WORLD NEWS

World News

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)…

Renewed 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza

A new 3-day ceasefire has begun in Gaza after Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to a proposal by Egypt on Sunday.

"Israel has accepted Egypt's proposal," a senior Israeli government official told Reuters, adding that if the truce held, negotiators would return to Cairo to resume indirect talks with the Palestinians.

Izzat al-Reshiq, a Hamas negotiator in Cairo, told the news agency: "In light of Israel's acceptance of the truce and their return without pre-conditions, we will inform the Egyptian brothers of our positive response."

Egypt's Foreign Ministry urged "both sides to exploit this truce to resume indirect negotiations immediately and work towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire agreement".

A previous truce expired on Friday, which saw an immediate resumption of hostilities. 19 Palestinians died in Israeli air strikes since Friday, with Hamas firing rockets and mortars into southern Israel, leaving two civilians injured.

Hamas urges PA to join ICC

The Middle East Eye reported on Sunday that Hamas is demanding that President Mahmoud Abbas signs the Rome Statute which will allow Palestine to join the International Criminal Court.

Hamas’s deputy chairman and chief negotiator in Cairo, Moussa Abu Marzouk has been instructed to sign the document supporting the State of Palestine as a member of the ICC.

Kurds reclaim towns from IS after US air strikes

Peshmerga forces are reclaiming territory previously lost to Islamic State militants, after US fighter jets pounded their positions south of the Kurdish capital Erbil.

The towns of Makhmur and Gwer were retaken by the Kurdish troops, as the US launched its fourth wave of strikes against IS targets.

Kurdish President Massoud Barzani on Sunday requested international military aid to help defeat the militants.

"We are not fighting a terrorist organisation, we are fighting a terrorist state," said Mr Barzani, who was speaking alongside French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, in Iraq for talks on the crisis.

Kosovo pledges to cooperate with war crimes inquiry

Kosovo promised to cooperate with an EU led inquiry into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) against minority Serb and Roma communities in the late 1990s.

The inquiry is led by the EU's Special Investigative Task Force (SITF), set up in 2011 to investigate allegations made by the Special Rapporteur of the Council of Europe including mass atrocities and that of organ harvesting from dead prisoners.

"Kosovo will fully co-operate with the SITF and the country's institutions will make the necessary legal and constitutional changes to establish the new special court," Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga was quoted by SE Times as saying.

"The government of Kosovo praises the conclusion of the work of Ambassador Williamson, which is an important step in the eventual definition of individual responsibility, and will provide an end to the pretentions of other un-proven allegations," Pristina said in a statement.

UK endorses US air strikes against IS fighters

The UK expressed support over the US decision to launch targetted air strikes in Iraq, to stop the advance of Islamic State (IS) fighters towards the city of Erbil in Kurdistan.

Whilst officials said British airstrikes were currently not on the cards, British spy planes will aid US troops in determining the whereabouts of IS fighters, and a RAF aircraft, able to refuel US Fighter jets in mid-air will be deployed, reports The Times.

Ukraine rebels call for ceasefire, as government forces advance

Pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine’s east have called for an immediate ceasefire to avert a humanitarian disaster, after reports that the Ukrainian army had recaptured a key city from the rebels, reported Reuters.

Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people's republic, made the call in a statement published on the rebel website.

"We are ready for a ceasefire to prevent the proliferation of a humanitarian disaster in Donbass," he said.

Russia renewed its offer to send a humanitarian mission, after the US warned Moscow on Friday not to use such mission as a pretext to send troops to support the rebels.

Colombian oil field attacked by rebels

Colombian rebels have attacked an oil field near the Venezuelan border.

The state-owned Ecopetrol said that no-one was injured in the attack on the Tibu field.

The left-wing Farc and the ELN are both active in the area, however the Colombian military did not specify which of the groups carried out the attack, which came after weeks of rebels targeting power stations, oil fields, pipelines and roads.

The latest attack comes a day after President Jose Manuel Santos was inaugurated for a second term.

Afghan rivals reach agreement on unity government

The dispute over the Afghan presidency has ended after a political agreement was reached by Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who both claimed to have won the election earlier this year.

"We are putting the past behind us. We are looking into the future," said Ghani.

The announcement came soon after a surprise visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who landed in Kabul on Thursday, to assist the negotiations around the presidency.

Death toll continues to rise in Gaza and West Bank

Israeli air strikes on Gaza have killed 5 Palestinians, with now over 1,900 deaths in the Gaza strip, according to the UN.

Hostilities resumed after a 72-hour truce expired with talks in Cairo between Israel and the Palestinians failing to reach an agreement.

Obama authorises air strikes in Iraq

The US President Barack Obama Thursday announced the authorisation of "targetted air strikes" in Iraq to stop the advance of Islamic State (IS) fighters, as well as humanitarian action to help Yazidi refugees trapped on a mountain.

"Today I authorised two operations in Iraq. Targetted air strikes to protect our American personnel and a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who are trapped on a mountain without food or water and facing almost certain death," Obama said during a televised address on Thursday evening.

Explaining the reasons for the air strikes, he said:
"In recent days these terrorists have continued to move across Iraq and have neared the city of Erbil where American diplomats and civilians serve at our consulate and American military personnel advise Iraqi forces.

To stop the advance on Erbil, I have directed our military to take targetted strikes against ISIL terrorist convoys should they move towards the city. We intend to stay vigilant and take action if these terrorist forces threaten our forces or personnel any where in Iraq including our consulate in Erbil and our embassy in Baghdad.

We are providing urgent assistance to Iraqi government and Kurdish forces so they can more effectively wage the fight against ISIL."

Describing the plight of the Yazidi refugees, President Obama said America could not turn a blind eye to a "potential genocide".

WHO: Ebola epidemic an international emergency

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of Ebola across West Africa as an international health emergency, on Friday following an emergency committee meeting in Switzerland.

"A coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola," the WHO said in a statement, adding that the Committee concluded the conditions for a 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)' had been met.

Urging all states affected by the infection to declare a state of emergency and activate national disaster protocols, the WHO called for mandatory "screening of all persons at international airports, seaports and major land crossings, for unexplained febrile illness consistent with potential Ebola infection."

"There should be no international travel of Ebola contacts or cases, unless the travel is part of an appropriate medical evacuation," the WHO added, falling short of a complete ban on international travel and trade.