Our website use cookies to improve and personalize your experience and to display advertisements (if any). Our website may also include cookies from third parties like Google Adsense, Google Analytics, and Youtube. By using the website, you consent to the use of cookies.

South Korean court upholds ban on gay sex within armed forces

South Korean court upholds ban on gay sex within armed forces

SOUTH Korea's constitutional court narrowly upheld a law banning same-sex relations within the armed forces, citing a possible risk to the military's combat readiness in a ruling criticised by activists as a setback for gay rights. Under the country's military criminal act, members of the armed forces face up to two years in prison for same-sex relationships. The law has been referred to the court and upheld by it four times since 2002. In Thursday's five-to-four ruling, the court said allowing same-sex relations could undermine discipline within the military and harm its combat capabilities. Rights groups have been urging the…
Read More
Sudan conflict: Hemedti – the warlord who built a paramilitary force more powerful than the state

Sudan conflict: Hemedti – the warlord who built a paramilitary force more powerful than the state

DOZENS have been killed in armed clashes in the Sudanese capital Khartoum following months of tension between the military and the powerful paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Behind the tensions is a disagreement over the integration of the paramilitary group into the armed forces – a key condition of a transition agreement that’s never been signed but has been adhered to by both sides since 2021. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, better known as Hemedti, is the leader of the RSF. He is a key mover in the fast-escalating civil war, as he has been in other key moments in…
Read More
Russian whose daughter drew anti-war picture gets two years jail but flees

Russian whose daughter drew anti-war picture gets two years jail but flees

MARK TREVELYAN A Russian who was investigated by police after his daughter drew an anti-war picture at school was sentenced to two years in a penal colony on charges of discrediting the armed forces. But the whereabouts of the convicted man, Alexei Moskalyov, was unclear. The court said in an official posting on VKontakte, similar to Facebook, that he had fled from house arrest. Moskalyov has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter Masha since he was placed under house arrest at the start of this month and she was moved to a children's home in their hometown of Yefremov, south…
Read More
Sudan’s civilian coalition presents vision for military exit from politics

Sudan’s civilian coalition presents vision for military exit from politics

SUDAN'S main political coalition presented its vision for a fully civilian-led authority to lead a transition to elections, following stepped-up efforts to end an 11-month-old stalemate between the ruling military and pro-democracy forces. A 2021 military coup ended a power-sharing partnership between the armed forces and the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) coalition, derailed a transition to democratic elections and plunged the country into political and economic turmoil. Nearing the anniversary of the takeover, the military has not yet succeeded in naming a prime minister. However, this summer military leaders said they intended to exit politics. FFC leaders said…
Read More
Ukraine tells residents to leave occupied south due to counter-attack plans

Ukraine tells residents to leave occupied south due to counter-attack plans

MAX HUNDER UKRAINE'S deputy prime minister urged civilians in the Russian-occupied southern region of Kherson to urgently evacuate as Ukraine's armed forces were preparing a counter-attack there. Ukraine lost control of most of the Black Sea region of Kherson, including its eponymous capital, in the first weeks after Russia's Feb. 24 invasion. "It's clear there will be fighting, there will be artillery shelling... and we, therefore, urge (people) to evacuate urgently," Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on national television. She said she could not say when exactly the counter-offensive would happen. "I know for sure that there should not…
Read More
Sudan’s armed forces now in control of all its territory – foreign minister

Sudan’s armed forces now in control of all its territory – foreign minister

SUDAN's armed forces have taken control of all of its territory, Foreign Minister Omar Gamareldin said in a press conference on Thursday, as border tensions with neighbour Ethiopia continue to flare. Clashes have occurred in recent days over agricultural land in the al-Fashqa area which lies within Sudan's international boundaries but has long been settled by Ethiopian farmers.
Read More