Zimbabwe: Mugabe and military talks continue amid political limbo
Senior church leaders and South African envoys also involved in mediation efforts, with Mugabe under house arrest after military takeover
Zimbabwe remained in political limbo on Thursday morning, a day-and-a-half after the military takeover that appears to have put an end to Robert Mugabe’s 37-year grip on power.
Talks between the president, who has been confined to his residence in Harare by the army, and senior military officers continued on Thursday, with senior church leaders and envoys sent from neighbouring South Africa involved in mediation efforts.
The Zimbabwean capital remained tense but calm amid the political uncertainty. Troops have secured the airport, government offices, parliament and other key sites.
The rest of the country has remained peaceful. The takeover has been cautiously welcomed by many Zimbabweans.
Amid the carnage in Yemen, civilians also face consequences of the US war on terror
Locals say five Yemeni civilians died in a US Navy Seal raid targeting al Qaeda earlier this year, with Washington investigating the claims. The Independent spoke to survivors about the mental and physical suffering they face, and the struggle for justice
Six months after US Navy Seals raided their village in search of al Qaeda jihadis, neither the mental or physical wounds endured by the Adhal family are healing.
Twelve-year-old Othman Mohammed Saleh al Adhal spoke quietly, focussing on the middle distance rather than his interviewers, as he recounted what happened in tiny Adhlan in Yemen’s Marib province on 23 May.
“I was sleeping outside because it was hot,” he said.
“Then you could hear the planes and helicopters. I was scared so I ran back to the house to find my mum. That’s when an American appeared. I screamed … He shot me twice.”
North Korean soldier stable, but riddled with parasites
A North Korean soldier shot multiple times while defecting to the South is in a stable condition but riddled with parasites that could complicate his chances of survival, his doctor said Thursday.
The soldier dashed across the border at the Panmunjom truce village on Monday, as former comrades from the North opened fire on him, hitting him at least four times.
He was pulled to safety by three South Korean soldiers who crawled to reach him, just south of the dividing line.
The young man was rushed to hospital in South Korea by helicopter where he has undergone two rounds of emergency surgery.
France makes diplomatic push to solve Lebanon crisis
by Jillian Kestler-D'Amours
France is making a diplomatic push to solve the political crisis caused by the snap resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri earlier this month, as the country's foreign minister is expected to meet Hariri in Riyadh on Thursday.
According to at least one analyst, however, Paris may have made a "risky bet" by getting involved in the ongoing diplomatic turmoil over Hariri's fate, which has pit Saudi Arabia against its regional rival, Iran, and Tehran's ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah.
"As no compromise in Lebanon will pass without an agreement between Riyadh and Tehran, Paris is looking to deal with both," said Stephane Malsagne, a historian and professor at Sciences-Po in Paris.
The US military tweeted out bad information about its nukes. North Korea will notice.
And it couldn’t come at a worse time.
Updated by
The military command overseeing America’s nuclear arsenal just made an embarrassing — and potentially dangerous — mistake.
On Wednesday afternoon, it tweeted a link to an article falsely claiming that the US maintains “secret silos” for its nuclear warheads, and has “B-1 bombers that can drop them from the air.”
The problem, as experts almost immediately pointed out on Twitter, is that the US doesn’thave “secret” silos — you can find their locations on Google — and the B-1 bomber isn’t capable of dropping nuclear bombs.
And here’s why this matters: Tweeting out the article only increases the chance of miscalculation between North Korea and the United States while tensions between the two nuclear powers are already sky-high.
Cambodia court considers dissolving opposition party
Cambodia's Supreme Court is considering whether to dissolve the country's main opposition party - in a case brought by the governing party of leader Hun Sen.
The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party is accused of plotting to topple the government - charges it denies, and describes as politically motivated.
The judge hearing the case is a member of the ruling party, and is expected to rule in the government's favour.
Rights groups have criticised the case, which comes ahead of elections in 2018.
The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has been seen as a contender to the governing Cambodia People's Party (CPP). It made strong gains against the CPP in 2013's elections, presenting the strongest challenge to the ruling party in more than a decade.
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