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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)…

Rwandan genocide suspect faces charges of immigration fraud in US

A man accused of taking part in the Rwandan genocide faces charges of immigration fraud in the US, after lying to authorities about his membership of the political party that led the massacres.

Though Jean Leonard Teganya left Rwanda in 1994, the year that approximately 800,000 Tutsis were murdered by members of the Hutu led regime, Canadian asylum officials concluded he had participated in the killings. He had been working as a trainee in the city of Butare at the time.

NGOs suspend rescue missions near Libyan waters

Two further aid groups have suspended migrant rescues in the Mediterranean alongside Doctors Without Borders in response to threats from Libyan authorities, reports Reuters.

Doctors Without Borders (Medicines sans Frontieres) and Save the Children and Germany’s Sea Eye said on Sunday their crews could no longer work safely because of the stance of the Libyan authorities.

Libyan coastguard boats have clashed with NGO vessels on several occasions with Libyan boats opening fire on some isntances.

Pakistan calls for international involvement in Kashmir dispute, India pledges permanent solution

The international community must play a role in the resolution of the Kashmir dispute said Pakistan’s prime minister, a day after India pledged to settle a permanent political solution that maintained Kashmir’s identity.

Speaking in an address to the country on Pakistan’s independence day, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shahid Kaqan Abbasi, said,

“It is incumbent upon the international community to play its role in the resolution of the regional conflicts, particularly the Kashmir dispute in conformity with the UN resolutions on the subject with a view to ensuring durable peace in the region.”

US sanctions will not 'damage strength of the resistance' says Lebanon's Hezbollah

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah dismissed potential US sanctions aimed at the group on the anniversary of the end of its war with Israel.

Speaking in a televised address to mark the end of the war in 2006 Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said,

“The American administration with all available and possible means, will not be able to damage the strength of the resistance.”

Mr Nasrallah said that Lebanon was being subjected to intimidation and threats of an Israeli attack, due to its failure to take a tough stance on Hezbollah.

Buddhists in Myanmar protest against aid agencies

Buddhists in Myanmar protested in their hundreds across 15 towns on Sunday against aid agencies, accusing them of supporting Rohingya Muslims allied fighters, Reuters reported. 

Protests also took place in the capital city of Rakhine state which has been the focal point for much of the violations against Rohinya Muslims. 

Protesters have called for aid agences to leave the region. 

Last week, hundreds of soldiers were deployed to Rakhine after the government said security needed to be tightened. 

Rally in Basque Country held in solidarity with Catalonia

Thousands of demonstrators marched in Basque Country on Saturday, expressing solidarity with a planned independence referendum for Catalonia.

Protestors waved Basque and Catalonian flags, and held banners reading “Supporting Catalonia, supporting democracy” in the city of San Sebastian.

Basque leader Arnaldo Otegi said the rally was in solidarity with the people of Catalonia and “people who are giving an important example in democracy in Europe and demanding the right to self-determination to decide whether they want to be independent or not”.

Enough evidence to convict Assad of war crimes says UN inquiry member

An outgoing member of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said the body had collected enough evidence to convict Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of war crimes, but lamented the lack of progress on the issue.

When asked by Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung whether there was enough evidence to convict Mr Assad, Carla del Ponte replied, “Yes, I am convinced that is the case”.

“That is why the situation is so frustrating,” she added. “The preparatory work has been done. Despite that, there is no prosecutor and no court."

Ms del Ponte announced she would be quitting the commission last week, citing frustration at the lack of progress on the issue.

State of emergency declared in Virginia with at least 1 dead after white nationalist rally

A state of emergency has been declared in the US city of Charlottesville in Virginia, after hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members staged a rally on Saturday, resulting in violent clashes.

At least one person has been confirmed as dead and 34 injured throughout the day, after a car rammed into a crowd of protestors marching against the rally. Witnesses and video evidence suggests the driver had intentionally driven into the crowd.

Military option possible to tackle unrest in Venezuela says US President

The President of the United States of America said he was prepared to consider many options for addressing the unrest in Venezuela “including a possible military option, if necessary.”

Justifying the potential need for intervention to reporters on Friday, US President Donal Trump, said,

“Venezuela is not very far away, and the people are suffering and they’re dying.”

Later that day the White House issued a statement saying that Mr Trump had refused to take a phone call from Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro.

Myanmar deploys hundreds of soldiers in Rakhine state

Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed in the Muslim majority Rakhine state of Myanmar, reports Reuters.

Military sources told Reuters that troops had been sent to the state to ‘help tighten security’ after seven Buddhists were killed in the region.

Speaking to reporters, the Rakhine State Police Chief Colonel Sen Lwin, said,

“We have to increase security operations because the security situation has worsened – some Muslims and Buddhists have been killed by the insurgents.”