Taliban seizes district headquarters, two dead in separate attack
Despite U.S. efforts to push back Taliban fighters with air strikes, the terrorist group took control of the strategically-located town of Musa Qala in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Helmand is Afghanistan’s main opium production center and contains important trade and smuggling routes. The Taliban is fighting to restore full control of this region. Musa Qala fell to the Taliban after it attempted to forcibly retake the district, which was taken from them in 2007. The Taliban now has control over three districts in northern Helmand and partial control over several others. In a separate incident in southern Helmand, two U.S. soldiers were killed when a man in an Afghan uniform opened fire in the previously British base of Camp Bastion. No group has claimed responsibility the attack.
Africa’s economic growth boosted by trade project
The United Nations has begun training officials from 19 African countries in negotiating trade deals in an effort to make the African Union’s free-trade zone project a success. The zone will extend from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa, bringing together three regional trade blocks, and will be called the Tripartite Free Trade Area. Since the agreement was signed in June, the African Union has started out slowly with only 26 of its 54 member countries participating to form the proposed trade union. The TFTA will have a population of 632 million and a combined GDP of $1.3 trillion. Once the union is stable, other countries will be able to join, forming the Continental Free Trade Area. The project arose out of Africa’s need to develop internally before free-trading with the rest of the world.
Serbia and Kosovo one step closer to peace
A European Union-arranged deal has brought the two nations closer to ending the ethnic conflict that has plagued the area of Kosovo. The disputed land between Serbia and Albania, Kosovo, has been the location of deep-rooted conflict between various ethnic groups in the area, particularly the Serbs and Albanians, because each lays claim to it. Approximately 120,000 Serbs live in Kosovo, while 90 percent of its 1.8 trillion population is ethnic Albanian. The deal proposes the creation of several Serb-run municipalities in Kosovo to promote autonomy and a northern judiciary that would appease both groups. Deals were also made regarding energy, telecommunications and the Mitrovica Bridge, which divides the city along ethnic lines and has been a constant area of strife since the late 90s.
Colombians return to Colombia as border tensions rise
Since Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro closed a border post and announced that Colombians residing illegally in the country will be deported, more than 1,000 Colombians have returned to Colombia. The president’s actions are meant to stifle smuggling gangs. Recently, smugglers injured three Venezuelan soldiers and a civilian, prompting the president to crack down on border and immigration control. Some Colombian’s have accused the Venezuelan government of forcibly removing them from their homes, which were then demolished. The foreign prime ministers of Venezuela and Colombia will meet to discuss the crisis.
Peace deal signed in South Sudan
South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former deputy and rebel leader Riek Machar signed a peace deal after facing threats of sanctions from the UN. The deal is meant to end a civil war that has lasted 20 months and displaced over two million people. After Kiir made known his reservations regarding the mediation and the deal’s clauses, he signed the document, giving a speech in which he emphasized his unease. The deal’s main points are an immediate ceasefire, the expulsion of military forces from the capital, Machar reinstated as vice-president, an interim government that will be in control for 30 months, elections for the new government to be held 60 days prior to the end of the 30 months and an investigation of human rights violations by the Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing.
Suspect in Khobar Towers bombing reportedly captured
After nearly 20 years, the main suspect of the 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia was reportedly captured in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Ahmed al-Mughassil, the 48-year-old suspected bomber, was then transferred to the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. A U.S. official confirmed al-Mughassil’s detainment, but there has been no report from Saudi authorities. The Khobar Towers bombing killed 19 U.S. military personnel and one Saudi citizen, and a U.S. court has indicted al-Mughassil for the attack. The U.S. also blamed Iran for the attack, which it has since denied.
