Foreign News
Angola to deploy troops to DR Congo after failed truce
BBC reported that Angola is to send a military unit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, days after a truce it brokered failed to end fighting.
Both sides in the conflict – the M23 rebels and government troops – have accused each other of breaking the ceasefire that began on Tuesday.
An East African force was also recently deployed to the area, which is rich in minerals and has dozens of militias. The UN says the conflict forced 300,000 people from their homes last month. This happened in North-Kivu province, which borders Rwanda and Uganda, and is a fertile and mountainous area long plundered by rival groups.
There is increasing concern about the humanitarian crisis caused by the fighting, which was still ongoing on Friday. The European Union has just started an operation to fly in aid to the regional capital, Goma, saying humanitarian agencies have become overwhelmed. A statement from the Angolan president’s office said the soldiers would be deployed to help secure areas that have been held by the M23 rebel group and to protect ceasefire monitors.
Kenyan soldiers, who are part of the East African Community Regional Force, have deployed to these areas too. The rebels, who are widely reported to be backed by Rwanda, had just hours earlier said they would withdraw from several captured villages. The Congolese government will welcome the arrival of Angolan troops to help in the fight against the rebels.
But there is a danger of this becoming a wider international conflict.
A giant schnauzer named Monty was crowned Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show on Tuesday, the most prestigious dog show in the US.
After reaching the final three years in a row, Monty beat more than 2,500 canines to become the first giant schnauzer to take home the show’s top prize.
“The puppy did the damn thing,” Monty’s owner Katie Bernardin said in the event televised from New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
The dog club is the oldest in the US dedicated to showing dogs, with its annual show – now in its 149th year – the second-longest sporting event held in the US after the Kentucky Derby.
The winners of each of the 200 competing breeds advance to compete for one of seven group titles, with each group winner then moving to the finals.
After two years of winning the Working Group, but failing to secure the overall prize, the five-year-old male with an all-black coat finally came out on top.
He gave the Working Group of breeds its first winner since 2004.
Judge Paula Nykiel, who is a dog breeder and owner-handler, chose Monty as Best in Show after he stood out in the preliminary events during the three-day competition.
When choosing a winner, judges also consider the breed’s ideal standard, and examine its body and mouth.
Among the more than 2,500 Monty beat from across the country, was nine-year-old Bourbon, who snapped up runner-up – or Reserve Best as they are known in the show.
The whippet came out of retirement for the event, and claimed Reserve Best for the third time.
Other finalists this year included Comet the shih tzu, Mercedes the German shepherd and Neal the bichon frise.
In 2024, a female miniature poodle won Best in Show.
[BBC]
Israel’s prime minister has warned Hamas it will end the ceasefire in Gaza and resume intense fighting if the Palestinian group “does not return our hostages by Saturday noon”.
Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to amass inside and around Gaza in response to Hamas’s announcement that it was postponing freeing more hostages until further notice.
Netanyahu did not specify whether he was demanding the release of all 76 remaining hostages, or just the three due to be freed this Saturday – but a minister said he meant “everyone”.
On Monday, Hamas accused Israel of violating the three-week-old ceasefire deal, including by blocking vital humanitarian aid – a claim Israel has denied.
The group’s decision to delay this weekend’s scheduled release prompted US President Donald Trump to propose that Israel cancel the agreement altogether and “let hell break out” unless “all of the hostages” were returned by Saturday.
(BBC)
A bomb blast has killed at least five people and wounded seven in northeastern Afghanistan, local police report.
The blast took place at 8:35am (04:05 GMT) on Tuesday near a Kabul Bank branch in Kunduz province. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet.
The bank’s security guard and four others, including civilians and members of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban group, were among those killed, police said.
“A suicide bomber, who had improvised explosive devices, detonated himself,” Jumadin Khaksar, spokesman for Kunduz province police, noted. “The Kunduz province police command is working with relevant organisations to find the perpetrators of the incident and bring them to justice,” he added.
The number of bomb blasts and suicide attacks in Afghanistan has markedly declined since the United States withdrew its forces and the government it backed was ousted by the Taliban in August 2021.
However, many armed groups – including ISIL (ISIS) – remain a threat.
Dozens of people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Kunduz in October 2021, with the ISIL affiliate in Khorasan Province (ISKP) claiming responsibility.
In March last year, a suicide bomber killed at least three people when he detonated a bomb outside a bank in the southern city of Kandahar, in an attack claimed by the regional chapter of the ISIL.
Despite the ongoing attacks, the Taliban authorities say they have mostly crushed the group.
[Aljazeera]
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