WORLD NEWS

World News

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…

Military leaders in South Sudan resign accusing regime of mass atrocities

Two senior military leaders resigned this week accusing the South Sudanese president of war crimes, genocidal acts and ethnic cleansing against those not from the Dinka group. 

"Your regime committed sundry war crimes... genocidal acts and ethnic cleansing," Brigadier General Henry Oyay Nyago wrote in his resignation letter, which details specific crimes and atrocities committed. 

"I cannot continue to be silent or taciturn when you are finishing and slaughtering the innocent people of South Sudan," he went on to add. 

Bosnia to appeal UN ruling clearing Serbia of genocide

Bosnia will appeal a seven-year-old UN court ruling that cleared Serbia of genocide charges.

Although the 2007 judgment by the International Court of Justice concluded that genocide had taken place in Srebrenica in 1995, when around 8000 Muslims were massacred by Bosnian Serbs, the court did not find Serbia directly responsible.

The Muslim Bosniak member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, Bakir Izetbegovic, announced that the appeal request would be submitted before next week’s deadline, despite lack of consent from his Croat and Serb presidential counterparts.

Merkel cancels summit with Israel due to Palestinian land-grab law

An Israeli government spokesperson has confirmed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel cancelled a joint summit with the government of Israel, with reports that it was partly due to Israel’s new law to seize private Palestinian lands.

The official reasoning given for the cancellation was the scheduling constraints due to Germany’s elections in September. However, sources say that there was great dismay against Israel’s new law and that the German government has initiated a number of public and diplomatic steps to express their disapproval of the legislation.

UN report outlines ‘devastating cruelty’ against Rohingya population in Myanmar

A UN report issued on Friday stated that the widespread human rights violations perpetrated by Myanmar’s security forces against the Rohingya population is likely to constitute crimes against humanity.

The report released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was based on interviews with those who fled Myanmar in early October. According to the UN News Centre, the report documented “mass gang-rape, killings, including of babies and young children, brutal beatings, disappearances and other serious human rights violations by the country's security forces.”

Israeli MP cancels Belgium trip amid war crimes summons

An Israeli MP who was due to be arrested over war crimes allegations in Belgium has cancelled her trip to the country, citing health reasons.

Belgium’s federal prosecutor confirmed the prosecution’s intention to arrest Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister, over allegations filed in 2010 concerning possible war crimes committed during Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and January 2009.

The Israeli foreign ministry rejected the “cynical abuse of the Belgian legal system to advance a political agenda,” a ministry spokesperson said.

Defeated president agrees to leave The Gambia

The Gambia's defeated president has agreed to step down from office and leave the country after over 12 hours of diplomatic talks. 

The defeated president, Yahya Jammeh, who was in power for 22 years, appeared on state TV after the talks. 

“I believe in the importance of dialogue. I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of this great nation,” he said.

“All the issues we currently face can be resolved peacefully. I believe in the capacity of Africans to decide for themselves all the issues on the way to democracy, social and economic development."

Gambia army chief says he recognises new president

Gambian army chief, General Ousman Badjie on Friday told Reuters that he recognised the newly elected Adama Barrow as the country's official president and new commander-in-chief. 

General Badjie told the news wire that the army would not step in to fight against a regional force that was preparing itself to overthrow President Yahya Jammeh, who has vowed to hold onto the power, rejecting the recent electoral result. 

Nigerian Air Force strike on refugee camp kills 52, says MSF

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said this the Nigerian air force killed at least 52 people in an air strike on a refugee camp. 

The air strike was intended to target Boko Haram fighters, the Nigerian air force said. 

"At least 52 people were killed and 120 wounded," Tim Shenk, a spokesperson for MSF told Reuters. 

"The organisation's medical and surgical teams in the region are preparing to treat evacuated patients," Mr Shank added.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said that six of its workers were killed and 13 wounded. 

Sinn Feinn triggers elections in Northern Ireland’s power sharing government

The power-sharing government of Northern Ireland is on the verge of collapse due to a clause in the agreement that will trigger fresh elections as a result of Sinn Fein’s decision to not find a replacement Deputy First Minister.

Northern Ireland is expected to hold fresh elections after Sinn Feinn failed to find a replacement Deputy first minister following Martin McGuinness’s resignation over a lack of transparency in the Northern Ireland Government.

US troubled by freezing of Egyptian human rights defenders' assets

The United States has said that it is troubled by the decision of an Egyptian court to freeze the assets of human rights defenders.

“This decision comes against a wider backdrop of restrictions on Egyptian civil society activity and will produce neither stability nor security,” the State Department said in a press release on Wednesday.

The full text of the press release is below.