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)…

Ethiopia charges bloggers with terrorism

Nine government-critical bloggers and journalists have been charged with terrorism in Ethiopia after being accused of receiving financial aid and instructions from “terrorist groups”.

The three journalists and six bloggers, all belonging to the social media activist group Zone 9, are accused of working in collusion with the banned US-based opposition group Ginbot 7 and were held without charge since April.

Israeli offensive faces increasing criticism as Gaza death toll tops 300, 2 IDF troops killed

International criticism of Israel's offensive increased on Saturday, as Gaza officials reported over 300 Palestinians had been killed since the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted 12 days ago.

Echoing Turkey's condemnation of Israel's offensive as an act of genocide of the Palestinian people, the Venezuelan government spokesperson said Israel had "initiated a higher phase of its policy of genocide and extermination with the ground invasion of Palestinian territory, killing innocent men, women, girls and boys."

US accuses Myanmar of 'police state' tactics

The Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski, accused Myanmar of using "police state tactics" after five journalists were sentenced to ten years hard labour over a contentious claim of involvement in a weapons factory, AP reported.

World leaders urge ceasefire to investigate passenger plane crash in Ukraine

World leaders urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine in order to investigate a suspecting shooting down of a Malaysian airlines passenger plane departing from the Netherlands on Thursday.

Calling for a credible investigation and an immediate ceasefire the US president Barack Obama said, "the eyes of the world are on eastern Ukraine, and we are going to make sure that the truth is out."

Echoing his calls, Germany's Angela Merkel said: "whoever it was must be brought to justice. For this we need an independent investigation."

Over 40,000 displaced in Gaza as Israeli ground offensive continues

The UN, said that the number of people displaced in Gaza has doubled on Friday from 22,000 to over 40,000 civilians, reports the BBC.

Meanwhile the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that Israel was prepared to widen its ground offensive to ensure that all Hamas tunnel networks were destroyed.

Conflict resumes between Israel and Hamas after 5hr humanitarian truce

18:46 BST

Violence resumed this evening between Israel and Hamas, after the five hour humanitarian truce came to an end at 3pm local time.

Three Palestinian children, from the same family, have been killed in the hours since, according to officials in Gaza.

Brief reports of a possible ceasefire ended, as both sides denied any confirmed ceasefire. Talks about a ceasefire however, continue in Cairo with both sides in touch to Egyptian officials.

Israel commences ground offensive in Gaza

The Israeli military has begun a ground offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza, reports the BBC.

In a statement the Isreali Defence Force (IDF) said,

Malaysia Airlines plane shot down over Ukraine

A Malaysia Airlines plane with 295 passengers was shot down over the near the disputed city of Donetsk in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials denied any involvement in the shooting, with the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, condemning the event as an act of terrorism.

Netherlands liable for Srebrenica deaths

The district court in The Hague has ruled that the Netherlands is liable for deaths of over 300 Bosniak men and boys during the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The court ruled that the Dutchbat, the Dutch peacekeeping forces, failed to protect the men who fled to a UN compound in Srebrenica, by handing them to Serb forces, although the forces should have been aware of the potential for genocide to be committed.

"It can be said with sufficient certainty that, had Dutchbat allowed them to stay at the compound, these men would have remained alive. By co-operating in the deportation of these men, Dutchbat acted unlawfully," the court said.

Although the court ruled that the Dutch state must accept some responsibility and pay compensation to relatives of the victims, it held that it was not responsible for the deaths of over 7,000 other Bosniaks killed during the massacres.

Pakistan PM calls for international action against genocide by Israel as conflict continues

Pakistan's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, called on Wednesday for international action to stop Israel from carrying out "atrocities" against the Palestinian people that amounted to genocide.

"I am saddened and disappointed to note the silence of international community against this injustice,” Sharif was quoted by Pakistan's Nation newspaper as saying.