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Showing posts from November 10, 2014

Fresh clashes erupt in South Sudan despite ceasefire deal

File photo shows South Sudan’s soldiers in the border state of Unity. South Sudanese government forces have clashed with rebels in several areas across the country, only two days after both sides agreed to a ceasefire. Fresh fighting erupted in the oil-rich north and in a number of other regions just 48 hours after President Salva Kiir and the rebel leader, Riek Machar, signed a ceasefire deal in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Both sides have accused each other of breaching the new ceasefire deal. A military spokesman for the rebels blamed government troops for launching coordinated attacks in the states of Unity, Jonglei and Upper Nile. Lul Ruai Koang said, “The government is entirely responsible for these unnecessary attacks motivated by its desires and attempts to recapture oil fields under our control.” Meanwhile, the South Sudanese army said it repelled an attack that was started by the rebels. South Sudan plunged into violence in December 2013, when fighting erupted between

Republican victory and Iran N-talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry (R), former top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton (2nd L), Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) and Omani Foreign Minister Yussef bin Alawi (2nd R) pose for a photo in Muscat, November 9, 2014. Finian Cunningham US ‘must soften tone’ on Iran ‘US not after win-win nuclear solution’ It seems like a cruel twist of fate that the mid-term US elections should result in a Republican-controlled Congress - only weeks ahead of the November deadline for a nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers. With the more hawkish Republican Party now dominant in both the Senate and House of Representatives, it looks certain that we can kiss goodbye to a possible resolution of the nuclear dispute and the lifting of Western sanctions on Iran. Delegates from the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are to meet with counterparts from Iran in the coming days to begin the final countdown to sealing an accord on the nuclear standoff - set for No