WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Baloch activists accuse state-backed death squads of new killings
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)…

Boko Haram claims to behead Nigerian Air Force pilot

Oct 3, 2014
Islamic militant group Boko Haram released footage showing the remains of a Nigerian Air Force jet that they claimed to have shot down and the beheading of a man they identified as a captured pilot.

Two Nigerian pilots and a jet have been missing since September 11, failing to return from a bombing raid against Boko Haram. In the Boko Haram video, the man who is executed identifies himself as a pilot, adding that his co-pilot remains unaccounted for.

The Nigerian government dismissed the claims, with army spokesperson Dele Alonge saying,

UK - 'ISIL's brutality will not persuade us to change our approach'

Oct 3, 2014
The UK remained steadfast in its military action against Islamic State militants in Iraq, despite the release on Friday of a video depicting the execution of a second British hostage, Alan Henning.

"ISIL's brutality will not persuade us to change our approach. Indeed, the senseless murder of an innocent man only reinforces our resolve to defeat this terrorist organisation and to eradicate the threat they pose to Britons - whether those in the region or here on the streets of the UK," said a Downing Street spokesperson, following Prime Minister Cameron's meeting with intelligence agencies, Foreign Office, Home Office, police and military on Saturday morning.

Probe into Nauru child abuse reports

Oct 3, 2014

Australia has announced an inquiry into the reports of child abuse and sexual misconduct by staff in the country's offshore detention facility in Nauru, reported The Guardian on Saturday.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the inquiry will also look at allegations of NGO workers helping children to protest against Australia's immigration policy, including coaching in making complaints and in self-harm.

The minister confirmed that 10 employees of the charity Save the Children had been told to leave Nauru.

“The matters that have been brought to my attention are concerning, certainly the allegations of sexual misconduct are abhorrent and I would be horrified to think that things of that nature have taken place,” Morrison said, adding that reports that charity workers were assisting protests and encouraging detainees to hurt themselves in an effort to undermine the policy of offshore detention “were also very serious”.

Hong Kong chief sets deadline to end protests, thousands more demonstrators take to streets

Oct 3, 2014
Tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators flooded into the city centre of Hong-Kong after the chief  executive announced that the street must be cleared on Monday.

“There should be no more blocking of carriageways in Wan Chai and Central and Western districts so that classes could resume on Monday,” said the chief executive of Hong Kong CY Leung.

Despite the chief executive’s announcement the Hong Kong city centre saw the largest crowds in recent days on Saturday evening, reports the Financial Times.
 

US eases Vietnam arms embargo

Oct 2, 2014
The United States has announced it will be partially lifting a decades-old embargo placed on the sale of military hardware to Vietnam, in order to improve the country's maritime capability.

The move was announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry who met Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Min for talks on Thursday.

Mr Kerry stated that the United States would change policy "in order to allow the transfer of defence equipment, including lethal defence equipment, for maritime security purposes only".

State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said the move was not directed at China, who is currently involved in several maritime boundary disputes, including with Vietnam.

Red Cross worker killed in Donetsk shell attack

Oct 2, 2014
A Swiss International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee has been killed in Ukraine, in a shell attack on the organisation's office in the city of Donetsk on Thursday.

ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson told Reuters the organisation was “deeply distressed by this loss," with Director of Operations Dominik Stillhart saying in a statement,
"We understand that there were other civilian casualties in Donetsk today. Indiscriminate shelling of residential areas is unacceptable and violates international humanitarian law."
Both the Ukranian government and pro-Russian separatists blamed each other for the death, as a ceasefire between the sides continued to appear shaky.

Fighting continued around Donetsk airport, which is currently held by the Ukrainian government.
 

Australia to launch air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq

Oct 2, 2014
The Australian Cabinet on Friday authorised air strikes in Iraq against Islamic State militants, joining the US, UK, Turkey and other countries in military action.

"Today Cabinet has authorised Australian air strikes in Iraq, at the request of the Iraqi government and in support of the Iraqi government. Also subject to final legal documentation, Cabinet has authorised the deployment of Australian special forces into Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi forces," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said at a press briefing.

"I have to warn this deployment to Iraq could be quite lengthy," he said, adding, “I want to reassure the Australian people that it will be as long as it needs to be, but as short as it possibly can be.”

New Israeli settlements 'highly detrimental' to peace process says EU

Oct 2, 2014
The European Union criticised Israel's plan of building new settlements in East Jerusalem as "highly detrimental" to the peace process with the Palestinians, warning that the settlement plan put future Israeli-EU ties at risk.

"We condemn the recent Israeli decisions to approve a plan for new settlement activity in Givat Hamatos and to allow for further settlement expansion in the neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem," the European Union's External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement Friday.

SNP membership trebles after Scottish independence referendum

Oct 2, 2014
The membership of the Scottish National Party (SNP) has increased three fold since Scotland held a referendum on independence on September 18, making the party the third largest in the UK.

The SNP, which led the call for independence and won the last election campaigning for a independence referendum, now has over 75,000 members.

Clashes break out in Hong Kong as protests continue

Oct 2, 2014
Beijing supporters have clashed with pro-democracy demonstrators in one of Hong Kong's most crowded areas on Friday afternoon, as demonstrations continued.

Scuffles broke out in Kowloon's crowded Mong Kok district with a reported 1,000 Beijing supporters surrounding 100 pro-democracy protestors on Friday afternoon.

See a video from the Telegraph below.
Boko Haram claims to behead Nigerian Air Force pilot
UK - 'ISIL's brutality will not persuade us to change our approach'
Probe into Nauru child abuse reports
Hong Kong chief sets deadline to end protests, thousands more demonstrators take to streets
US eases Vietnam arms embargo
Red Cross worker killed in Donetsk shell attack
Australia to launch air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq
New Israeli settlements 'highly detrimental' to peace process says EU
SNP membership trebles after Scottish independence referendum
Clashes break out in Hong Kong as protests continue