The Syrian army has attempted to wrest back control of Aleppo as rebels are reported to be withdrawing from their positions. The army claims it has seized the Salaheddin district from rebel forces, but however human rights organisations have claimed that fighting is still ongoing. "Fighting is still raging in the district of Salaheddin and there are initial reports of many dead. It is impossible to document the casualties because of the ferocity of the clashes," said the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman. Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi of the...
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered that victims of the Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, must receive reparations. Commenting on the historic order for reparation, which includes a victim’s trust fund, an ICC spokesman said that “this is the first time the court has ordered reparations for victims” The Trust Fun for Victims (TFV) will help those that suffered from Lubanga’s human rights violations of enlisting, conscripting and using children under the 15 years to fight. The criteria to qualify for the reparations have been made broader than the original criteria that were...
An international security company formerly known as Blackwater has agreed to pay $7.5 million in order to settle charges of arms sales violations and other illegal activity. The firm, now called Academi, reached the agreement to settle charges including possessing weapons in the US without proper registration, lying to federal regulators about weapons supplied to the King of Jordan, the unauthorised sale of satellite phones to Sudan, military training to foreign government forces, passing on secret information regarding armoured personal carriers to Sweden and Denmark and various other crimes...
An interview with a suspected Nazi-era war criminal is set to air on New Zealand television for the first time on Thursday, where he graphically described the slaughter of Jews during World War II. Jonas Pukas, a member of the 12th Lithuanian Police Battalion, was accused of taking part in the massacres, and was recorded on tape describing how the murdered "screamed like geese" when shot. According to official transcripts , released in 2006. Pukas luaghed exclaiming that, they "fly in air" and made the sound of wailing birds. Pukas went on to say, "Some of the Jews used to scream like that,...
Iran has sent the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, to Damascus in a show of support for Bashar al-Assad and his rule. Aiding Assad’s survival, Iran has been providing the regime with funds, arms and expertise in its campaign to crush Syria’s expanding rebellion. Referring to the Middle East’s anti-Western powers – Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas – as the “axis of resistance” Jalili said: "Iran will never allow the resistance axis – of which Syria is an essential pillar – to break," "What is happening in Syria is not an internal issue but a conflict between...
Burmese authorities have lifted suspensions that were placed on two weekly magazines, after journalists protested for greater press freedom. As a result of the protests, the editors of two magazines were beckoned to the country’s media censorship bureau, also known as the Press Scrutiny board and informed that publishing could be resumed from the 18th of august. The magazines were initially ordered to suspend publication indefinitely due to the violation of unspecified regulations. The suspension resulted in dozens of journalists collecting signatures for a petition that was sent to the...
The United States have set a bounty of upto $5 million on each of the nine fugitive suspected perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda. The US Ambassador for War Crimes, Stephen Rapp, confirmed during a visit to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), that the bounty would be paid to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest of the suspects, including Felicien Kabuga, suspected chief financier of the genocide, Protais Mpiranya, former commandant of the infamous Presidential Guard, and former defence minister Augustin Bizimana. The chief prosecutor of the ICTR hailed...
The Reuters news agency said one of its Twitter accounts - @ReutersTech - was hacked on Sunday, and false tweets regarding the Syria conflict were posted. Twenty-two false tweets were sent, with some including false reports of rebel losses at the hands of government forces. A spokesperson for Reuters said , "Earlier today @ReutersTech was hacked and changed to @ReutersME. The account has been suspended and is currently under investigation."
Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab has defected from President Bashar al-Assad's government, the BBC reports . He had been appointed two months ago. "I announce today my defection from the killing and terrorist regime and I announce that I have joined the ranks of the freedom and dignity revolution," ran the statement read by his spokesman. Meanwhile, Brig Gen Manaf Tlas, who was considered close to President Assad, also defected in July. Thirty other generals have crossed the border into Turkey, the BBC reports, also citing Turkish news agency Anatolia sating on Monday that another general had...
The former spy chief of the Gaddafi regime in Libya will not be extradited from Mauritania, said the president of the West African nation. President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said that Abdullah al-Senussi must face charges for illegal entry into Mauritania, before being extradited to Libya. Al-Senussi is wanted by Libya, France and the International Criminal Court for crimes committed while he was the spy chief for Colonel Gaddafi. "Senussi has problems with Mauritania's judiciary and has to face court for entering Mauritania under a false identity," President Abdel Aziz said according to AFP...