Sri Lanka’s president has apologised to a group of Sinhala extremist monks from Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), after police launched tear gas at a protest held by the organisation earlier on Monday.
The monks, who were seen posing with a racist Sri Lankan lion flag, were calling for the release of jailed BBS leader Galagodaatte Gnanasara.
Tamil News
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Final preparations are taking place at Mulankavil thuyilum illam ahead of Tamil remembrance day (Maaveerar Naal) on November 27.
Volunteers and locals on Monday continued clearing the site and making the area ready for next Thursday's event.
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A Tamil asylum seeker who fled torture in Sri Lanka has been awarded almost £20,000 in damages from the UK Home Office for his unlawful detention.
The 29-year-old referred to as KG was unlawfully held in immigration detention for 30 days between January and February 2016 because of a failure to arrange a medical examination within 24 hours of his admission,...
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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed concern about threats to press freedom and journalist safety in Sri Lanka as a result of the ongoing political crisis.
Responding especially to the attempted transfer of a senior police official who was responsible for investigating the assassination of Sunday Leader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, as well as the high profile cases surrounding the targeting of other journalists, IFJ endorsed a statement by its Sri Lankan...
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Tamils are likely to become the worst victims in Sri Lanka’s political crisis, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R Sampanthan said today.
Speaking to media after a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in Colombo, the party leader said “the country’s minorities, especially Tamils, may become the victims,” according to The Hindu.
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The father of the LTTE's political head for the Trincomalee district, Sasitharan (alias Elilan), died yesterday yearning for his disappeared son.
Elilan was handed over to the Sri Lankan army by members of his family during the end of the armed conflict in 2009.
His father has been searching for his son since then along with Elilan's wife, Ananthy Sasitharan...
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Amnesty International urged Sri Lankan authorities not to impede ongoing investigations following the transfer of Nishantha Silva, the Officer-in-Charge at the Criminal Investigations Department who had been responsible for the investigation of the abduction and murder of 11 Tamil youths by Sri Lankan navy personnel.
Silva was given a transfer order to ordinary duties in Negombo, reportedly on the orders of the Sri Lankan president.
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The United National Party, together with its coalition partners within the UNF alliance submitted a motion today to suspend Mahinda Rajapaksa's expenditures.
The motion would see staff salaries and other costs taken away from his budget.
The motion is expected to be debated on November 29.
The TNA spokesperson, M A Sumanthiran and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the JVP leader and Chief Opposition Whip, have said they will support the motion.
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Sri Lanka's Speaker today ordered authorities to investigate and present a report on last week's violent scenes in parliament, the Daily Mirror reported.
Video footage from parliamentary sittings showed fist-fights, objects being thrown at fellow MPs and police officers, including chilli water, as well as an MP wielding a knife and another slapping a police officer.
The Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya told MPs that "it was the duty of all MPs to avoid the repetition of such ugly...
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The head of Myanmar’s navy paid a trip Kandy last month, where he met with a senior Sri Lankan military commander and visited the Temple of the Tooth.
Admiral Tin Aung San, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar’s Navy led a delegation to meet Major General T J Nanayakkara, before both parties visited the “inner chamber for veneration...
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The Sri Lankan military police announced that it had set up a new checkpoint by the Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu in the Mannar district, as militarisation of the North-East continues, despite sustained opposition from locals.
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Sri Lanka’s parliament met on Monday morning, amidst a week of violence in the chambers, with the session ending after just 10 minutes.
In a relatively peaceful sitting in comparison to last week's clashes, Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri presided over the brief proceedings. He declared parliament adjourned until Friday the 23rd of November.
Parliamentary sittings last week were marred by violence, which saw lawmakers with former president Mahinda Rajapaksa hurl...
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Parents of Maaveerar (fallen LTTE cadre) were honoured in Batticaloa on Saturday evening ahead of Tamil Remembrance Day (Maaveerar Naal) on November 27. The parents of over 50 Maaveerar were given parcels of household items by members of the...
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A 25 year old Tamil youth was arrested on Friday for allegedly being in possession of heroin.
The youth, who has not been named, is from Navatkuli, Jaffna.
The police allege 250mg of heroin was found on his person.
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Sri Lankan troops reportedly “threw their full weight behind” a series of Buddhist ceremonies in Jaffna and Kilinochchi last month, as the military continues to assist in attempts of further Sinhalisation of the largely Tamil North-East.
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A police official responsible for the investigation of the abduction and murder of 11 Tamil youths by Sri Lankan navy personnel has been handed transfer orders, Sri Lankan journalists have reported.
Nishantha Silva, officer in charge of the organised crimes division at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was given a transfer order to ordinary duties in Negombo, reportedly on the orders of the Sri Lankan president.
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“The world community should now realise why we insist on international input into the war crimes’ inquiry,” said Chief Minister of the Northern Province CV Wigneswaran amidst the deepening political turmoil on the island which saw MPs attack each other in parliament last week.
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Cross party talks called by the Sri Lankan president ended in deadlock, prolonging the country’s political crisis.
Despite both ousted UNP prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sirisena’s de facto prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa appearing at the president’s office for a meeting of over two hours, a solution was not reached, AFP reports.
Squabbles still existed between the UPFA (SLFP and allies) and the UNF (UNP and allies) on the legitimacy of the no-confidence motions...
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The International Monetary Fund’s program has been suspended due to the ongoing political crisis on the island, according to a report in The Morning on Sunday.
IMF official spokesperson Gerry Rice told The Sunday Morning that the programme with Sri Lanka, a three-year extended arrangement of about $ 1.5 billion which was approved in 2016, “is on hold pending further clarity on the political...
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Dozens of people have died after Cyclone Gaja hit Tamil Nadu early Friday morning, pounding the state with extreme rainfall, 125kmph cyclonic gusts and widespread flooding, as per the Indian Metereological Department, which declared a Red Alert for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The state urged residents residing in coastal towns to evacuate immediately and move inland, with 46 reported deaths and several more injuries as of Tuesday.
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The British government must suspend deportations to Sri Lanka, “to ensure that we do not deliver anyone into [Mahinda] Rajapaksa’s lethal hands”, the chief executive of Freedom from Torture has said, echoing calls from British MPs earlier this week.
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Residents and locals continued clearing Alampil Thuyilum Illam (LTTE cemetries) today, which remains under military control.
The NPC councillor, T Ravikaran and TNPF's General Secretary, S Kajendran also took part in the preparations which are...
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Sri Lanka's Speaker, Karu Jayasuriya remained defiant despite two days of violence in the parliamentary complex, stating he "would safeguard the democracy even by sacrificing his life".
He added that "would not be intimidated by any threats or obstacles placed in his way" and urged "people of the country who loved their motherland to maintain peace in the country".
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The number of Tamil Nadu tourists to Sri Lanka has fallen in recent weeks following the island's political turmoil, Times of India reported this month.
The paper reported that tour operators had received the highest number of cancellations since the end of the armed conflict.
"Of the 6,000 tourists from Tamil Nadu, nearly 2,000 cancelled their trip in October. The prospective tourists, largely travelling in groups to the island nation, are exploring other options," president...
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The Sri Lankan president, Maithripala Sirisena today called for a cross party conference to discuss a way forward to the island's ongoing political crisis.
The conference is expected to be held tomorrow at the Presidential Secreteriat.
It is not known which parties will send representatives.
Sri Lanka has been at a state of political turmoil for several weeks following the president's sacking of the prime minister last month and the appointment of the former president...
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Schools in the Northern Province were closed on Friday due to adverse weather conditions caused by the cyclonic storm ‘Gaja’.
Although Sri Lanka’s meteorology department predicted that the storm would move away from the island this evening, the North-East, particularly the Jaffna peninsula, has been hit by severe rains and windy conditions.
Fisherman were advised not to venture into the sea, from Trincomalee in the East, to Kankesanthurai in the North, and Mannar in the North-...
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The United National Party (UNP) has urged Facebook not to disclose user data to the ‘illegal’ administration of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena citing concerns that data would be misused by the government.
Amidst Sri Lanka’s ongoing political crisis over Sirisena’s attempts to instate former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister, the Sirisena administration “continues to tighten control of traditional media”, the UNP said in a letter to Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg...
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Senior US policy figure Samantha power called for “ramped up international pressure” on Sri Lanka this week, amidst violence in parliament between lawmakers.
Stating that the proposed prime minister appointee Mahinda Rajapaksa stands “credibly accused of war crimes,” Power noted that “institutions in SL are bending but not breaking”.
“Ramped up international pressure is key,” she added.
In a tweet on Thursday, Power went on to state that the continued chaos in parliament...
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Senior officials from the United States, India, Australia and Japan met in Singapore yesterday to discuss the Indo-Pacific region, with the political crisis in Sri Lanka firmly on the agenda.
US officials underscored the importance of "encouragement of an outcome to political developments in Sri Lanka consistent with democratic principles" during the meeting, the State Department said in a statement.
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The UPFA MP Susil Premajayantha accused the TNA MP M A Sumanthiran of producing the parliamentary disarray which he said, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe directed.
"MP Sumanthiran is the producer of the series of these events, and its director is the UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, while Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is only an actor in it," Premajayantha told reporters at a press conference this afternoon following a second day of violence within the parliamentary complex.
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Current Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena’s schemes “are blowing up in his face” writes The Economist on Thursday, as political turmoil in Colombo continues with violence inside parliament this week.
Sri Lanka still “has no clear government” the piece continued, stating it was in a “constitutional quandary” and that the island’s “bureaucracy fell into near paralysis”.
The Economist concluded by saying,
World News
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The US based rental accommodation firm Airbnb announced its decision to remove Israeli settlements in the West Bank from their website, stating the settlements break international law and impede a peace solution.
This move has been hailed by Palestinian groups as a positive first step whilst also being decried by Israeli organisations as an act of capitulation.
The UN Security Council deemed settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem violate international law in its...
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The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee has unanimously passed a resolution supporting self-determination as a fundamental human right.
The resolution, tabled by Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN Dr Maleeha Lodhi, was passed by the UNGA’s Third Committee which deals with social humanitarian and cultural issues.
Tweeting after the vote whish aw a record number of 83 countries cosponsoring it, Dr Lodhi said,
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The new government of the Maldives will rejoin the Commonwealth, two years after the country’s former president pulled out in protest of the group raising concerns over the country’s democracy and human rights.
In a statement on Monday, President Ibramih Mohamed Solih’s office said the decision to participate in the Commonwealth of Nations again had been taking into account the education and cultural advantages.
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A group of bipartisan US Congressional representatives introduced a bill into the Senate and House of Representatives demanding a sterner response from the Trump administration over China’s human rights record.
The bill proposes targeted sanctions on the Chinese government, the ruling party and officials such as Xinjiang party secretary Chen Quanguo who are “credibly alleged to be responsible for human rights abuses in Xinjiang and elsewhere”.
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A sitting Member of Parliament, accused by the UN of carrying out war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Central African Republic’s Muslim community, has been detained and extradited to the Hague, reports ABC news.
Alfred Yekatom, also a former militia leader, was wanted for the murder, deportation and torture, enforced disappearance and...
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Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are facing increasing pressure from the West to agree to a ceasefire in Yemen to prevent the country from plunging into mass famine. This has led to the halt of the Saudi led coalition’s offensive against the Houthis in the port city of Hodeidah.
The offensive on this strategic port was relaunched last month in an effort to cut off Houthi ruled areas from their main supply route.
Western allies including the US and the UK are...
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The world Bank rescinded a $300 million loan to Tanzania on Thursday in response to a number of controversial laws passed by the legislature over recent months.
Last month Tanzanian legislators passed amendments to Statistics Acts that criminalised public dissemination of statistical information contradicting official government figures.
The European Union announced that it was reviewing its policies toward Tanzania,...
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Two leaders of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia have been found guilty of genocide by a UN backed-tribunal, Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
The genocide was conducted against the Cham Muslims and ethnic Vietnamese population, who were subject to a litany of crimes including murder, extermination, enslavement and torture.
The two men sentenced, Noun Chea, deputy of regime leader Pol Pot and head of state Khieu Samphan, 87, were already...
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The US treasury imposed fresh sanctions on 17 Saudi officials allegedly implicated with the murder of US resident and Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a statement released on Thursday, Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said,
“The Saudi officials we are sanctioning were involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Kashoggi. These individuals who targeted and brutally killed a journalist who resided and worked in the United States must face consequences for their actions.”...
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Archeologists have begun excavating mass graves in Spain dating back to the dictatorship of General Franco in order to try and identify victimes.
Over 2000 victims have been uncovered so far.
The majority of the bodies currently being excavated are expected to be leftists who were sentenced to death by military judges between 1939-1956, the first half of General Franco’s military dictatorship.
Despite over 4 decades since the death of Franco, there was no coordinated...
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Hamas and Israel have agreed to an Egyptian mediated ceasefire negotiation following two days of escalated violence.
The proposed ceasefire agreement offers to reduce Israel’s blockade of Gaza and open entry points through which people may travel into Israel.
The current escalation in the conflict was sparked after Israel attempted a military raid on Gaza on Sunday which resulted in the deaths of seven Hamas fighters and one of their Lieutenant Colonels. In retaliation Hamas...
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A confidential briefing paper circulated within the UNHRC revealed that the United Nations is not willing to provide humanitarian assistance to the returning Rohingya Muslims, if they are interned in camps.
Instead, the UN has said it will only support resettlement on the condition that returnees are resettled into the “places of refugees’ origin or choice”.
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An outbreak of ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been described as the largest spread of the infection in the country, with 329 confirmed cases.
Half of the reported cases are in Beni, a north-east city in the DRC.
The outbreak comes as the DRC remains in the grip of conflict with militant groups in North Kivu, which has further bolstered the spread of the disease and hindered immunisation efforts.
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The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated last week they are imposing sanctions on three individuals and nine entities backed by Russia.
The individuals named, Andriy Volodymyrovych Sushkov, Aleksandr Basov, and Vladimir Nikolaevich Zaritsky are alleged to support Russia’s attempt to “reintegrate” Crimea through private investments and privatisation projects and by doing so have endorsed serious human rights abuses.
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As many as 52 people were killed when attackers detonated at least two bombs and stormed a hotel in Mogadishu near the headquarters of Somalia’s Criminal Investigation Department.
The militant Al-Shabab organisation, which has been known for regular attacks on the capital, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that they were targetting government officials who were staying at the hotel.
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China's human rights record was criticised by western nations such as France, Germany and the United States this week during the country's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council.
Member states at the Counil called on China to close detention centres where an estimated million Uighur Muslims are said to be detained.
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Tensions have risen within the city of Carno in Central African Republic (CAR) as refugees, who are predominately Muslim, have started to return to find their homes and businesses occupied, exacerbating the conflict between Muslim and Christian communities.
Aid organisations and the UN aim to build new houses to ease tensions and allow occupants to voluntarily leave.
Refugees from the Central African Republic, were forced into exile due to fighting among armed groups which...
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Following a much anticipated by-election in New Jersey, Tom Malinowski unseated the incumbent five-term Republican representative Leonard Lance. This followed a reclamation of the House by the Democratic party whilst the Republicans retained control over the Senate.
During this time he worked on a number of projects including supporting persecuted minorities targeted by ISIS in Iraq; defending LGBT rights globally and overseeing the appointment of the first Special Envoy for LGBT...
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Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) is projected to have won only seven out of 13 seats in a by election held in Myanmar this week.
The NLD won the majority of seats in the central heartland which is predominately ethnic Bamar Buddhists but in the northern state of Kachin, they finished third in an Upper House race which it had won in 2015.
Results in the state capital Myithyina showed a victory for the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party...
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The French Pacific territory New Caledonia rejected independence in a referendum, although the winning majority was significantly smaller than predicted.
With voter turnout over 80%, 56.4% opted to remain as part of France.
Polls had actually forecasted a win of up to 75% for the ‘no’ [to independence] campaign.
New Caledonia is of strategic importance to France as a foothold in the Pacific.
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The blockage of aid shipments has threatened famine in Yemen, warned the United Nations, as fighting between the Yemeni government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels, reportedly backed by Iran, continues.
In particular fighting has brokenout in regions surrounding the largest hospital in the port city of Hodeidah, which has made it difficult to access those most in need, including children. The United Nations estimates that if this continues 14 million people, half...
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Boko Haram have attacked two villages in northeastern Nigeria, Bulaburin and Kofa, as well as a camp in Dalori for internally displaced people (IDP), resulting in the deaths of at least 12 civilians, reports Al Jazeera.
Boko Haram militants arrived in seven trucks on Wednesday. Babakura Kolo, a civilian militia leader, reported to AFP news agency that...
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During talks between Libya’s rival assemblies an agreement was forged to unify the government under a central authority and reform state institutions.
The United Nations which had been assisting both sides has welcomed the progress made in these talks which finished on Wednesday.
There is, however, concern that whilst administrative bodies may agree to these decisions, armed militias may not as they have benefited from the nation’s disunity.
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A military crackdown on the Shi’ite organisation Islamic Movement of Nigera has been reported in the country's capital, Abuja, killing 42 people, Reuters reports.
Security forces shot and used tear gas on a group of protesters who were marching to demand the release of their leader Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been in imprisoned since December 2015. He was arrested during violent clashes in the northern city of Zaria and had allegedly called for an Iranian style islamic revolution. The...
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A Bangladesh court has doubled the jail time from five years to ten years for former prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia for her involvement in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
The case accused her, along with five others including her son, of embezzling approximately $253,000 from foreign donations intended for an orphanage set up for the former president, Ziaur Rahman, who was Khaleda's former husband.
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Jair Bolsonaro, a far right candidate and former paratrooper, has won the presidential election in Brazil. His party, the Social Liberal Party (SLP) secured 56 percent of the vote running against the left-wing candidate Fernando Hadad of the Workers Party (PT) who gained 44 percent, according to the electoral authority TSE.
Bolosonaro’s victory runs in sharp contrast to the previous government which was run by the leftist Workers Party (PT), which had run the country for 13 of the...
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Indian and Japan signed a $75 billion bilateral currency swap agreement during the first day of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo.
During the trip Modi also announced that Japan and India had agreed a new programme aimed at deepening ties between both defence ministries reports Bloomberg News.
“The aim of this is to further work towards world peace...
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Ethiopia last week elected its first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde, who is currently the only female head of state in Africa. Her appointment follows the resignation of Mulatu Teshome Wirtu on October 25.
She is the fourth president under EPRDF rule which claimed power in Ethiopia in 1991, following a coup against the military regime.
She has a long service in government having served as ambassador in many countries across Africa and Europe as well working with the UN...
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Around a thousand Indonesian Muslims gathered for a protest in the capital Jakarta to protest against burning of an Islamic flag, linked to a banned organisation on Friday.
Protestors gathered to condemn the burning, which was captured in a viral video in which a member of the youth wing of Nahdlatual Ulama (NU) burnt a rival organisation’s flag which bore the Tauhid - an Islamic concept asserting that there is only one God. During the protest this was the message they chanted, “there...
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The Indian government has frozen the bank accounts of Amnesty International after an initial raid on its Bangalore office in Southern India on Thursday.
The Enforcement Directorate, India’s financial crime investigating agency, had conducted the search under suspicion that Amnesty had violated foreign direct investment guidelines. Critics have responded asserting that this is an attempt to crack down on dissident voices airing criticism of the governmen'ts conduct in Kashmir and at...