position:afp journalist

#US State Secretary Kerry arrives in #Lebanon for lightning visit
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/uss-kerry-arrives-lebanon-lightning-visit

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US Secretary of State #John_Kerry gestures upon his arrival at Beirut International airport on June 4, 2014. (Photo: AFP - Mohamed Azakir)

Updated at 4:30 pm: John Kerry arrived in Beirut on Wednesday, beginning a visit announced on short notice, the first by a US secretary of state to Lebanon in five years, an AFP journalist said. Kerry is in Beirut to announce $290 million in aid to boost UN efforts in Syria and neighboring countries hosting refugees, a US diplomatic source said. He will also urge Lebanon to fill the country’s presidential void “as soon as possible.” read (...)

Fierce clashes erupt in #Benghazi
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/fierce-clashes-erupt-benghazi

Fierce clashes erupted in #Libya's eastern city of Benghazi Friday between Islamists and forces led by a retired general seeking to purge it of “terrorists,” an AFP journalist and witnesses said. The witnesses said a group led by Khalifa Haftar, a former rebel chief in the 2011 uprising that helped NATO topple Muammar Gaddafi, was backed by warplanes that pounded a barracks occupied by the Islamist “February 17 Brigade” militia. (AFP)

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Algerian protesters call for government’s overthrow
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/algerian-protesters-call-governments-overthrow

Around 40 people demonstrated in Algiers Saturday calling for a change of government, as ailing 77-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika seek reelection next month, an AFP journalist reported. Bouteflika, in office since 1999, was hospitalized in Paris last year for three months after suffering a mini-stroke. He is a candidate in the April 17 election despite concerns over his health, and is widely expected to win a fourth mandate, sparking rare criticism from senior political figures. read more

#Algeria #Top_News

11 dead as #Libya military plane crashes in #Tunisia
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18721

A Libyan air force medical plane crashed south of Tunis early on Friday, killing all 11 people on board, Tunisian officials said. The aircraft crashed in a field on the edge of the village of Nianou, around 40 kilometers from the capital, but managed to avoid any houses, an AFP journalist reported. The Libyan flag was still visible on the tail-plane amid the charred wreckage of the aircraft. “The plane crashed at 1:30 am (0030 GMT)... with 11 people on board — three doctors, two patients and six crew members,” emergency services spokesman Mongi El Kadhi said. read more

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Hundreds protest in #Tunisia against ’terrorism’ after 4 killed
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/18671

More than a thousand protesters gathered on Monday in the Tunisian town of Jendouba to condemn the weekend killings of four people by suspected Islamist militants. “Tunisia is free, #Terrorism out,” and “Faithful to our martyrs,” were among the slogans chanted by the protesters outside the governor’s office in the town in northwestern Tunisia, before marching down the main street, an AFP journalist reported. read more

#Protests #Top_News

Clashes break out during Tunisian protest over economic hardship
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/clashes-break-out-during-tunisian-protest-over-economic-hardship

Clashes broke out Wednesday in central #Tunisia between police and demonstrators protesting economic hardship, as discontent mounts over new taxes and government failure to improve living conditions, three years after an uprising. Dozens of protesters tried to force their way into the offices of the ruling Islamist party al-Nahda in the town of Kasserine, but police drove them back with teargas, an AFP journalist reported. read more

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