WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

German police arrest Rwanda genocide suspect accused of ordering killings
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,…

US and India pledge 'forward together we go'

Sep 30, 2014
Photograph @PIB_India


The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama, pledged both countries would go forward together ('chalein saath saath') as Modi's high-profile visit to the US came to an end Wednesday.

UK conducts air strikes over northern Iraq

Sep 30, 2014
The UK's RAF launched its first air strikes over northern Iraq on Tuesday, attacking Islamic State targets and destroying a heavy weapon and armed vehicle, the Ministry of Defence said.

Supporting Kurdish fighters, two Tornadoes flying from Cyprus, dropped a precision guided bomb and fired a missile, The Telegraph reported.

The attack is the first by the RAF since the British parliament voted to authorise British air strikes over the region, along side the United States.

“The RAF were in action today,” the British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, said.

Kenyatta trial delay rejected

Sep 30, 2014

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta will have to appear at a hearing next week, after the International Criminal Court rejected his request to postpone it or appear via video link.

"The chamber, by majority, finds that the requirements of justice in this case necessitate the physical presence of the accused in court," the ICC said in a statement.

Judges at the court added that the matters to be discussed on October 8 were at a critical stage and directly involve the interest of the accused and the victims.

Mexico charges soldiers with murder

Sep 30, 2014

Mexico has charged three of its troops with murder, after a shootout in June, which left 22 suspected gang members dead.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo said the soldiers shot the men "without any justification whatsoever".

The victims are alleged to be members of a notorious criminal organisation called La Familia Michoacana and the army at the time said the men died in a fire fight.

However, some the victims appeared to have bullet wounds in the chest, inconsistent with a shootout.

UK Labour Party reiterates support for Saharawi self determination

Sep 30, 2014
The United Kingdom's Labour Party reaffirmed its support of the right to self determination for the Saharawi people in Western Sahara, reports the Sahara Press Service.

The Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Douglas Alexander pledged support and called for human rights to be respected in the region, an issue that he said remains a “sacred principle” for the Labour Party.

Karadzic denies charges of ethnic cleansing

Sep 30, 2014
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic denied charges of ethnic cleansing at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, as he began his closing defence arguments.

Karadzic, who submitted a 800 page written brief to the court, rejected what he called “lies” laid out in the 11 charges against him, including genocide.

"It is the Serb people that stand accused," he told his judges. “The entire case against me is false... I know the truth, the prosecution knows the truth, they are trying to delude the court.”

Karadzic went on to say, “I know of no one in the Serb leadership who wanted to harm Muslims or Croats” adding, “I really was a true friend to the Muslims.”

Thousands protest after Spanish court rules secession vote unconstitutional

Sep 30, 2014
Thousands of Catalan demonstrators took to the streets on Wednesday after the Spanish court ruled the campaign to hold a secession vote in November unconstitutional.

Photograph: Yes Catalonia

Commission of Inquiry into Eritrea will pave way for accountability, says special rapporteur

Sep 30, 2014
The recently mandated Commission of Inquiry into Eritrea would help pave the way to accountability a United Nations expert said, reports the UN News Centre.

Warning of a deteriorating human rights situation, the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Shaila Keetharuth added,
"the creation of my special rapporteur’s mandate has increased international awareness about the large-scale violations of human rights in Eritrea.”
Eritreans are escaping systematic and widespread human rights violations. I hope the Commission of Inquiry would pave the way to establish accountability for these violations, especially in view of the continued non-cooperation of Eritrea with my mandate and other UN mechanisms,” said Sheila Keetharuth.

Afghanistan signs deal to keep US troops

Sep 29, 2014

The new Afghan government has signed a deal with the United States to keep troops in the country.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), saying his country has “regained its sovereignty as a power."

US President Barack Obama said it was a "historic day" in US-Afghan relations.

"We look forward to working with this new government to cement an enduring partnership that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability, unity, and prosperity," he added.

Karadzic was 'driving force' for genocide say prosecutors

Sep 28, 2014
Prosecutors at the trial of the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic told judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, that Karadzic was the "driving force" behind the genocide in Bosnia, reports Reuters.

"After hundreds of witnesses, 80,000 pages of transcripts, and 10,000 exhibits, the policy of ethnic cleansing is finally exposed. And Karadzic was its driving force," said the prosecutor Alan Tieger, as the prosecution made its closing remarks on Monday. 

"He said at the time what would happen and it did. Thousands killed, hundreds of towns destroyed, masses forceably displaced," Tieger added.

US and India pledge 'forward together we go'
UK conducts air strikes over northern Iraq
Kenyatta trial delay rejected
Mexico charges soldiers with murder
UK Labour Party reiterates support for Saharawi self determination
Karadzic denies charges of ethnic cleansing
Thousands protest after Spanish court rules secession vote unconstitutional
Commission of Inquiry into Eritrea will pave way for accountability, says special rapporteur
Afghanistan signs deal to keep US troops
Karadzic was 'driving force' for genocide say prosecutors