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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)…

Catalan separatists protests block major Spain-France road

<p>Hundreds of pro-independence Catalonian protesters gathered on the AP-7 highway, a major traffic link between Spain and France, which could cost the Spanish economy 15 million euros on a daily basis, reports the Spanish Confederation of Goods Transport.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to the Spanish Confederation of Goods Transport, spokesperson, Dulse Diaz, approximately said 20,000 trucks cross the border at La Jonquera every day in both directions. Following this protest, they have been diverted into smaller roads whilst protesters set up concrete barriers as well as stages for concerts.</p>

Ex-Congolese rebel chief appeals ICC’s jail sentence

<p>Former Congolese rebel leader, Bosco Ntaganda, will appeal the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) 30-year sentence, issued on Thursday, for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.</p>

Amnesty denounces Turkey’s imprisonment of journalists

<p>Amnesty International has denounced the imprisonment of journalists in Turkey under charges of “assisting a terrorist organisation”.</p> <p>Nazli Ilicak and Ahmet Altan were sentenced to 10 and a half years and 8 years and 9 months respectively after having spent three years detained pre-trial. Their legal representatives are currently having their cases retried following the decision against them by the Supreme Court of Appeals in July 2019.</p> <p>Amnesty has condemned what they describe as a “politically motivated prosecution”.</p>

Chile pulls out of hosting international summits amidst mass uprisings

<p>Chile has been forced to withdraw from hosting two international summits as the government is rocked by mass uprisings and mounting allegations of human rights violations.</p> <p>With at least 18 people dead and 7000 arrested and allegations of police torture, Chile’s president Sebastian Piñera, who is facing legal action by civil society groups who accuse him of crimes against humanity, announced that he had taken the “painful” decision to cancel two high profile summits due to take place in the capital Santiago.</p>

Netherlands admits air strike killed civilians in 2015

<p>The Dutch government has admitted that a bomb dropped by a Dutch -16 fighter killed 70 civilians in an airstrike in Northern Iraq.&nbsp;</p> <p>In a letter to parliament, the Dutch Defense Ministry&nbsp; wrote that an airstrike targeting an alleged Islamic State (IS) bomb factory in northern Iraq&nbsp;killed about 70 people, including IS fighters and civilians.&nbsp;</p> <p>On June 2 2015, a bomb&nbsp;dropped by a Dutch F-16 fighter hit the bomb factory in Hawija,&nbsp;near the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq,&nbsp;on the night of June 2, 2015.&nbsp;</p>

“A new Welsh spirit of independence” - Adam Price



Speaking at a campaign launch, Adam Price, the leader of Plaid Cymru, has said in the run-up to the UK general election, Dec 12, that Wales may forge its own independence from the United Kingdom and remain a member of the European Union.

Israel’s court backs deportation of HRW official

<p>The highest court in Israel has authorised the deportation of Human Rights Watch (HRW) official Omar Shakir, a US citizen, for allegedly supporting BDS, the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement.</p> <p>In 2017 Israel passed legislation criminalising support for BDS and blocking entry to those who have supported a boycott of Israel or its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.</p> <p>Shakir has denied supporting any boycotts on Israel during his work for HRW but it assumed that he has been deliberately targeted because of HRW’s opposition to the settlements in the West Bank and calls for private companies to stop aiding these settlements.</p>

OPCW refuses to investigate Turkey’s phosphorus use, whilst UK’s trade continues

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has reportedly refuse to investigate the alleged use of white phosphorus against Kurds by Turkey, reports The Times, whilst Britain also continues its sales of phosphorus products to Ankara.

“The OPCW has not initiated an investigation regarding recent developments in northern Syria,” a statement sent to The Times from the international body read. Investigators reportedly refused to test tissue samples from injured Kurdish civilians from suspected Turkish white phosphorus attacks.

Catalan separatists set fire to effigies of Spain’s monarch




Photo Credit: SBA73
 

Catalan separatists have protested on the streets of Barcelona during a visit by Spanish King Felipe VI, where they burned effigies of the monarch.

Syrian Kurds criticise Turkey’s attempt to shift demographics

Syrian Kurds have criticised UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where they discussed the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

During the meeting between the UN official and Turkey’s president, Erdogan outlined his plans to return an approximate 2 million of the roughly 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to northeastern Syria. This has fuelled concerns amongst Kurds over a deliberate attempt to shift demographics as these refugees are predominately from northwest Syria.