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,…

International community's Responsibility to Protect is greater than ever - UN Sec Gen

The international community’s ‘Responsibility to Protect’ is greater than ever said the UN Secretary General on Monday.

“Our collective responsibility to protect demands far more from us at this deeply troubling time for all humankind,” said Ban Ki-Moon speaking at a meeting of the UN General Assembly to discuss the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ adapted in 2005.

“Turning a blind eye to these acts is no longer tenable. Our responsibility to prevent and protect is collective and urgent," he added.

House of blood' by IS militants warns UN human rights chief

The newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid al-Hussein warned of a "house of blood" trying to be created by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, urging states to take action to protect women and minorities.

He also called on the Iraqi government to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) in order to ensure justice for the crimes committed in the region.

"Do they believe they are acting courageously? Barbarically slaughtering captives?," he said, describing the militants as "takfiris" - those who kill others on the basis that they are apostates.

AU troops raped girls in Somalia – HRW

Troops from the African Union raped women and girls in Mogadishu, a new report by Human Rights Watch says.

The forces are said to have raped women seeking medical aid or water from their bases, with one 15 year old girl having her headscarf ripped off before being raped, the human rights group said.

EU adopts further sanctions against Russia amidst 'shaky' ceasefire in Ukraine

The European Union has adopted a series of further sanctions on Russia, as a ceasefire between the Ukranian government and pro-Russian separatists continued on Monday.

The move comes as Russia threatened to prevent its European gas customers from re-exporting to Ukraine – a move that would effectively cut off Ukraine's gas supply.

The new sanctions, though, have not been put into place yet, with the European Commission's Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen saying,
"The sanctions package can be extended or stopped, depending on developments in the field."
European Union Council President Herman van Rompuy said they were aimed at "promoting a change of course in Russia's actions destabilising eastern Ukraine".

A ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists, who have continued to clash in the region, was described by the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as "shaky".

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited the city of Mariupol on Monday, where he announced the separatists had released some 1,200 prisoners. Announcing the release in the city, which has seen shelling by the separatists, Poroshenko went on to tweet that "Mariupol is Ukraine. We will not surrender this land to anyone."

New shelling threatens ceasefire in eastern Ukraine

Reports of new shelling in eastern Ukraine have cast doubt on the 36 hour ceasefire between the Ukrainian government and pro-separatist fighters.

The ceasefire, which was agreed Friday, held through out much of Saturday. Overnight however, shelling was reported in Mariupol and by Donetsk airport, reported Reuters. 

Both sides have blamed each other for ceasefire violations.

Scottish independence takes poll lead, Westminster pledges more devolution

Scotland's referendum on independence is too close to call, with a YouGov poll putting the Yes campaign in a two point lead (51% Yes; 49% No).

The poll, published in The Sunday Times today, reverses the No campaign's longstanding poll lead, two weeks ahead of the vote on September 18.

Amid the Yes campaign's growing success, the British Chancellor, George Osbourne, pledged greater devolution of powers if Scots vote to stay within the union, promising "much greater" fiscal autonomy and tax raising powers.

Rwandan genocide survivors welcome Norway extradition ruling

Survivors of Rwanda's genocide have welcomed a recent Norwegian court ruling to extradite a man accused of taking part in the massacres, to stand trial in a Rwandan court.

41-year-old Eugene Nkuranyabahizi, who has been living in Norway since 1999, was arrested in May last year, accused of participating in the massacre of Tutsis in Rwanda. The 1994 genocide saw at least 800,000 people killed.

A court ruling on Wednesday confirmed that Nkuranyabahizi could be extradited, a decision welcomed by Rwandan genocide survivor Theogene Karasira, who said,
"We highly welcome the ruling by the Norway court and this gives us hope that justice will prevail. We lost our loved ones and relatives to beasts like Nkuranyabahizi now it's time for them to face the law."

Serbs arrested for 1992 massacre in Bosnia

Bosnian officials have arrested 13 former Serb soldiers and policemen for war crimes committed during the country's war in the nineties.

The men are charged with massacres committed in June 1992, which left around 40 Bosnian Croats and Bosniaks dead, with many of the suspect having served in the “Mice” paramilitary unit of the Bosnian Serb military.

Disorder at immigration removal centre after death of refugee

Riot police were called in to quell protests by angry refugees, detained in an immigration removal centre in Lincolnshire, after the death of a 26 year old Bangladeshi man.

Rubel Ahmed died on Friday night and the Home Office told the family he committed suicide, however fellow detainees told reporters that he had been complaining of chest pains for over an hour, without receiving medical attention. His family have called for an independent inquiry into his death.

The Home Office is said to be investigating the disturbances at Morton Hall, which saw guards withdrawing to a "place of safety", after around 30 men refused to go into their rooms.

Al-Shabab leader death confirmed, group names successor

2nd lead

Al-Shabab named its new leader Saturday after the White House and Pentagon confirmed that the leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed in a US air strike south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, on September 1.

Confirming the death of Gogane, Al Shabab named Ahmad Umar as his successor, in a statement posted online.

 "Avenging the death of our scholars and leaders is a binding obligation on our shoulders that we will never relinquish nor forget no matter how long it takes. By the permission of Allah, you will surely taste the bitter consequences of your actions," the group said.

On Friday, the Pentagon confirmed the "U.S. military undertook operations against Godane on Sept. 1, which led to his death", adding that "removing Godane from the battlefield is a major symbolic and operational loss” to al-Shabab."