WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Rwandan genocide memorial in Nyamata (Fanny Schertzer) German prosecutors have arrested a German-Rwandan national on suspicion of complicity in genocide and 25 counts of murder during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda. The suspect, identified only as Innocent S. under German privacy rules, was arrested in the central German state of Hesse on Wednesday. According to Reuters,…

France conducts largest strike on Islamic State positions to date

French fighter jets bombarded Islamic State positions on Sunday in what is seen as a direct response to the terror attacks in Paris on Friday night.

France vowed to destroy Islamic state following Friday’s attacks, after Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terror attacks in Paris, which saw suicide bombings and shootings across the French Capital.

In a statement released on Sunday, describing the biggest French attack on Islamic State positions to date, the Ministry of Defence said,

ICC releases convicted Congolese war criminal

12.00 The International Criminal Court granted an early release to a convicted war criminal from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Germain Katanga became the first ICC convict to be freed after being sentenced to 12 years in jail during a trail in 2014.

Saudi Arabia commits to supporting Syrian rebels until Assad is removed

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said his country would continue to support Syrian rebels if President Bashar al-Assad was not removed through a political process, reports Reuters.

Speaking to press at the sidelines of the international Syria peace talks in Vienna, Adel al-Jubier said,

"We will support the political process that will result in (Assad) leaving, or we will continue to support Syrian opposition to remove him by force."

State of Emergency declared in Paris as terrorist attacks take place across the city

 Parisian Elite Forces have been deployed across Paris as at least 100 people are thought to have been killed in an array of violent terrorist attacks across the French Capital this evening.

Gunmen and bombers attacked, busy restaurants, bars, a concert hall and a football game in a coordinated attack across the city.

Paris has been placed on curfew for the first time since World War Two and the borders have been indefinitely closed.

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Myanmar’s Electoral Commission officially declares opposition victory

Myanmar’s electoral commission announced today that Aung San Suu Kyi’s Opposition National League for Democracy had won a majority of the seats in Parliament, officially confirming the NLD’s victory in last Sunday’s election.

Votes are still being counted, but the Electoral Commission confirmed that the NLD has taken at least 348 of 664 seats in both houses of parliament, representing a two-thirds majority of the contested seats. Full results are not expected for several days.

All parties of Afghanistan conflict failing at introspective investigation into alleged war crimes says ICC

The International Criminal Court said it had evidence of international forces subjecting detainees to physical and psychological abuse, reports Reuters.

The court has been investigating alleged crimes committed by all sides in Afghanistan since 2003.

The latest report by the ICC that US domestic investigations into alleged crimes committed in Afghanistan and not resulted in convictions or risen high up the chain of command.

Spanish Court suspends Catalan secession process pending central government appeal

Spain’s Constitutional Court agreed today to hear the Spanish government's appeal against a secession resolution passed by Catalonia’s regional parliaments. The resolution lays out a process to establish a Catalan republic within 18 months.

In a press conference prior to the ruling, Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy said, “[t]his is blatant disregard for the state’s institutions. They are trying to do away with democracy. I will not allow it.”
 

Myanmar President congratulates Aung San Suu Kyi on electoral victory

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein sent his congratulations to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi on her opposition party’s victory in Sunday election, seen by many as conceding defeat. President Sein, a former general, has led the military-backed government since 2011.

In a statement delivered in a Facebook message by the President’s spokesperson, he stated, “the government will respect and follow the people’s choice and decision, and work on transferring power peacefully according to the timetable.”

Soldier arrested over Bloody Sunday killings

A former British soldier has been arrested over the Bloody Sunday killings in Derry, which left 14 Catholic protestors dead.

British troops opened fire on a civil rights march by Catholics in the city in the north of Ireland in January 1972, during the height of the Troubles.

The 66 year old who was arrested is a former member of the Parachute Regiment and is thought to be questioned in Belfast over the deaths of William Nash, Michael McDaid and John Young.

Kate Nash, whose 19-year-old brother, William, was killed on Bloody Sunday, said she welcomed the news.
"I had a call this morning from the police liaison officer that deals with our family," Ms Nash said to the BBC.

"She said that they had arrested a soldier and that he was being questioned. She said she wanted the family to know first before it went out on the news.

Biafra activist detention sparks protest

The arrest of a prominent Biafra activist has sparked protests by hundreds of people in Nigeria's south.

Nnamdi Kanu, who supports the creation of an independent Biafra and is the director of a banned radio station, was arrested last month and is still being held despite a court order to free him, his mainly ethnic Igbo supporters say, according to the BBC.

Activists told the BBC that five demonstrators were killed and several injured after the police opened fire in the city of Port Harcourt.