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)…

Amnesty calls on Pyongyang to close detention camps for political prisoners

Amnesty International has urged the North Korean government to close down two facilities it says are being used as political prisoner camps, saying torture and executions are a regular occurrence.

The group’s North Korea researcher Rajiv Narayan, said the camps were growing.

Protests continue in Egypt

Egyptian police fired tear gas at demonstrators on Friday, as protests continued in Cairo.

The protesters, who are in support of the ousted Mr Mursi, chanted "Dwon, down with military rule" and have been staging protests almost everyday in locations through out Egypt.

Counter protests have also been taking place, organised by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, with large marches taking place following Friday prayers.

UN calls for investigation into trafficking of Rohingya refugees

The United Nations and the US on Friday called for investigations into reports of human trafficking of Burmese refugees by Thai immigration officials.

Reuters published a report on Thursday after a two-month investigation revealing a clandestine policy to remove Rohingya refugees from Thai detention centres and deliver them to human traffickers waiting at sea. According to the report, the refugees are held hostage near the Malaysian border until relatives pay a ransom to release them. Some are beaten and some are killed, the report alleges.

UN authorises French military intervention in CAR

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted to authorise military intervention in the Central African Republic by France and troops from the African Union.

The move comes as fighting spread across the country, between Christian militias and Seleka rebels, who are mostly Muslim.

There are fears of increased attacks on Muslims, who make up 15% of the country’s population. France has warned of an impending genocide, while lobbying for decisive international action, along with other western nations.

Kenyatta fails to delay ICC trial

The Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s bids to halt his trail on crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court were rejected by judges today.

Kenyatta’s accusations that witnesses had colluded to mislead the court, were dismissed as ‘not serious enough to prejudice proceedings’ by the court. Deeming a halt in proceedings unnecessary, judges further outlined that Kenyatta’s defence team could challenge the witness evidence in court.

Nelson Mandela dies, aged 95


1918 - 2013


South Africa’s first black president who led the struggle against Apartheid, Nelson Mandela, died on Thursday aged 95.

Mass grave found in Mali

Investigators have found a mass grave containing 21 bodies, while looking for missing soldiers who were loyal to former president Amadou Toumani Toure, known as red berets.

At least 23 soldiers went missing after President Toure was toppled in a coup in March 2012.

A Malian justice ministry official told AFP: "We have found 21 bodies, probably of red beret soldiers, in a mass grave in Diago. The bodies were exhumed."

Thousands attend funeral of assassinated Hezbollah commander

Thousands attended the funeral today of the assassinated Hezbollah commander, Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday. The funeral took place in Baalbek, in Eastern Lebanon.


Accusing Israel of the crime, Hezbollah sources have reported that al-Laqqis was shot at close range by a silenced gun.

Ukrainian opposition motion defeated

A no-confidence motion brought by the main Ukrainian opposition has been defeated by parliament. The motion would have put more pressure on the government to resign, over the direction the country is taking in its foreign relations.

Ukraine has seen over 100,000 people protest against a government decision not to sign an association deal with the European Union. Clashes between police and protestors occurred over the weekend, with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov apologising for the violence meted out by security forces.

International protocol for investigating sexual violence in conflict in the making

Following on from the UK government's push for international action to address the problem of sexual violence in conflict, the FCO's International Protocol Project Coordinator, outlined the challenges that need to be addressed in documenting and investigating such crimes.

See here for full piece, extract reproduced below:
'Our objective is to create a consistent set of guidelines that are used by first responders to ensure that survivors of these attacks receive consistent and sympathetic responses but also that information that is collected from them (physical and testimony) is taken and stored in a way that assists future prosecutions or other justice mechanisms.