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…

US to allow Turkish assault into Kurdish territory

The US has consented to a withdrawal of troops from northern Syria to allow for a Turkish offensive in the Kurdish region, disregarding their long-held alliance with the Kurds.

This decision follows a phone conversation between US president, Donald Trump, and Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday. In return for the US withdrawal, Turkey would claim custody of all captured IS fighters. Shortly before 11 pm on Sunday, the White House issued a statement which read:

Trudeau faces backlash as Canada appeals Indigenous compensation bill

Justin Trudeau has come under fire as his government sought to appeal a court ruling that found Canada’s on-reserve child welfare system discriminated against Indigenous youth and mandated billions of dollars in reparations be paid.

Canada’s human rights tribunal ruled that Indigenous youth were “wilfully and recklessly” harmed by the government’s policies and called for compensation worth $40,000 CAD to each child removed from their home. The amount is the maximum compensation currently allowable under the country’s human rights act.

Immunity ‘rarely waived’ says US, as diplomat’s wife flees Britain 

The US State Department said that diplomatic immunity is “rarely waived” after the wife of an American diplomat fled the UK following a car crash she was involved in killed a British teenager.

Though the wife of the diplomat, who has not yet been named, initially cooperated with British authorities and told police she had no plans to leave the country, it is understood she fled to the United States.

The US State Department said it could not comment on "private diplomatic conversation" with the British government, reports the BBC.

Hong Kong protestors defy emergency law

Thousands of anti-government protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong once more on Sunday, after the government invoked emergency powers to ban protesters from wearing face masks.

Large parts of the city’s metro system, banks and malls remained closed as protestors defied the government ban on masks and continued to voice anger at Hong Kong’s government.

Thousands join Scottish independence rally

Thousands of people attended a pro-independence rally in Edinburgh on Saturday,  as organisers claimed the appetite for an independent Scotland is growing in the face of a potential No Deal Brexit.

Similar marches have taken place in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Perth in recent months, with support from various organisations that back Scottish independence.

Though Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, did not join the event, she released a statement saying she was there “in spirit”.

War crimes and independence recognition dominate Kosovo’s election

As Kosovo heads into a snap election today, the issues of alleged war crimes, independence recognition and continued tensions with Serbia continue to dominate the political debate, reports the BBC.

Kosovo’s current prime minister Ramush Haradinaj, a former commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), announced in June that he was stepping down in order to face questioning at the Hague over alleged war crimes. Haradinaj has twice been acquitted by previous Hague tribunals over alleged war crimes committed in the 1990s, during the conflict with Serbian forces.

UN calls for an end to violence in Iraq

Almost 100 people have been killed after a week of anti-government protests in Iraq, where security forces accused of firing tear gas, alongside live rounds and sniper fire.

The UN’s top official in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said “this just stop”, after five days of violence.

Relatives of Dutch colonial victims will have their compensation cases heard

In a landmark decision, relatives of five men summarily executed during the final years of Dutch colonial rule will have their compensation claims heard after the court of appeal in the Hague lifted the statute of limitations. 

Kurds call for ‘international war crimes tribunal’ to prosecute IS fighters

<p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Image/pictures/2019/International/abdulkarim%20omar.jpg"></p> <p>Senior Kurdish officials have called for the establishment of an “international tribunal” to prosecute fighters from the Islamic State that have been captured and are being held in prisons and refugee camps.</p> <p>Dr Abdulkarim Omar, the foreign secretary of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and the co-chair of its foreign affairs committee, said “We call for the establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute those fighters here in our region”.</p>

127,000 Sephardi Jews apply for Spanish citizenship following 15th Century expulsion amends

Spain confirmed that it had received more than 127,000 applications from Sephardi Jews for citizenship, following a 2015 law that attempts to make amends for the expulsion of Jews from the country in the 15th Century.

Spain's Catholic monarchs forced Jews in the country to convert or be expelled during the Medieval era. In a 2015 attempt to make up for the expulsions, the Spanish government announced a system that would allow those who could prove a family connection to Medieval Spain and their Sephardi origins, Spanish nationality.

The highest number of applications came from Mexico, followed by Venezuela and Colombia.