Erstellt am: 28. 7. 2015 - 13:18 Uhr

NATO declares "solidarity" with Turkey

Reality Check: Alliance ambassadors in Brussels for an emergency meeting; reaction to Obama's stance on LGBT rights in Africa.

NATO emergency meeting

NATO ambassadors are holding an emergency meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, at the request of the Turkish government, which is seeking moral support for its campaign against militants in Syria and Iraq.

EPA/JULIEN WARNAND

Turkey requested the meeting under article 4 of the NATO treaty. It's only the fifth time in the alliance's 66 year history that such a meeting has been held.

Ahead of the meeting, it emerged that Turkey and the Unites States have agreed on the outlines of a plan to force Islamic State militants out of a strip of Syrian territory along the border with Turkey. This could open up a safe haven for Syrian refugees, but could also create tensions with U.S. backed Syrian Kurdish forces in the area. Sandra Gathmann in Brussels reports on the NATO talks.

Obama, Africa & gay rights.

The subject of LGBT rights is taboo in many African countries.

EPA/DAI KUROKAWA

On his Africa tour, US President Barack Obama hasn’t shied away from publicly addressing the need for rights for Africa’s LGBT community, even if his public statements harvested the equally public admonishment of African leaders for his stance. Riem Higazi spoke to gay rights activist Godwyns Onwuchekwa, of the organisation Justice for Gay Africans, to get his reaction to President Obama bringing the notion of equal rights for the African LGBT community to Africa:

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