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,…

Norway to extradite genocide suspect to Rwanda

The extradition of a man allegedly involved in the Rwandan genocide was authorised in a Norwegian court today, reports Agence France Presse.

The alleged criminal and former teacher, Eugene Nkuranyabahizi, is suspected of aiding massacres in the Rwandan regions of NKakwa and Cyahinda in April 1994.

A request for Nkuranyabahizi to be extradited was issued by the Rwandan government in August last year after the suspect was detained in Norway.

UN ashamed of international actions during Rwandan genocide, France banned from memorial events

The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, speaking at the Rwandan genocide memorial events today, said he was ashamed of the way the situation was handled by the international community, stating,

“We could have done so much more. We should have done so much more. In Rwanda, troops were withdrawn when they were most needed.”

Pro-Russian protesters storm 3 cities in eastern Ukraine

Pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine yielded arms in one city and declared a separatist republic in another, as protests broke out in several eastern cities today.

Officials in Kiev told Reuters that the overnight seizure of public buildings in three eastern Ukrainian cities was a repeat of events in Crimea that resulted in the annexation of Crimea.

The Ukrainian Prime Minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, alleged that the protests where orchestrated by Russia, stating,

Targeted sanctions needed to resolve conflict in South Sudan says ruling party official

A leading member of South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) called for the international community to place further sanctions on individuals responsible for rights abuses and delaying a solution to the country’s conflict.

Rebecca Nyandeng, welcoming recent US sanctions placed on political actors, speaking to Voice of America, said,

UN Sec-Gen warns of genocide in CAR

The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, noting that foreign peace=keeping troops were ‘overwhelmed’ warned of a potential genocide in the region.

Urging the international community to send more support to prevent an impending disaster, Ban Ki-moon, said,

Bahrain protesters sentenced to 15 years in prison

A Bahraini court, convicting seven Shiite Muslim protestors of injuring a policemen, sentenced them to 15 years in prison today.

The announcement comes after several anti-regime protestors were injured by Bahrain police on Friday.

US authorises property sanctions on actors in South Sudan conflict

The United States president, Barack Obama, signed an executive order today, authorising sanctions against any actors escalating conflict in South Sudan.

The order sets out a list of 12 offences that would warrant sanctions on all property and interests in property that are within or controlled by the United States.

Announcing the order, the White House spokesperson, Jay Carney, said,

Rwandan president alleges French culpability for Rwanda genocide

The Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, in an interview to mark the 20th anniversary of the mass killings in Rwanda, accused France of participating in the 1994 genocide.

In an interview with the African daily, Jeune Afrique, Kagama denounced the ‘direct role of Belgium and France in the political preparation for the genocide.”

The president went on to accuse French soldiers who were present in military humanitarian missions as being accomplices and actors in the bloodbath.

France to table resolution authorising ICC action on Syria

France started drafting, on Friday, a United Nations Security Council resolution that would refer Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC), for prosecution of war crimes.

Although Syria is not a party to the treaty that created the court, the UN Security council has the power to authorise the International Criminal Court to prosecute.

AP journalist killed on eve of Afghanistan elections

A photographer for the Associated Press was shot dead today in an attack on the news agency’s envoy on the eve of elections in Afghanistan.

The attack injured a Canadian reporter, Kathy Gannon, and German photographer, Anja Niedringhaus.

The pair were attacked, whilst travelling in their own vehicle with a convoy of election workers distributing ballot boxes across the Khost province.