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Latest news from and about the homeland

In recent weeks Yemen’s Houthi armed group has shot down seven US Reaper drones worth over $200m. The drones destroyed between 31 March and 22 April mark Washington's most significant material loss.  Three of the drones were destroyed in the past week, suggesting an improvement in the Houthis’ ability to strike high-altitude US aircraft.  The drones were conducting surveillance or…

Cyril Ramaphosa appointed president of South Africa

Cyril Ramaphosa was elected president of South Africa by the country’s parliament on Thursday, after Jacob Zuma stepped down following weeks of intense pressure.

Mr Ramaphosa said he would "continue to improve the lives of our people," and “work very hard to try to not disappoint the people of South Africa", as he accepted the position yesterday evening. He is set to deliver his first state of the nation address tonight.

Over 1 million allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan

The International Criminal Court has received over a million statements from Afghans alleging they have been victims of war crimes.

Since the ICC started collecting material in November to decide whether to seek a war crimes investigation, the court has received 1.17 million submissions.

The statements allege atrocities by groups like the Taliban and Islamic State, as well as by Afghan security forces, the US-led coalition, state-sponsored warlords and foreign and domestic spy agencies.

Read more on ABC News.

New Sinn Fein leader pledges to work towards Irish unity referendum

The leader of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams has stepped down after 34 years in his role, allowing Mary Lou McDonald to take over as the new party president at a special conference on Saturday. 

Mr Adams had announced his resignation in November last year. 

In her first address as party president, Ms McDonald said she would work towards a referendum on Irish unity. 

"I want us to achieve this with respect, graciousness and generosity," she said. "Irish unity cannot be a crude exercise of simply stitching north to south and returning to business as usual.

Maldives Chief Justice detained as president declares martial law

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Maldives has been arrested after placing a court order on the President to release political prisoners, reports the BBC.

Chief Justice Abdualla Saeed and another judge were arrested hours after the Maldives government declared a state of emergency. The state of emergency gives a range of powers to the security forces to make arrests and ban public gatherings.

Last week the Supreme Court ordered the release of opposition politicians, whilst also ruling the 2015 trial of former President Mohameed Nasheed, who is now in exile, as unconstitutional.

No tolerance for sexual harassment within the UN says Guterres

United National Secretary General António Guterres stated that the United Nations would not tolerate any sexual harassment within the institution, at the UN Headquarters in New York on Friday.

Mr Guterres laid out a plan to be implemented across the UN, noting that issues such as sexual violence are rooted in power-imbalances and the patriarchal culture present within institutions. “This creates obstacles to upholding zero tolerance policies on sexual harassment, including here at the United Nations. I am determined to remove [those obstacles],” he said.

UN Secretary-General meets president wanted for genocide

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met with Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court over charges of genocide, whilst at the sidelines of the African Union summit reports AP.

Mr Guterres’s deputy spokesman Farhan Haq confirmed that the secretary-general met with Mr Bashir on grounds of “operational necessity”. Operational necessities allow the UN chief to meet with the Sudanese president “from time to time” he added.

He went on to state “that doesn’t obviate the need, of course, for respect of the International Criminal Court”.

French activists file case against Rwandan genocide suspect

Activists in France have filed a case against a man accused of involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide this week.

Michel Bakuzakundi, who reportedly lives in the French city of Le Havre, is accused of being involved in the killings that saw almost 800,000 Tutsis and Hutu supporters massacred.

Activists from the Collectif des Parties Civiles pour le Rwanda (Civil Plaintiffs Collective for Rwanda), an organisation that works to prosecute genocide suspects living in Europe, filed the complaint which will be investigated by French authorities.

See more from The New Times here.

Yemeni separatists capture Aden

Separatist fighters in Yemen have reportedly captured the defacto capital, Aden and surrounded the presidential palace. 

According to the news wire, Reuters, the prime minister and senior government figures are trapped inside the palace. 

Aden has been the government's base since 2014 when Houthi rebels from the North took control of Yemen's capital, Sana'a. 

Intensified fighting over recent months has plunged the country's population into what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. 

Farc to put forward 74 candidates in March elections

The newly formed political party of Farc is to put forward 74 candidates in Colombia's upcoming legislative elections in March.

Under the peace deal signed in 2016, Farc is guaranteed 10 seats. It changed its name from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to Revolutionary Alternative Common Force, keeping its abbreviation of 'Farc'. 

“We aspire not just to the 10 places, five senators and five representatives, but to many more. We are very optimistic and trust it will be more than ten,” Julian Gallo Cubillos (alias Carlos Antonio Lozada) of Farc told reporters this week.

95 dead in car bomb near embassies in Kabul

Updated 23:01

At least 95 people have been killed after a car bomb exploded in Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul on Saturday, close to foreign embassies and by a police check point.  

Over 150 people are wounded, latest figures suggest. 

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. 

The bombing comes just one week after 20 people were killed in an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul.