China is due to sign a deal with Afghanistan on Wednesday, paving the way for the first foreign company to produce oil in the country. China's state owned National Petroleum Corporation will sign a contract allowing it to conduct explorations in an area thought to hold over 87 billion barrels of oil. "The Afghan cabinet has ordered mines minister Wahidullah Shahrani to sign an oil exploration contract for Amu Darya with China National Petroleum Corporation," Afghanistan president's office said in a statement. The statement further said 70% of the profits will be paid to the Afghan government...
A Bosnian Muslim woman has been extradited from the United States to face allegations of war crimes. Rasema Handanovic, 38, is accused of killing Bosnian Croat civilians during the 1990’s, along with Edin Dzeko, her alleged comrade, who was extradited from the US last week. Both are suspected of being part of a Bosnian Army unit that attacked the Bosnian Croat village of Trusina in 1993, killing 18 civilians. Witnesses allege Handanovic personally shot civilians in the head. According to testimony by combatants, Handanovic and her unit rounded up a group of residents along with three Croat...
Welcoming the recent conviction and sentencing of two former Rwandan politicians for the 1994 genocide, the US State Department described the ruling as an "important step in providing justice and accountability", not just to the victims, but to the international community. The comments, made in a state by the Deputy Spokesperson, Mark Toner, in a press statement released Tuesday highlighted the responsibility the former president and vice president held, not only for crimes they themselves had directly committed, but for the crimes committed by those under their command. See here for...
The Israeli parliament today discussed the recognition of the killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide. Members of the Education and Culture Committee failed to make a decision, amidst warnings by the foreign ministry about damaging the already tense relationship with Turkey.
One of the fifty Arab League observers visiting Damascus called the Assad regime's killings a genocide. Speaking to Al Arabiya broadcaster on Monday, Mostashar Mahgoub said, " what's happening in Syria is genocide ." "This is a regime is taking revenge on its people." The Arab League observers started arriving in Syria on Friday. The observers will judge whether Syria is implementing a peace plan it agreed to after pressure by the Arab League and Turkey. The plan includes withdrawal of troops from the streets, release of prisoners, and dialogue with the opposition. Syrian commanders ordered...
An ex-military officer in Argentina's 'Dirty War' has been arrested by authorities in Boliva, on charges of human rights violations. The officer, Luis Enrique Baraldini, was extradited to Argentina, after Bolivian Interior Minister, Wilfredo Chavez, presented a handcuffed Baraldini at a press conference in La Paz. Chavez said Baraldini "was a member of the epoch of dictatorship in Argentina and has therefore been charged in that country." Former Argentine army general, Jorge Videla was sentenced to life in prison last year for crimes against humanity. The general is accused of being the main...
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Moscow on Saturday, condemning election fraud and demanding a repeat election. Wearing white ribbons and chanting slogans such as "We are the Power!" and "Russia without Putin", protesters called for an end to Putin's 12-year rule. The protest, with no central leader, is considered to be the most largest show of public condemnation since those against the Soviet Union over 20 years ago. Saturday's protest was larger than the previous protest on 10th December, against vote rigging in the recent elections. Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader who...
A delegation from members of the Arab League has arrived in Syria in order to prepare for the arrival of 20 foreign observers over the weekend, a number that will eventually increase to 500. The observers will judge whether Syria is implementing a peace plan it agreed to after pressure by the Arab League and Turkey. The plan includes withdrawal of troops from the streets, release of prisoners, and dialogue with the opposition. However, Bashar al-Assad’s regime has escalated its crackdown on anti-government protestors, with reports emerging that over 200 people were killed over the past two...
The French National Assembly has passed a bill outlawing the denial of Genocide and war crimes that are accepted as such by the French government. The bill has to go before the Senate next year, before becoming law; however it is thought to be unlikely to be passed by the senate. The Turkish government has reacted by cutting all ties with France after Thursday’s vote.
"It has been seven years since the end of the second siege of Fallujah – the US assault that left the city in ruins, killed thousands of civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands more; the assault that poisoned a generation, plaguing the people who live there with cancers and their children with birth defects. "I do not see any contradiction in feeling sympathy for the dead US Marines and soldiers and at the same time feeling sympathy for the Fallujans who fell to their guns. The contradiction lies in believing that we were liberators, when in fact we oppressed the freedoms and wishes of...