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Ongoing genocide of Yazidis in Syria and Iraq finds UN

Jun 16, 2016

Islamic State fighters are committing genocide against the Yazidi community in Syria and Iraq through murder, sexual slavery gang rape, torture and humiliation concluded a UN report into the Islamic State crimes against the Yazidis.

Speaking at the UN Security Council, the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry Paulo Pinheiro, stressed,

“The finding of genocide must trigger much more assertive action at the political level, including at the UN Security Council.”

Lamenting the lack of action on the ongoing issue, he said,

British MP, Jo Cox, killed in fatal shooting

Jun 15, 2016

A British MP has died after being shot and stabbed in West Yorkshire on Thursday afternoon.

Jo Cox, Labour MP for Batley and Spen was fatally shot and stabbed while leaving her constituency surgery earlier today.

A 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the attack.

According to The Guardian, police are investigating claims that the suspect had shouted 'Britain First' before shooting, referencing the far-right nationalist group.

Kurdish political parties press ahead with plans to form autonomous federal region of Rojava in Syria

Jun 15, 2016

Syrian Kurdish parties have pressed ahead with plans to set up an autonomous federal system of government in the northern Syria, as US backed militants continue to regain territory from the Islamic State.

Victims' families demand hybrid court in South Sudan as leaders call for 'truth not trials'

Jun 8, 2016

Families of the victims reiterated their demand for a hybrid court to be established over alleged war crimes perpetrated during the civil war in South Sudan, after the country's president, Salva Kiir and his former opponent, the vice-president, Riek Machar, co-authored a piece in the New York Times yesterday stating South Sudan "needs truth, not trials."

8 former military officers to face trial in Guatemala over mass graves

Jun 7, 2016

A Guatemala court on Tuesday ordered either former members of the military to face trial for crimes against humanity and forced disappearances committed during the civil war which occurred during 1960 till 1996.

The charges related to mass graves found in the western region of the country, believed to hold the remains of over 565 Mayan people who were held at the former military base of Creompaz.

The hearing is scheduled to begin next Tuesday, with Judge Jasmin Barrios, who oversaw the genocide trial of Efrain Rios Montt in charge. The men could face up to 50 years in prison, if convicted.

Armenian genocide recognised by Germany

Jun 1, 2016

German parliament has overwhelmingly adopted a resolution declaring the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 a genocide.

Germany joins over 20 nations including France and Russia that recognise the killings as genocide.

The passing of the bill sparked uproar in Turkey, with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan announcing the immediate withdrawal of Turkey’s ambassador to Germany.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel in response to the genocide resolution, said,

Chad's Habre convicted of crimes against humanity

May 29, 2016

The former Chadian ruler Hissene Habre has been sentenced to life after being convicted of crimes against humanity. at a trial in Senegal.

The landmark case examined allegations of rape, sexual slavery and extrajudicial killings during his reign in the eighties.

"This is a historic day for Chad and for Africa. It is the first time that an African head of state has been found guilty in another African country," Yamasoum Konar, a representative of one of the victims' groups, told the BBC.

"This will be a lesson to other dictators in Africa," he further said.

Bahrain lengthens jail term of Shi'ite opposition leader

May 29, 2016

Bahraini courts on Monday lengthened the prison term of the leader of the Shi’ite Muslim opposition to nine years reports Reuters.

Bahrain’s public prosecutor said that the sentence was extended from 4 years to 9 due to “crimes of promoting change to the political system by force.”

Sheikh Ali Salman was sentenced in June for four years in prison for inciting unrest in the Bahrain capital.

Turkish anger over pictures of US troops with YPG insignia

May 27, 2016

The Turkish government said it was "unacceptable" that US troops are donning the insignia of the YPG, the Kurdish movement in northern Syria, which it considers a terrorist organisation.

The photographs were published by AFP on Thursday, and picture US soldiers near Raqqa, with shoulder patches of the YPG insignia.

South Africa's parliament approves land expropriation bill

May 25, 2016

South Africa’s parliament on Thursday approved a bill allowing state expropriations of land to redress racial disparities in land ownership, reports Reuters.

A vast majority of South Africa’s land remains under white ownership.

The bill will enable the state to purchase land from private owners for ‘public interest’ in in an attempt to tackle the land appropriation that occurred during the apartheid regime.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) said land will only be expropriated after ‘just and equitable’ compensation had been paid out.

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