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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)…

Bangladeshi tribunal sentences two expatriates to death for war crimes

A war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh on Sunday sentenced two expatriates- one living in the United States and the other in Britain- to death for the murder of 18 people, who were described as prominent intellectuals during, the country’s 1971 war of Independence from Pakistan.

French journalists killed in Mali

Two French journalists have been killed in northern Mali, where French troops intervened and have been driving back Islamist militants for most of the year.

Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont, journalists for Radio France Internationale, were kidnapped on Saturday near in Kidal, a town near the Algerian border. Their bullet-ridden bodies were discovered a short time later on the outskirts of the town.

See the Telegraph for full report.

Pakistani Taliban leader killed in CIA drone strike

The leader of Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in an American Central Intteligence Agency (CIA) drone strike today.

Condemning the strikes, a Pakistani minister said that the strike had destroyed attemtps to hold peace talks with the Taliban militants.

Israeli jets strike Syria

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out air strikes in Syria, allegedly targeting weapons which were to be sent to Hezbollah.

The strike was carried out in Latakia, a stronghold of beseiged Syria President Bashar al-Assad, where Russian made missiles were reportedly being prepared to be sent to the Lebanese organisation.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist network, reported,

ICC delays Kenyatta trial

The trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the International Criminal Court, has been delayed until next year, after prosecutors stated they need more time to prepare their case.

Proceedings will now begin on February 5th instead of November 12th, although the Kenyan government want it pushed back even further.

Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor, stated the introduction of new witnesses and evidence 'merit further investigation', but added that,
"The Prosecution does not accept that the Accused’s presidential duties are a reason to delay the trial,”

M23 rebels lose town to DRC army

Bunagana, a town in the east of the democratic Republic of Congo, has been captured from M23 rebels by the army.

"Bunagana is completely under our control. We had been fighting since the early morning," DR Congo's government spokesman Lambert Mende told the AFP news agency.

The town near the Ugandan border was the main base of the group and their political leader Bertrand Bisimwa was reported to have surrendered to Ugandan officials after crossing the border.

However M23 officials denied that Bisimwa had fled.

Amnesties can never be applied to genocide' - AI

The international human rights organisation Amnesty International has expressed concern over developments in Guatemala, where former President Effrain Ríos Montt is reportedly being considered for an amnesty by the country's Constitutional Court, after being found guilty of genocide.

Guatemalan prosecution lawyer Juan Francisco told Amnesty International,

Australian helicopters used in 'genocidal' crackdown

The Asian Human Rights Commission has claimed that Australia supplied heicopters to Indonesia, which were then used against civilians in West Papau in the 1970's, in a "genocidal" crackdown.

According to a report released by the organisation, two Iroquois helicopters suplied by Australia, were used by the Indonesian military in 1977 ad 1978. They were used as part of a campaign against the pro-independence Free Papau Movement.

Basil Fernando, the AHRC director for policy and programme development, said,

Suspected drone strike kills top Somalian militants

Two senior commanders with al-Shabab have been killed in an air strike that targeted their car in southern Somalia.

Villagers told the BBC that it was probably a drone strike that killed the militants.

Read more here.

Second Romanian commander charged with genocide

Prosecutors in Romania have charged a second man with genocide, for his role in running a communist-era prison in the country.

85-year-old Ion Ficor was the commander of the Periprava labour camp from 1958-1963, and was charged after 5 skeletons were discovered from unmarked graves near the prison site.

Andrei Muraru of the Romanian Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes (IICCMER) was quoted by the BBC as saying,