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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)…

Rwanda bans BBC broadcasts in protest of genocide documentary

The Rwandan government suspended all BBC radio broadcasts in protest of the organisation’s recent documentary about the 1994 genocide.

The Rwandan Utilities Regulatory Authority, citing public complaints of “incitement, hatred, divisionism, genocide denial and revision,” announced the suspension of all local language broadcasts of the BBC on Friday, reports The Guardian.

A BBC spokesperson responded on Friday, stating, “the Rwandan genocide raises extremely painful issues but the BBC has a duty to investigate difficult and challenging subjects. We believe this programme, which was produced by a BBC current affairs team in London and broadcast in the UK, made a valuable contribution to the understanding of the tragic history of the country and the region.”

The spokesperson added the BBC regretted calls for sanctions against it and criticised the “threat of direct measures against an independent broadcaster.”

Farc militants send in top commanders for Colombia talks

High ranking commanders from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) joined the latest rounds of peace-talks with the Colombian government on Friday, in what has been seen as a positive step in negotiations.

The Farc militants labelled their commanders "political artillery" that could ensure successful negotiations, reports The Guardian.

Speaking about their aims at the next round of negotiations, the Farc spokesperson at the negotiations, Ivan Marquez, said,

“This is our guerrilla command for normalisation, which will explore paths toward an agreement with officers of the army, the navy, the air force and the national police. This will allow us to reach an armistice that the victims are demanding and the nation is clamouring for.”

US calls on Israel to investigate killing of Palestinian-American youth

The US State Department called for a transparent investigation into clashes on Friday where Israeli forces shot and killed a 14 year old Palestinian-American, reports Reuters.

The US State Department, spokesperson called for a “speedy and transparent investigation.”

“The United States expresses its deepest condolences to the family of a US citizen minor who was killed by the Israeli Defence Forces during clashes in Silwad on October 24,”said Jen Psaki.

Psaki added that US officials would remain closely engaged with local authorities who were tasked with carrying out an investigation.

Owah Hammand, was shot in the head, in the village Silwad, north of the Palestinian seat of Ramallah.

Rwandan parliament calls for genocide denial charges against BBC documentary producers

Rwandan parliament passed a resolution calling on its government to ban a BBC documentary on Rwanda and charge the producers with genocide denial, on Friday.

The BBC has denied that any part of the programme constitutes to “a denial of the genocide against the Tutsis.”


The documentary, “Rwanda's Untold Story”, contained allegations that Kagame and his then RPF armed organisation had shot down the Hutu president Juvenal Habyarimana, sparking the genocide which killed some 800,000 people.

Rwanda's president, earlier this month accused the documentary of "further emboldened the génocidaires, all their supporters and those who collaborate with them."

UN to investigate attacks on Gaza facilities

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has announced that a commission is to be set up that will investigate attacks on UN facilities in Gaza, during Israel's offensive this summer.

Speaking to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Ban said the inquiry will investigate the attacks on the facilities, as well as reports that Hamas militants were storing weapons in the buildings.

Canada will never be intimidated' says PM after parliament attack

The Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, stressed that "Canada would never be intimidated", following an attack on parliament yesterday, which left a soldier dead.

A gunman, who has since been identified as a Muslim convert names Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, launched an attack on Wednesday morning, killing a soldier, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, at the National Memorial in Ottawa. The gunman later died of gun shot injuries.

“Attacks on our security personnel and on our institutions of governance are by their very nature attacks on our country, on our values, on our society,” Harper said in a televised address on Wednesday night. 

“But let there be no misunderstanding. We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated. In fact this will lead us to strengthen our resolve.”

"This will lead us to strengthen our resolve and redouble our efforts and those of our national security agencies to take all necessary steps to identify and counter threats," he added. 

Boko Haram reportedly abducts at least 25 girls

Islamist militant group Boko Haram has reportedly abducted at least 25 girls in an attack on villages in north-eastern Nigeria.

The latest report of the abduction comes after the Nigerian military announced a ceasefire with Boko Haram last week. The deal would reportedly have involved the release of more than 200 girls who were kidnapped in April as part of negotiations.

Blackwater guards found guilty of Iraqi murders

Four Blackwater Worldwide guards have been found guilty of the murder of 14 unarmed Iraqis in 2007 by a US federal jury in Washington this week.

The four were convicted on murder, manslaughter and weapons charges, with Ronald C. Machen Jr., the United States attorney in Washington, saying, “this verdict is a resounding affirmation of the commitment of the American people to the rule of law, even in times of war.”

Pakistani anti-government protesters end sit-in, pro opposition news channel shut down

Anti-government protests in Pakistan’s capital ended on Wednesday, with protesters vowing to continue their campaign calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.      

Tahir ul-Qadri, who led the protests with former cricket player turned politician, Imran Kahn, called an end to the mass sit-in protests.


“This sit-in has achieved its purpose, it has awakened the nation and played its role in the path of evolution," said Qadri.


The protesters staged a 65 day sit-in whilst facing several clashes with Pakistani police leaving three dead and hundreds injured.


The Pakistan Media Regulation Authority on Tuesday said that it would have to shut down a private news channel, ARY News Chennel, and ban one of its anchors from appearing on Pakistani national TV, reports the
Associated Press.

Australian MP asks ICC to investigate treatment of asylum seekers

Independent Australian MP Andrew Wilkie has written to the International Criminal Court, asking for an investigation into the government’s treatment of asylum seekers.

Wilkie said he asked the court to look at policies which were causing "great suffering", citing forcible deportations, compulsory detention and detention camp conditions.

"The effect of the (asylum) policy is that men, women and children are being forcibly relocated and then subjected to arbitrary imprisonment through mandatory and sometimes indefinite detention," Wilkie said in the letter.

"The conditions they are forced to endure in detention are causing great suffering as well as serious bodily and mental injury."

“The Abbott Government’s conduct in relation to asylum seekers also contravenes the Refugee Convention, Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.