<p>Following the sentencing of nine of Catalonian separatist politicians on Monday, the streets of Barcelona have erupted in protest for a second day, bearing witness to clashes between the police and demonstrators.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Spanish Supreme Court’s ruling on Monday, that nine Catalonian politicians were guilty of sedition, has resulted in sentences between 9-13 years for the organisation of the October 2017 independence referendum.&nbsp;</p>

British Kurds took to the streets of London in a mass demonstration of over 20,000 people to march against the US withdrawal of troops from the Kurdish regions of Northern Syria and the subsequent Turkish attacks on the Kurdish controlled territories. 

<p>Spain’s Supreme Court plans to convict and sentence Catalonia’s separatist leaders for up to 15 years in prison, over a 2017 bid for independence, according to a judicial source.</p> <p>The 12 leaders would be found guilty of charges of sedition and misuse of public funds. The verdict is expected to be signed by the judges and made public next week.</p> <p>The charges stem from the leaders’ role in an October 2017 referendum, which led to a short lived Declaration of Independence. Spanish courts ruled the referendum to be illegal.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, is expected to face trial on Tuesday on 16 counts of fraud, racketeering and money laundering.</p> <p>The accusations specify&nbsp;that during his reign as President, 2009-2018, he took bribes from the French defence company Thales which was related to a 1999 multi-billion-dollar arms purchase, which he oversaw as vice president.&nbsp;</p> <p>Zuma tried in March to have his case permanently dismissed however High Court Judge Wilie Sertie ruled against him; agreeing with the prosecution that aspects of his case we "scandalous and or vexatious".</p>

Police have detained the chief of the Tibetan Youth Congress and 11 other students for shouting slogans demanding freedom while holding "Free Tibet" flags ahead of President Xi Jinping's arrival in Chennai today for a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Photographs: Tibetan Youth Congress

<p>Following a week of protests which saw the deaths of at least 105 people, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has condemned the “excessive and unnecessary lethal force” of the Iraqi military who were sent to suppress rock-throwing demonstrators.&nbsp;</p> <p>In their report, HRW called upon Iraqi officials to hold accountable members of the security forces responsible for the brutal suppression of protesters in the capital Baghdad, and several other cities.</p> <p>Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, writes;&nbsp;</p> <blockquote><p>

Two people have been killed and another two seriously injured during a live-streamed anti-Semitic attack on a German synagogue on Yom Kippur.

The attacker, known as Stephan B, is a 20-year-old German male, who broadcast his crimes on Amazon’s game streaming service known as Twitch.

Reuters notes that during his broadcast he claimed:

“I think the Holocaust never happened,” he began, before adding “feminism is the cause of decline in birth rates in the West” and mentioning mass immigration. He concluded: “The root of all these problems is the Jew.”

<p>Following the US withdrawal from the region, Turkey has launched airstrikes and fire artillery at Kurdish armed forces positioned around the border of Ras al Ain, in the Kurdish regions of northern&nbsp;Syria on Wednesday.</p> <p>Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, has defended his actions claiming he intended to eliminate “a “terror corridor” on Turkey’s southern border.</p> <p>The attacks were launched against the Kurdish YPG militia which Turkey has accused of being an off-shoot of the&nbsp; Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PPK), a Kurdish organisation&nbsp;fighting for autonomy.</p>

<p>The US has said it will impose visa restrictions on Chinese government and Communist Party officials,&nbsp;accused of involvement in the&nbsp;repression of Muslim minority groups in Xianjiang, China.</p> <p>In a statement, Secretary of State,&nbsp;Mike Pompeo said, "the Chinese government has instituted a highly repressive campaign against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other members of Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang."</p>

<p>Following the US call to withdraw troops from Northern Syria, President Donald Trump has faced a barrage of criticism and has responded by warning that if Turkey “does anything […] I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey”.</p> <p>The US withdrawal of troops from Northern Syria was granted after President Trump had a conversation with Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday. In return for the US withdrawal, Turkey would claim custody of all captured IS fighters.&nbsp;</p>