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)…

Palestinians to seek membership of UN agencies if talks fail

The Palestinian Authority has said it will seek membership of individual UN agencies if peace talks fail, reports The Times.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said that it was preparing for the possibility of joining 16 agencies in April next year if talks failed with Israel.

A senior member of the PLO, Hanan Ashrawi, said,
“We are ready.. Everything is in place and will be set in motion.”

UN launches conflict surveillance drones in eastern Congo

The United Nations forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the first time, launched unmanned aircraft drones to monitor the unsettled border of Rwanda and Uganda.

The drones will be used to identify threats from armed groups in the highly charged conflict regions in eastern Congo.

Assad implicated in war crimes – UN

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has said that an UN inquiry has shown that officials at the “highest level”, including President Bashar al-Assad, have authorised war crimes and human rights violations in Syria.

A Commission of Inquiry into Syria has produced "massive evidence... [of] very serious crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity."

Responsibility was to be found "at the highest level of government, including the head of state", Pillay said.

Military will remain neutral as protests against Thai Premier intensify

Protests in Thailand intensified today as Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, rejected demands to step down.

Explaining the reasons behind her dismissal of demands she said,

“Anything I can do to make people happy, I am willing to do…. But as prime minister, what I can do must be under the constitution.”

Tuareg group withdraws from ceasefire with Mali

The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) has ended a ceasefire agreement with the Malian government, in force since June.

The Tuareg separatist group made the move after clashes between protestors, who demonstrated against a visit by President Oumar Tatam Ly, and Malian troops.

"What happened is a declaration of war. We will deliver this war," the MNLA's vice-president, Mahamadou Djeri Maiga, told AFP.

UK looks to set up EU-China free trade arrangement

The British Premier, David Cameron, flew to China with intention of establishing a multi-billion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and the European Union, on  Sunday.

Cameron, accompanied by the largest ever British business delegation to another nation, emphasised the UK’s desire to play an important role in China’s expansion as the world’s second biggest economy.

Israeli policeman shoots dead Palestinian hours after Ban's warning

A Palestinian was shot dead by an Israeli policeman near Tel Aviv, said a police spokesperson, Micky Rosenfeld.

The incident occurred near in the town of Petah Tikva, following a paramilitary Border Police Unit search for all Palestinians who do not have a permit to stay in Israel.

Rosenfeld said,
"Border police in the night were searching for illegal Palestinian workers,"
According to Rosenfeld, the Palestinian man, in his twenties, "tried to stab" the policeman, before the policeman "fired a shot at the suspect, [who was] injured critically and died soon after."

The shooting comes hours after the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon warned of an "escalation of violence and incitement" between Israeli-Palestinian tensions that could threaten the peace talks.

US to aid in destruction of Syrian chemical weapons

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), announced today that the US was prepared to help destroy lethal parts of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.

The OPCW director-general, Ahmet Uzumucu, explained at the Hague, that the U.S government will contribute “a destruction technology, full operational support and financing” in attempts to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.

According to Uzumucu, the weapons and chemicals will be destroyed on military vessels in Syrian waters.

$13.8 bn Chinese-built railway in Kenya launched

Kenya has announced the launch of a brand new $13.8 billion which will run across East Africa to reach Burundi, the DRC and Sudan, funded by the Chinese state owned China Road and Bridge Corporation.

Kenya's President Kenyatta hailed the project, stated it would “define my legacy as President of Kenya”.

Karzai warns drone strikes threaten security deal

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has warned that he will refuse to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States, if drone strikes continue in Afghanistan.

His latest statement comes as he accused the US of launching a strike from a “pilot-less aircraft” that killed a 2-year-old child. Karzai said,