21, 2017 11:54 AM
Since Rohingya militant attacks on Myanmar border police last October and the a retaliatory security force crackdown, an uneasy lull has descended over northern Rakhine State. Major military-led “area clearance operations” have given way to occasional arrests of suspected militants. On February 9, an earlier 11 hour evening to early morning curfew was reduced to eight.
But any suggestion that the current lockdown in northern Rakhine that still remains sealed off from independent observers will see a return to what passes for normality can almost certainly be dismissed, with security analysts and diplomats in Yangon predicting renewed violence in the months ahead. A clash this week that injured two government soldiers along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border underscored those concerns.
Canada's Muslims embrace their country – even when it doesn't embrace back
There were all the trappings of an awards ceremony – tearful winners, breathless speeches, messages from dignitaries that ran a little too long.
Even so, the first annual MAX Gala, held at Toronto’s lush Ritz-Carlton Hotel last March, was a singular event. It was the first-ever awards ceremony reserved for Muslim Canadians, an evening that saw a steady parade of business people, doctors, and community activists take the stage to be recognized for their contribution to society. It was also a bittersweet moment for many in the crowd.
“It was a huge honor to be recognized by members of your own community for your contributions,” says Danyaal Raza, a family physician who won a prize for his work in promoting better access to health care for vulnerable populations.
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