Early agreement reached in dispute over Suez Canal ship
CAIRO—The owners and insurers of the giant container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week earlier this year have reached an agreement in principle over their dispute with canal authorities, representatives from both sides said June 23. Stann Marine, the lawyers representing the vessel’s owners and insurers, and a spokeswoman for the Suez Canal Authority both confirmed...
Haiti and Haitians still in turmoil, fighting to recover
A shake-up has entered Haiti’s government, after Prime Minister Ariel Henry came under scrutiny by a top prosecutor who wanted him charged in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The accusations have prompted high-level changes in the country’s cabinet, and calls for resignations, as the Caribbean nation also continues to recover a month after a devastating earthquake. Government fallout Port-au-Prince prosecutor...
English cricket racism exposed by former player at parliament
LONDON—English cricket was forced to confront its racist culture when former player Azeem Rafiq testified through tears at a parliamentary hearing but with a determination to expose the Islamophobia and bullying he suffered for more than a decade. “Do I believe I lost my career to racism? Yes, I do,” said Mr. Rafiq, who played for Yorkshire—England’s most successful cricket...
UN rights office warns over violent escalation in Yemen and beyond
Escalating conflict in Yemen has seen an alarming number of air and drone strikes already this year, notably against civilians and non-military targets, the UN rights office, OHCHR, said on Jan. 18. “We are deeply concerned by the continuing escalation of the conflict in Yemen. Overnight, air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition on the capital, Sana’a, are reported to have left at...
Mali calls on France to withdraw soldiers ‘without delay’
BAMAKO, Mali—Mali’s ruling junta is demanding the immediate departure of French and European forces, a day after France announced that it will withdraw its troops from the West African country. “The government invites the French authorities to withdraw without delay,” Malian government spokesman Col. Abdoulaye Maiga said Feb. 18 on national television. French President Emmanuel Macron made the withdrawal announcement the...
‘Woe to the unjust judges’ Cries for justice and the judgement of the wicked in the time of divine retribution and consequence
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. What will you do on the day of reckoning when disaster comes from afar? To whom will you run for help?” Isaiah...
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St. Kitts dissolves Parliament, fires several top officials SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—The prime minister of the eastern Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis has had the royal governor-general dissolve its Parliament and has fired several top officials including the deputy prime minister. The announcement May 10 by Prime Minister Timothy Harris came as he was facing a no-confidence motion...
Mideast trip sets stage for more U.S. meddling, mischief in region
President Joe Biden on his first presidential trip to the Middle East which sought to reset America’s position in the region, fell woefully short. On issues ranging from energy prices, human rights and Israel’s standing in the region, he returned to Washington empty handed. His focus became stop Tehran, contain Moscow and block Beijing’s economic growth in the region. “We...
Iran foreign minister says foreign interference behind terrorism in West Asia, Africa
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says terrorism in the West Asia and Africa is a product of interference by extra-regional countries. “Interference by some extra-regional countries is the reason behind formation of some terrorist groups in the West Asia region and Africa,” Amir-Abdollahian said during a joint press conference with his Malian counterpart Abdoulaye Diop in Bamako on Aug. 22. “We are of the opinion...
The second pre-COP27 climate summit takes Global-North nations to task
Environment ministers from nearly 50 countries gathered in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the second “pre-COP27” climate summit. The first pre-climate summit occurred in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, with African leaders speaking to empty seats, due to the failure to show up by most European heads of state. COP or Conference of the Parties is the decision-making forum...