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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)…

M23 rebel leader surrenders in Uganda

The commander of the M23 rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has surrendered in Uganda, reports the BBC.

 The commander, Suiltani Makenga, is said to have, handed himself over along with hundreds of other M23 fighters to Ugandan officials.

Makenga wanted in Congo for his role in war crimes committed by his organisation.
Speaking to the BBC a Ugandan spokesperson outlined that the decision on whether or not to hand over the leader would be made after the peace deal between the rebel group and the government was signed.

Guatemala genocide trial postponed to 2015

The genocide trial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt has been set to resume in January 2015, according to officials.

Sebastian Elgueta, Guatemala researcher at Amnesty International, responded to the events by saying,
This decision to further delay is a letdown for genocide victims and their families who have already waited over three decades, and fought hard to ensure Ríos Montt was held to account in the courts,”

Boko Haram could be war criminals, says UN

Nigerian Islamist organisation Boko Haram, may be classified as war criminals, according to the United Nations human rights office in Geneva, after being blamed for an attack on a wedding convoy.
 
Slamming the attack as "atrocious", spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Cecile Pouilly said,
“Members of Boko Haram and other groups and entities, if judged to have committed widespread or systematic attacks against a civilian population, including on grounds such as religion or ethnicity, could be found guilty of crimes against humanity”.

Arafat may have been poisoned

Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004, may have been poisoned with radioactive polonium, according to Swiss forensic experts.

Arafat was said to have died of a stroke, however Palestinians and others have long accused the Israeli government of poisoning him.

A report by scientists from the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne said that Arafat’s exhumed body showed unusually high levels of polonium.

Colombian govt and Farc reach 'fundamental agreement'

The Colombian government and Farc rebels reached a "fundamental agreement" according to a joint statement by the two sides on Wednesday.

The agreement would allow a "new democratic opening" for Farc to enter Colombian politics.

The Farc leader, Ivan Marquez told Reuters:
"We are completely satisfied with what we have agreed on the point of political participation,"

M23 rebels disarm

The Congolese M23 rebel group announced today that it was ending its armed rebellion against the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hours after government forces drove its fighters out of their last two hilltop bases of Tshanzu and Ruyoni, the group announced that it would disarm and pursue political talks.

Kerry: Israeli-Palestinian talks face difficulties

The US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks faced difficulties however he believed something is possible.

Addressing crowds at a memorial event for the former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated by a right wing Israeli in 2005, Kerry said:

"I come here without any illusions about the difficulties, but I come here determined to work,"

No date for Syria peace talks, but US optimistic

Long-awaited peace talks on Syria have been delayed after UN diplomats failed to agree on a date on Tuesday, diminishing the likelihood of talks happening this year.

However a senior US official told AFP that Washington was hopeful that the meeting will take place before the end of this year.

Meanwhile, BBC News spoke to Syrian presidential advisor Bouthaina Shabaan, who rejected demands for Assad’s stepping down before talks as well as “foreign or regional interference.”

UN flags risk of genocide in Central African Republic

Senior UN officials have warned the Security Council of the risk of genocide in the Central African Republic.

A United Nations special advisor on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng told the council:
"We are seeing armed groups killing people under the guise of their religion,"

"My feeling is that this will end with Christian communities, Muslim communities killing each other which means that if we don't act now and decisively I will not exclude the possibility of a genocide occurring,"

English Tory MPs secretly want Scottish independence says former Secretary

Some Conservative MPs from England secretly favour Scottish independence, as it would give the party a permanent majority at Westminster, said former Conservative Secretary, Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, who is Scottish.

Slamming the favouring of party gains over the British union as "foolish", Forsyth said:

“There are number of foolish people in the Conservative Party in the south who are keen on independence or ‘Devo max’.