WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Baloch activists accuse state-backed death squads of new killings
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)…

Guatemalan genocide retrial suspended

Jan 5, 2015
The retrial of Guatemala's former military ruler over charges of genocide has been suspended before proceedings had even started this week, after a motion to change judges was successfully passed.

Rios Montt, Guatemala's 88-year-old former ruler, is accused of masterminding the massacre of 1,771 Ixil Maya Indians in the early 1980s. He was initially found guilty of genocide in 2013, after he became the first head of state to face genocide charges in his own country. However, the conviction was overturned just weeks later and a retrial scheduled for 2015.

The retrial has been halted after Montt's lawyers argued judge Jeannette Valdez's master's thesis on genocide meant she was impartial. She had called it "a strategy to obstruct" the proceedings but the other two judges on the panel accepted the motion, causing the postponement.

Kenyan ICC witness found dead

Jan 5, 2015
A man who was a key witness at the International Criminal Court's (ICC) trial of Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto has been found dead and badly mutilated.

Meshack Yebei’s body was found in a river in western Kenya on Saturday after being abducted on the 28 December. His body had his eyes gouged out, genitals cut off, tongue cut out and a gunshot wound to the head.

The 34 year old had been scheduled to testify at The Hague against Ruto, who stands accused of crimes against humanity, after post-election violence in Kenya saw at least 1,100 people killed in 2007.

Kurdish prime minister vows to work towards international recognition of Yezidi genocide

Jan 5, 2015
The mass crimes against the Yezidis in Shingal last year by Islamic State militants can only be described as ‘genocide,’ said the Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.

Vowing to secure international recognition for atrocities committed against the Yezidi people, Barzani said,

“We have already formed a governmental committee which consists of two minsters and a number of eyewitnesses, who will do whatever is in their power to formally recognise the atrocities in Shingal as genocide.”

US welcomes Cuba's releasing of political prisoners

Jan 5, 2015
Cuba has freed some of the 53 people political prisoners that it agreed to release to the US, said the State Department on Tuesday.

“They have already released some of the prisoners, we would like to see this completed in the near future, said the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki.

Psaki further noted that the release of the 53 prisoners, were not a pre-condition for holding talks and further normalising relations between the US and Cuba, which are scheduled to take place later this month, reports Reuters.

Palestine criticises Nigeria for last minute abstention at UN vote

Jan 4, 2015
Palestinian officials criticised Nigeria’s alleged last minute decision to abstain from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution for recognition of Palestinian statehood last week.

“Even half an hour before the vote, Nigeria indicated it was committed to voting for the resolution," said a Palestinian source to The Guardian.

According to the paper, a US State Department spokesperson said that the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, had called a number of senior foreign officials, including the Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, before the vote.

UN raises concern over Lebanese refugee restrictions

Jan 4, 2015
The United Nations expressed concern over Lebanese restrictions on Syrian refugees escaping civil war, reports the BBC.

The UN wanted the Lebanese government to clarify if the new restrictions, aimed at slowing the influx of asylum seekers, would allow the “most vulnerable refugees” to gain access to Lebanon.

China protests Taiwan's de-facto embassy raising national flag in the US

Jan 4, 2015
China protested to the United States, after Taiwan’s de-facto embassy in Washington, hosted a Taiwanese flag on New Year’s Day.

Calling on the US to respect the “One China” policy, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, said “we resolutely oppose the so-called flag raising ceremony by Taiwan’s agency in the United States and have lodged solemn representations with the United States.”

Stressing that the US respected the One China policy, a US State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, stressed that the US “did not know about the flag raising in advance,” adding that, “no US government personnel attended the event in any capacity.”

Israel vows to protect its soldiers from the ICC

Jan 3, 2015

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel "will not let Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and officers be dragged to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague."

The comments come in response to the Palestinian move to join the ICC, which Netanyahu said signified the Palestinian Authority's choosing "to take a path of confrontation with Israel."

Boko Haram captures multinational base

Jan 3, 2015
The Nigerian army suffered a setback after Boko Haram seized a town and key multinational military base in Baga, north-eastern Nigeria.

Villagers reported that the Nigerian military abandoned the base as militants began their assault on Saturday. The base hosted the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), made up of troops from Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.

Baga was the last town under Nigerian government control in Borno North. Speaking to the BBC, Maina Maaji Lawan, senator for Borno North, said that communications with the town were cut off, making details of casualties unclear.

Palestine submits documents to join ICC

Jan 2, 2015

Palestine formally submitted its application to join the International Criminal Court on Friday, a move which has been condemned by the United States and Israel.

Submitting the application, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told reporters “this is a very significant step.”

“It is an option that we are seeking in order to seek justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power… It is a legal option, it is a peaceful option, it is a civilised option and it is an option that anyone who upholds the law should not be afraid of."

Mansour went on to say that Palestinians are “not afraid of the judgement of the law, especially international law.”

A senior State Department official told Reuters that the United States was "deeply troubled by Palestinian action regarding the ICC."

Guatemalan genocide retrial suspended
Kenyan ICC witness found dead
Kurdish prime minister vows to work towards international recognition of Yezidi genocide
US welcomes Cuba's releasing of political prisoners
Palestine criticises Nigeria for last minute abstention at UN vote
UN raises concern over Lebanese refugee restrictions
China protests Taiwan's de-facto embassy raising national flag in the US
Israel vows to protect its soldiers from the ICC
Boko Haram captures multinational base
Palestine submits documents to join ICC