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)…

‘Apartheid not a crime against humanity’ says former South African president

The former president of South Africa and last head of state under apartheid claimed that the system of racial segregation imposed in the country was not a crime against humanity in a speech last week.

Former President FW De Klerk addressed the Bondsraad at the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, saying that the notion apartheid was a crime against humanity is “an ‘agitprop’ project initiated by communists to stigmatise white South Africans.”

Mr de Clerk said that crimes against humanity “have generally included totalitarian repression and the slaughter of millions of people” and “by contrast, 23 000 people died in South Africa’s political violence between 1960 and 1994 -­ of whom fewer than 4 000 were killed by the security forces.”

Egypt’s Mubarak to face retrial over 2011 killings

The former leader of Egypt Hosni Mubarak is to go on trial for a third time over the killing of protestors in 2011.

The 87 year old was originally convicted of the killing of 800 protestors and jailed for life, before his conviction was overturned and a new trial ordered. The case was then subsequently dropped by the judge before the prosecution successfully appealed the decision. The case now goes to trial for the third time.

Colombia and FARC agree to implement truth commission at end of talks

The Colombian government and FARC militants agreed to form a truth commission that would investigate atrocities committed by both sides during the war, reports Reuters.

Negotiators from both sides in Cuba agreed to implement the scheme after a finalised political agreement was signed.

Former senior communist leader faces war crimes retrial in Hungary

A former senior official with the Hungarian Communist Party who was earlier convicted of war crimes will face a retrial, ruled a Budapest appeals court.

Bela Biszku, a 93 year old former Interior Minister, was earlier sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment, after being convicted of war crimes over the shooting of protesters during Hungary’s 1956 uprising against the Soviet regime. The prosecution had initially called for a life sentence, whilst Mr Biszku denied all charges.

However, the latest ruling by a Budapest higher court now means the verdict is void and Mr Biszku will now face a new trial.

Armenia welcomes Brazilian recognition of genocide

Armenia has welcomed a ruling by the Brazilian Senate that recognises the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

In the resolution the Brazilian Senate expresses its “solidarity with the Armenian people during the course of the centenary of the campaign of extermination of its population” and states that “the Senate recognizes the Armenian Genocide, whose centenary was commemorated on April 24, 2015.”

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said “it is an important move supporting the international community’s efforts towards prevention of genocides and new crimes against humanity”.

Lawyer for genocide accused dictator gunned down in Guatemala

A lawyer of Guatemalan former dictator Efrain Rios Montt has died after been shot down in the country’s capital on Wednesday.

Defence lawyer Francisco Palomo was reportedly shot dead by two unknown men on a motorbike.

Buhari vows inquiry into war crimes allegations

Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari said the government will leave "no stone unturned" in investigating the reports of widespread human rights violations committed by the military.

Amnesty International this week released a report saying the military had killed over 8,000 men and boys who were in its custody.

Mr Buhari vowed to "to promote the rule of law and deal with all cases of human rights abuses," during a stop in neighbouring Niger to discuss Boko Haram and pledge a new strategy to fight the terrorists.

Rejected asylum seekers arrive in Cambodia

A group of asylum seekers who were rejected from resettling in Australia have arrived in Cambodia under a controversial new resettlement scheme.

The group, consisting of 3 Iranian and 1 Rohingya asylum seekers, were being held at a detention centre on Nauru by Australian authorities.

Through a scheme which has come under intense international criticism, the four were people volunteered to be resettled in Cambodia. The Cambodian government agreed to take them on in exchange for £20 million in aid.

BDS movement 'strategic threat' - Israel

The Israeli government has sharply criticised the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which campaigns for greater isolation of Israel and Israeli trade due to the occupation of Palestinian land, termed as illegal by the UN.

The latest attack on the movement by senior figures, including Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, comes after the UK's National Union of Students decided on Tuesday to support the BDS campaign and French telecoms giant Orange said it wants to cut business ties with Israel.

The prime minister responded angrily on Thursday, calling on "the French government to publicly repudiate the miserable statement and miserable action by a company that is under its partial ownership", AP reported.

Indian troop deaths in Maoist ambush

At least 20 Indian soldiers are said to have been killed during an attack on a convoy by Maoist fighters in the state of Manipur.

The attack comes amidst increased tensions over the death of a local woman activist,  killed by members of the paramilitary Assam Rifles. The government has accepted responsibility for the death of 55-year old Ruisoting and agreed to pay compensation to her family.