WORLD NEWS

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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)…

Kenyan MPs released after questioning over mass graves

A group of Kenyan politicians have been released by police, after facing questioning over the alleged discovery of mass graves in the north-east of the country.

Lawmaker Billow Kerrow and other parliamentarians claimed that mass graves had been discovered and suggested they contained the bodies of people killed by the security forces.

Kenya’s Interior Minister Joseph Nkaisserry reacted strongly to the allegations, stating,
"I wish to inform the country and the world at large that nothing was found in any of those sites. Today, following insistence by the political leaders that people might have been buried deep in the ground, excavators were brought in the site to dig for the bodies and nothing was found”.

The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) also issued a statement saying they were "not involved in any way with the disappearance of people or extra judicial killings in Mandera or anywhere in the country”.

India-Pakistan talks to resume

High-level peace talks between India and Pakistan will resume, announced India's foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, after meeting her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz.

"The foreign secretaries of both countries will meet and chart out the agenda for the meetings," Ms Swaraj told reporters.

The talks stalled in 2012, after tensions escalated over attacks in India, which Delhi blamed on Pakistani infiltrators.

Canada's Assembly of First Nations weclomes inclusive development by large companies

The head of Canada’s Assembly of First Nations (AFN) said that large companies could develop in Aboriginal areas if they forged good links with the community.

Noting that companies could develop in Aboriginal areas, Perry Bellegarde said that as long as they “respect inherent rights, treaty rights and indigenous peoples’ involvement, there could be ways to work through some of those concerns.”

China and Russia to disrupt Security Council moves on North Korea

Russia and China are expected to block any punitive measures proposed at the UN Security Council, after the US set a special meeting on for Thursday to discuss the country.

China has reportedly objected to the meeting organised by the US, which holds the presidency this month, arguing that it is beyond the scope of the peace and security mandate of the council.

Russia voiced a procedural complaint, saying the matter should have been raised at a prior session earlier this month, but eight other council members supported the US.

French troops questioned over CAR child rape allegations

Four French soldiers were questioned on Tuesday over allegations of child rape in the Central African Republic, AFP reports.

The investigation in Paris is looking at 14 soldiers involvement in the allegations of sexual abuse of a group of children in CAR's capital Bangui between December 2013 and June 2014. The children, some as young as nine, said the soldiers abused them in exchange for food.

The allegations first surfaced after a UN report leaked, sparking accusations of a cover-up.

This is not the first time that allegations of sexual abuse have been made against UN peacekeeping soldiers.

Sri Lankan troops were expelled from Haiti for sexually abusing children in 2007, with 111 soldiers and 3 officers were repatriated back to Sri Lanka after being part of UN mission in Haiti and were accused of a string of sexual assaults, including rape of children as young as 7 years old. No prosecutions or punishments have taken place.

Burundi releases political prisoners amidst EU aid talks

Nearly 100 Burundian protesters who opposed President Pierre Nkurunziza during months of escalating violence in the capital Bujumbura were released on Tuesday.

The announcement came as the Burundian government held aid talks with European Union officials.

The Burundian Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary said that the release of the 97 prisoners had “no connection with the consultations underway.”

China Russia oppose UN Security Council meeting on North-Korea

China and Russia opposed plans to hold a special Security Council meeting on human rights in North Korea.

A meeting headed by the United States has been backed by nine of the 15 council members, including Chile, France, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Britain and the United States.

Speaking to Reuters, one diplomat said,

“China informed the council members that the Security Council has no business with human rights but should look at matters of international peace and security.”

Venezuela's opposition wins majority in national assembly

As results came through for Venezuela's election on Sunday, it was clear the Democratic Unity coalition, the main opposition, won a majority ending 16 years of rule by Chavez and his supporters.

A two-thirds majority, with 112 seats, would allow the opposition to have weight against the president, Nicolas Madura.

Speaking on Monday, leaders from within the coalition of opposition parties pledged new laws to encourage the growth of the private sector, and for an amnesty ensuring the release of political prisoners.

Human rights groups call for prosecution of French troops over Rwandan genocide

French human rights organisations have called for the prosecution of French troops for complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, over reports that they abandoned hundreds of Tutsis who were subsequently slaughtered by Hutu militias.

The International Federation of Human Rights and other organisations state that a fax from June 27-30 1994 which was recently declassified, proved that French troops knew of a group of Tutsis sheltering in a nearby wooden area in Rwanda's Bisesero hills , requesting French protection.

"Certain elements of the French special forces with a clear mandate to halt the massacres were stationed about 5 km as the crow flies from the crime scene with all the information, communications and equipment needed to mount a life-saving operation instantly," said the group. "That did not happen".

Third round of Syria talks to be held in New York

US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the next round of governmental talks on the crisis in Syria would take place in New York later this month.

Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Mr Kerry, said,

“The governments involved are going to meet later this month in New York in order to continue to move this process forward. Our goal is to facilitate transition that all parties have stated that they support."