Full-throated they belt out songs of victory, their boots adding the drumbeat as ranks of new recruits jog in formation through their jungle training camp.

There’s no doubting the shining eyes of these young people united by an ideal — freedom from the junta that’s smothered democracy in Myanmar.

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Armed gunmen have murdered Haiti President Jovenel Moïse and severely wounded First Lady Martine Moïse in a coordinated attack on their home, marking the most high-profile act of violence to hit the Caribbean nation amid significant unrest recently.

Prime Minister Claude Joseph confirmed the targeted killing in a press release. The attackers - some of whom reportedly spoke English and Spanish - ambushed the president’s private residence in the capital city of Port-au-Prince in the early morning hours of July 7, shooting and killing him, while the first lady is in the hospital in critical condition.

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Heavy fighting has raged between forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Houthi rebels in central Bayda province but pro-government forces have made rapid gains.

Government forces and allied tribesmen, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, reclaimed large swathes of territory in the province, according to Moammar Al Iryani, Yemen’s information minister.

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More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers have fled to neighbouring Tajikistan after clashing with Taliban militants, officials have said.

The troops retreated over the border to “save their own lives”, according to a statement by Tajikistan’s border guard.

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All US and NATO troops have left the biggest air base in Afghanistan, officials said yesterday, signaling that the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the country was imminent after two decades of war.

Bagram Air Base served as the linchpin for US-led operations in the rugged country, where the long war against the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies started following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

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