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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)…

Syrian transition needs negotiations with Assad says Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would have to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in order to find a solution to the ongoing conflict in the country.

However, clarifying Mr Kerry's comments that were made in an interview to CBS news, State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said negotiations would not happen directly with the Syrian president, stating “it has never been and would not be Assad who would negotiate - and the Secretary was not saying that today.

"By necessity, there has always been a need for representatives of the Assad regime to be a part of this process," added the spokesperson.

Earlier the Secretary of State said the conflict in Syria was "one of the worst tragedies any of us have seen", adding "everybody agrees there is no military solution; there's only a political solution".

Vatican backs military force to stop IS 'genocide'

The Vatican's diplomat to the United Nations in Geneva has called for military force to be deployed in the battle to halt the Islamic State (IS) from committing genocide in the Middle East, reports Crux.

In an interview with Crux, Italian Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, said, “We have to stop this kind of genocide... Otherwise we’ll be crying out in the future about why we didn’t so something, why we allowed such a terrible tragedy to happen.”

Whilst “a coordinated and well-thought-out coalition to do everything possible to achieve a political settlement without violence” was needed, the Archbishop went on to add, “but if that’s not possible, then the use of force will be necessary.”

Kurdish council reveals evidence of chemical weapon attacks by Islamic State

Kurdish authorities in Iraq, confirmed on Saturday, that they have evidence that holds Islamic State militants accountable for using chemical weapons against Peshmerga fighters in Tikrit.

Reports that Islamic State militants used chlorine gas as a chemical weapon against the fighters stem from a suicide attack in January in northern Iraq, reports the Associated Press.

Myanmar 'drops bomb' on Chinese territory

Myanmar's air force is reported to have dropped a bomb in a field on Chinese territory, killing four civilians.
China in response sent fighter jets to their shared border in the Yunnan province.

Myanmar denied dropping the bomb and said Kokang rebels, who have been fighting the Burmese army, may have been behind the attack.

"It's possible that those fighting with us purposely created these attacks with the intent of causing misunderstanding between China and us," a Myanmar official told Reuters.

ISIS accepts Boko Haram's pledge of allegiance

Islamic State said it accepted the Nigerian Islamist group, Boko Haram's pledge of allegiance, and announced an expansion of its territory.

In an audio message released on Thursday, an IS spokesperson said that the pledge had allowed the Islamic State's 'caliphate' to be established in West Africa.

“We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to west Africa because the caliph... has accepted the allegiance of our brothers of the Sunni group for preaching and the jihad," the spokesperson, Mohammed al-Adnani was quoted as saying, urging Muslims to join Boko Haram.

ICC judges agree to withdraw charges against Kenyatta

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday decided to withdraw charges of crimes against humanity against Kenya's president over his role in post-election violence in 2007.

Last year prosecutors sought for the charges to be dropped, citing political interference and witness intimidation hampering the process.

Prosecutors remain free to re-start a judicial process if new evidence emerges, reported Reuters.

UN Security Council 'failing' Syrian victims

A coalition of aid agencies has accused the UN Security Council of failing the victims of the conflict in Syria, with the UN accusing the powerful countries on the Security Council of putting their own interests ahead of the need to end the conflict.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the UN chief, told the BBC the UN still believed in a political solution to the drawn out conflict but said there was a lack of political will to " move forward in a united fashion to stop the fighting".

Cuba-US phone links re-established after 15 years

Cuba and the United States have re-established direct telephone communication links for the first time in 15 years.

"The re-establishment of direct communications between the United States and Cuba contributes to providing better infrastructure and better communications quality between the people and our two countries," the company Etecsa said in a statement, adding that the link would initially be only for telephone calls.

Sudan dismisses ICC as a failure

Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al Bashir on Thursday dismissed the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a failure after the court moved to seek a referral to the UN Security Council on Mr Bashir's failure to cooperate with investigation into alleged war crimes.

"The decisions of the International Criminal Court are non-binding on the government of Sudan and the referral of Sudan's case to the Security Council shows the failure of the ICC which is seeking punishment for Sudan," Sudan's information minister, Ahmed Bilal Osman, told the Sudanese Media Centre.

"The ICC is aware that it doesn't scare Sudan," he added.

Saudi Arabia recalls ambassador in diplomatic row with Sweden

Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador to Sweden, in an escalating row over Swedish criticism of the country’s human rights record, which saw the Saudis blocking a speech to the Arab League by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom.

"We were informed yesterday [Tuesday] that Saudi Arabia had called back its ambassador," said Swedish foreign ministry spokeswoman Veronica Nordlund.