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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)…

Aung San Suu Kyi accepts Nobel prize

21 years after she had been awarded the prize, Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize at an awards ceremony in Oslo.

Accepting her award, Suu Kyi told the crowd,
"[The prize] made me real once again: it had drawn me back into the wider human community. And what was most important, the Nobel Prize had drawn the attention of world to the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma. We were not going to be forgotten."

Assad regime committing war crimes says Amnesty

Citing evidence of Assad forces killing civilians in over 20 locations, Amnesty International accused the regime of committing war crimes on Thursday.

Publishing its findings in a 70-page report, Amnesty repeated its call on the UN security Council to refer Syria to the ICC.

Speaking to Reuters, Amnesty advisor Donatella Rovera, said:

Bid for UN intervention in Mali fails

A bid by the African Union and ECOWAS, to pass a resolution sanctioning military intervention, has failed at the UN Security Council.

The Security Council said it needed more details before it could make a decision.

Northern Mali was taken over by Tuareg separatists and Islamists after a coup by Mali’s army toppled the president in March. A deal made by the coup leaders and other western African states saw the instalment of an interim president.

Bosnian Serb soldiers jailed for Srebrenica massacre

A Bosnian war crimes court has jailed four Bosnian Serb soldiers for executing Bosniak men and boys during the Srebrenica massacre in 1995.

The judge said the soldiers took part in the killing of over 800 Bosniaks, over a 5 hour period, even finding time for a lunch break.

Franc Kos and Zoran Goronja were jailed for 40 years, Stanko Kojic for 43 years, and Vlastimir Golijan for 19 years.

Exiled Ben Ali sentenced to life imprisonment

Tunisia's former leader, Ben Ali, was sentenced last night in absentia to life imprisonment for presiding over the crack-down against anti-government protesters.

Ben Ali, who currently lives in exile in Saudi Arabia, was sentenced along side Tunisia's former Interior Minister, Rafik Belhaj Kacem and other members of his government.

However, many Tunisians and families of the victims expressed anger at the sentencing and that the court dropped charges against 10 officials, and gathered outside the court room shouting "revenge, revenge."

China threatens to pull out of Olympic camp over Dalai Lama visit

A British MP has accused China of employing “bully-boy tactics” after reports that the country would pull its athletes out of an Olympic camp in the city of Leeds, following a visit there by the Dalai Lama.

Chinese officials allegedly called for the cancellation of business convention due to take place on Friday, after it was revealed that the Tibetan leader would be addressing the event.

Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds, stated,

Papuan separatist leader killed

Indonesian police have shot dead Maku Tabuni, a leader of the Papuan separatist movement.

Mr Tabuni is said to have been unarmed when he was killed after resisting arrest.

Human rights activists claim he was running from police when he was shot in the back of his head.

The police denies he was unarmed and said he fought back.

Russian arms accused of ‘escalating conflict’ Syria

The United States has charged Russia with continuing to supply weapons to the Syrian government which have been used in the country’s ongoing conflict, with more weapons set to be delivered.

Falklands to hold sovereignty referendum

The Falklands Islands’ government has announced it will hold a referendum in 2013, to settle once and for all questions regarding its sovereignty.
The announcement comes a day before the 30th anniversary since the end of Argentine occupation of the British territory.

The Chairman of the islands' legislative assembly, Gavin Short, said they were going to hold the referendum "to show the world just how certain we are about it [our future]".

ICC seeks 30 year sentence for Lubanga

The International Criminal Court is seeking a 30-year jail term, for former Congolese war lord Thomas Lubanga, who was found guilty of recruiting and using child soldiers by the ICC in March this year.

Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said he demanded a "severe sentence".

"The prosecution will request a sentence in the name of each child recruited, in the name of the Ituri region,"