Multiparty talks, including Hamas, Israel, the United States, and Egypt, now include cease-fire negotiations as well as hostage release issues. The presence of both sides for so-called proximity talks – meeting mediators separately while in the same city – suggested negotiations were further along than at any time since a big push at the start of February when Israel rejected …

A hundred advocacy groups send an open letter to President Biden asking him to, once again, close the controversial detention center at this American base in Cuba. A visit by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, promoted the request. Her department issued a new report …

After more than 20 years of fighting, the last U.S. combat troops left Afghanistan in August 2021. However, instability continues in the war-torn country. Similarly, most private military contractors left Afghanistan around 2021. However, many of these contractors continue to suffer from serious deployment-related injuries. Some of these long-term, deployment-related injuries are discussed below. These injury victims are eligible for …

Participants in a new study will wear ring-shaped remote medical monitors that track oxygen saturation levels and other vital data, which doctors can then interpret. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military used open-air burn pits to get rid of garbage. Plastics, metal, and even biohazardous waste were doused in jet fuel and set on fire. Millions of …

As part of a longstanding plan to remove troops from Okinawa, some 9,000 Marines will move to their new digs at Camp Blaz, which is on Guam, by the end of 2024. Currently, about 18,000 Marines are stationed on Okinawa. “A small detachment of Logistics Marines will move to Guam in late 2024 in preparation for follow-on forces to move …

Seventeen years ago this month, then-President George W. Bush backtracked on his earlier “Mission Accomplished” proclamation and sent 20,000 additional soldiers, along with almost as many private military contractors, to the war-torn country. Troop surge planning began in 2005 after the Iraq War entered its second year with no end in sight. The plan moved forward, even though opposition to …

Bancroft Global Development has “agreed to a framework to discuss possible future activities with the government of the Central African Republic” as Wagner Group Russian mercenaries depart. Presidential spokesperson Albert Yaloké Mokpème explained that the Central African Republic wanted “to diversify its relations” in terms of security. “As part of the reconstruction of the national army, we called on partners, …

According to a Russian newspaper, the remnants of the Wagner Group, along with other Russian mercenaries, will merge to form the African Legion. The report, published on Friday, cited two sources close to the Russian Ministry of Defense, who said that the African Legion will be activated in the summer of 2024 and will operate in five African countries: Burkina …

American sanctions against the Communist nation make it difficult for regular people to obtain necessities, according to a recent report. EU human rights envoy Eamon Gilmore said the U.S. sanctions on Cuba, which sharply curtail financial transactions, tourism, and trade, had clear impacts on Cuba’s economy and society. “It’s hurting the human rights situation because it hurts people on the …

And you thought it could not get any worse. Citing a lack of support from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Taliban is pulling up stakes in New Delhi. The Afghan embassy said in a statement that the decision to close the mission fell in line with the previous announcement of ceasing operations in October, when it had pointed out …

The Department of Justice announced that attorneys could charge no more than a 25% contingency fee in the ongoing Camp Lejeune water contamination lawsuit. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), who pressed for limits during the debate over the measure, called the move long overdue. “For the past year, law firms across the country have unleashed a billion-dollar-plus ad campaign, with many …

Several West African nations in the Sahel (sub-Sahara) region are fighting losing battles against Islamic insurgents, according to a recent report. A jihadist insurgency spread to Niger and Burkina Faso from neighboring Mali in 2015, notably in the “three borders” area. Twenty-nine soldiers were killed in western Niger in an attack by suspected jihadists on October 3, the deadliest of …