The chief of internet giant Google Eric Schmidt has begun a controversial private visit to North Korea, accompanied by the former governor of the New Mexico Bill Richardson. Whilst the purpose of the trip remains unclear, Richardson told press that he planned on attempting to meet Kenneth Bae, a detained US citizen. Richardson went on to say , “This is not a Google trip, but I’m sure he’s interested in some of the economic issues there, the social media aspect. So this is why we are teamed up on this... We’ll meet with North Korean political leaders. We’ll meet with North Korean economic leaders, military. We’ll visit some universities. We don’t control the visit. They will let us know what the schedule is when we get there,” The visit has drawn sharp criticism from the US, with State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland saying , “As you know, they are private citizens. They are travelling in an unofficial capacity. They are not going to be accompanied by any U.S. officials. They are not carrying any messages from us. Frankly, we don’t think the timing of this is particularly helpful , but they are private citizens and they are making their own decisions… they’re well aware of our views … They are not going on our behalf. No American official is going with them. They are not carrying any messages from us.
The highest court in Bahrain on Monday upheld the sentences of 13 leaders of the 2011 uprising. The sentences, ranging from five years to life, were initially passed by a military court in June 2011, and later upheld by a civilian court in September last year. All together twenty uprising leaders were sentenced, but seven are in hiding, leaving the remaining 13 to file appeals. Speaking to Reuters , one of the defence lawyers, Mohammad al-Jishi said: "This verdict is final. No more appeals are possible. It is the last stage of litigation," and the country's main opposition group condemned the decision, stating, "These judgments confirmed the rulings issued before by the military court which were condemned by the whole world. I think it is accurate to call these rulings political persecution." The spokesperson for the US State Department, Victoria Nuland, said: "We regret today's decision," "We're concerned that this decision further restricts freedom of expression and compromises the atmosphere within Bahrain for reconciliation." "We call on the government of Bahrain to investigate all reports of torture, including those made by the defendants in this case, as it has pledged to do, and to hold accountable any who are found responsible,"
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has ordered officials to use ‘State of Palestine’ on official documents, including passports, ID cards and driving licenses. Abbas said the move would help bolster the Palestinian state "on the ground and build its institutions... and its sovereignty over the its land". He ordered the replacement of ‘Palestinian Authority’ with the ‘State of Palestine’ for official correspondence of the foreign ministry and embassies last week.
South African government announced on Sunday that an additional 400 troops will be sent to Central African Republic (CAR). The announcement came a day after the Seleka rebels took over another town in the country and a few days prior to the peace talks that will be held in Libreville, Gabon. In a statement, South African President Jacob Zuma said, troops are being deployed to “assist with capacity building of the CAR Defence Force and will also assist CAR with the planning and implementation of the disarmament, demobilisation and re-integration processes.” Neighbouring countries such as...
Two state broadcast journalists from South Sudan were arrested on Sunday for failing to cover a presidential speech, reports Reuters . The two senior staff, named as Louis Pasquale and Ashab Khamis, were arrested by the state government of Western Bahr El Ghazal for "administrative issues", having failed to cover a presidential visit to the town of Wau, close to the Sudan border, last month. State information minister Derrick Alfred Uya told Reuters: "They were arrested simply because when the president arrived here in Wau on December 22, 2012, he gave a very, very important speech," New York...
A public speech by besieged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has, where he denounced his opponents as “puppets of the west”, has drawn immediate and widespread criticism, as fighting in Syria continues to rage on. In a defiant speech on Sunday, and the first public speech in six months, Assad told cheering supporters, "We are now in a state of war in every sense of the word…. This war targets Syria using a handful of Syrians and many foreigners. Thus, this is a war to defend the nation…. There are those who seek to partition Syria and weaken it. But Syria is stronger and will remain sovereign...
Protests by hundreds of opposition activists in Kuwait were broken up by security forces using stun grenades on Sunday. Stating that the protest was not licensed, security forces began to disperse crowds as soon as they gathered in small groups of 200-300, and were seen to be chasing protesters into side streets. According to a former MP, about 20 people were arrested. Meanwhile, the interior ministry spokesperson claimed that many "instigators of unrest" had been arrested.
The French arm of Basque nationalist party, Batasuna, announced the dissolution of the organisation on Thursday, putting an end to the movement long seen as the political wing of armed separatist group ETA. Announcing the dissolution of the organisation, spokesperson Maite Goyenetxe, reiterated that the resolve for an independent homeland was still present, stating “We affirm that we will achieve the project of building Euskal Herria (the Basque Country) only by political means, in the face of oppressive French and Spanish states.” Explaining the dissolution of the Batasuna, Goyenetxe...
The United Nations announced on Wednesday the death toll since the internal conflict instigated in March 2011 has left over 60,000 people killed in Syria. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said , “The number of causalities is much higher than we expected, and is truly shocking.” Navi Pillay condemned the international community and the U.N. for “fiddling around” while “Syria burns”. She has urged the international community to find a solution quickly if not “thousands more will die or suffer terrible injuries.” She has also acknowledged based on the evidence that...
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today warned the M23 armed movement that anyone attacking UN helicopters would face prosecution as a war criminal. The warning from the UN Stabilising Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) comes after a UN press release noted that two utility helicopters had faced hostile fire from the M23 on boxing day. MONUSCO reiterated that any attack against peacekeepers would amount to war crimes. The peacekeeping mission vowed that “Those responsible for such acts will be prosecuted and brought to justice”