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)…

US and Peru to renew defence agreement

The US and Peru decided to discuss and renew a 60-year-old defence cooperation agreement, on Saturday.

The US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the updated agreement would "improve our ability to conduct joint activities, to do training and other exchanges."

He added

World leaders urge restraint in Syria-Turkey crisis

The UN Security Council has condemned the Syrian attack of a Turkish village on Thursday, which killed five civilians, all of whom were women and children.

A UN statement said that the attack “underscored that this incident highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbours and on regional peace and stability.”

Outcry following Philippines Internet freedom law

Outcry has erupted in the Philippines over a recently passed internet freedom law that exposes users to prosecution related to libel.

The new law deems that even posts on social networking sites that have been deemed libellous can be taken to court, curbing freedom of expression.

Harry S. Roque, president of Media Defense South East Asiaamd law professor at the University of Philippines commented,

Mau Mau victims win right to claim against UK govt

The high court in London has ruled that three Kenyans can proceed in their legal claims against the UK government for alleged torture during the Mau Mau uprising in 1950s. 

In his ruling, the judge Justice McCoombe said: "A fair trial for the Kenyans on this part of the case does remain possible and the evidence on both sides does remain significantly cogent for the court to complete its task satisfactorily."

The UK government has said although it acknowledges that detainees were tortured under the colonial administration, it does not accept liability and will appeal. 

Colombia-Farc peace talks start Oct 17

Peace talks between the Colombian government and Farc will commence in Oslo on 15th October, with a joint news conference on 17th October.

Last week, the Colombian President Juan Manueal Santos, said he was "cautiously optimistic" that a peace deal could be reached.

Peacekeepers killed in Darfur

Four Nigerian peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in Darfur.

Eight more soldiers, from the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission Unamid, were injured when their convoy was attacked on Tuesday.

"They were providing administrative and logistic support and they were moving from one of our camps to the other," said the spokesperson for Unamid, Chris Cycmanick.

Srebrenica elections ‘final step in genocide’ warn Muslims

Muslims from the town of Srebrenica have warned that the upcoming local elections could represent the “final step of a genocide” if Bosnian Serb candidates were to win.

The town, infamous for its massacre of 8,000 young Muslim men and boys by Bosnian Serb forces in 1995, has seen many Muslims stripped of their voting rights this year after complex voting laws were enforced.

The move has sparked fears that a Serb majority would allow a Bosnian Serb candidate to succeed, reported Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

Syrian refugee numbers tripled since June

The number of Syrian refugees fleeing into neighboring countries has doubled since June to 300,000, said the UN Refugee Agency, warning that the number was likely to double again by the end of the year.

The spokesperson for UNHCR Adrian Edwards said,

“The latest figures show a total registered population of more than 311,500 Syrian refugees in the four countries (Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.”

Chinese company sues Obama

A Chinese firm has initiated legal action against US President Barak Obama, after he issued a presidential order, blocking the construction of wind farms on land owned by the firm.

Ralls Corp bought land near US navy facilities in the state of Oregon and planned to build wind farms.

However Obama blocked the construction and ordered the company to dismantle their facilities and sell the land.

Court clears Serb policemen of war crimes

A war crimes court in Bosnia has acquitted 2 Serbian policeman accused of committing war crimes by participating in the infamous 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Prosecutors alleged that Dragan Neskovic and Zoran Ilic were guilt of crimes against humanity by rounding up Muslim men and boys, then executing them. However, judges doubted the credibility of witness statements and deemed some of them to be contradictory.

Over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were executed in Srebrenica in July 1995 by Bosnian Serb forces.