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Latest news from and about the homeland

Photograph: Screenshot/ BLA video A fresh wave of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances has been documented across Balochistan this month, as Baloch rights groups recorded the recovery of several bodies of men who had earlier been forcibly taken, and appealed once more to international institutions that have largely ignored the province. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC)…

Belgium recognises Armenian genocide

The Belgium parliament on Thursday voted in favour of a resolution recognising the Armenian genocide.

The decision was swiftly condemned by Turkey. In a statement issued on Friday, the Turkish foreign ministry said, Turkey had been “unfairly indicted, historical facts have been distorted and law has been ignored."

"The grave picture that has emerged with the July 23 decision of the Chamber of Deputies [was] met with regret by the Belgian Turkish community and has deeply impacted our bilateral relations,” the statement added.

"It should be understood that this and similar decisions that have been made do not serve the Turkish-Armenian conciliation in any way".

Turkey conducts airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria

Turkey’s air-force carried out attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time on Friday, as well as militant camps of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, reports Reuters.

Turkish President Tayyip Ergogen promised further decisive action against Islamic State militants and Kurdish militants.

Romania sentences former Communist prison guard for crimes against humanity

In a land mark case, Romania has convicted a former Communist-era prison guard of crimes against humanity for his role in the Ramnicu Sarat prison from 1956 to 1963 and the deaths of 12 inmates.

The former guard, who is now aged 89, Alexandru Visinescu, was sentenced for 20 years. He is the first senior official in the country's former communist regime to face justice.

The prosecution argued he had ran an "extermination regime" at the prison in Eastern Romania, which was notorious for the use of torture and starvation, targeting political prisoners.

Pinochet-era student attack case reopened

A Chilean judge has reopened a case investigating an attack on two students during a demonstration against the Pinochet-regime in 1986.

Seven former military officers are being questioned about their involvement in the attack, which saw 19-year-old Rodrigo Rojas and 18-year-old Carmen Quintana doused in petrol and set on fire by soldiers, with Rodrigo dying days after, while Carmen survived severe burn injuries.

The case was reopened after testimony provided by a military conscript, who broke the army's pact of silence on the prominent case.

Kerry defends Iran nuclear deal at US Congress

US Secretary of State John Kerry staunchly defended the Iran nuclear deal telling skeptics warning his Senate that turning down the deal would allow to Iran to continue with its weapons program.

Mr Kerry stresses that those who oppose the deal were pushing an unrealistic alternative. The US Secretary of state, speaking at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said,

“The fact is now Iran has extensive experience with nuclear fuel cycle technology. We can’t bomb that knowledge away. Nor can we sanction that knowledge away.

Italy's 1974 far-right bombers receive life sentence

An Italian court has jailed two former far-right extremists for life, for their in a bomb attack 41 years ago.

The 1974 bombing in Brescia killed eight people and injured over 100 at an anti-fascist rally in the city in northern Italy.

Carlo Maria Maggi, 80, then a member of Italy's far-right group New Order and Maurizio Tramonte 63, a former intelligence agent, were given life sentences by the court in Milan.

Best outcome for Israel Palestine conflict is two-state solution says Hillary Clinton

The US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said a two –state solution for Israel and Palestinians was the only feasible resolution to the longstanding conflict in the region.

Responding to a question from an audience member at an election campaign event in South Carolina, Ms Clinton said that a two state settlement would be the “best outcome” for both the Israelis and Palestinians, reports Reuters.

France, Russia, Germany and Ukraine agree to call on separatist militants to extend arms pull back

Leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine agreed to call on Ukraine’s separatist militants to extend the duration of a pull-back on their weapons in eastern Ukraine.

Commenting at the end of over 2 hours of telephone talks, French President Francois Hollande’s office said that the leaders of the four countries “want the agreements signed as soon as possible.”

UN condemns attacks on aid workers in CAR

The United Nations humanitarian official in the Central African Republic (CAR) condemned a surge in violence against aid workers, that saw a member of a UN food convoy killed.

The UN coordinator Marc Vandenberghe, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said,

South Sudan committed war crimes – HRW

South Sudanese forces are accused of having committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, killing and raping civilians during its offensive against rebels in Unity state, Human Rights Watch said in its latest report on the country.

The New York-based rights organisation said the army and allied militants from the Bul Nuer ethnic group forcibly displaced tens of thousands of people in Unity by attacking women, elderly, and children, while burning villages and stealing cattle.

South Sudan's government said any alleged rights violations were limited to "a few individuals" who will face justice in domestic courts. But Skye Wheeler, a researcher with Human Rights Watch told The Associated Press the attacks were "far more widespread and systematic to be blamed on a few rotten apples."

The report, “They Burned it All: Destruction of Villages, Killings, and Sexual Violence in South Sudan’s Unity State,” is based on more than170 interviews in June and July with survivors and witnesses, and documents the killing of 60 people, including some by hanging or burning, and 63 rapes.