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,…

Khmer Rouge tribunal seeks funding

A delegation made up of Cambodian and United Nations officials from the Khmer Rouge tribunal , will visit South-Asian countries in an attempt to address the court’s funding issues.

Rouhani pledges fresh approach in diplomacy

The new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has pledged to move away from “repeating slogans” in foreign diplomacy.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new foreign minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, Rouhani said that he wanted to change Iranian foreign policy, but this does not mean that Iran would abandon its principles.

"Foreign policy is not carried out by repeating slogans," he said.

Israel extradite alleged war criminal

Israel extradited a Bosnian Serb immigrant to Bosnia on Thursday to face charges over his alleged involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, Israel’s Justice Ministry announced today.

An international arrest warrant was placed on the former army driver, Aleksandar Cvetkovic, after witnesses testified that he participated in the mass shootings of civilians.

22 dead in Beirut bomb blast

A bomb has exploded in a Hezbollah dominated neighbourhood in southern Beirut, killing at least 22 people.

It is thought the attack is related to Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian conflict, supporting the government.

Hezbollah politicians have condemned the blast as a “terrorist attack” and called on their supporters to remain calm.

Alleged Syria chemical attacks to be investigated by UN

A UN team is due to inspect sites of alleged chemical attacks in Syria after an agreement was reached with the government.

"The government of Syria has formally accepted the modalities essential for co-operation to ensure the proper, safe and efficient conduct of the mission," a spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Eduardo del Buey, said.

"The departure of the team is now imminent."

Security Council to meet over Egypt

The UN Security Council is due to meet in a closed emergency session to discuss the violence in Egypt, a day after over 600 people were killed by security forces closing in on Muslim Brotherhood protests.

Egypt is currently in a state of emergency with the interior ministry authorising police to use live ammunition in self-defence or when dealing with attacks on government buildings.

US President Barack Obama condemning the violence, announced the cancellation of joint military exercises with Egypt saying co-operation could not continue while civilians were being killed.

Army storms Cairo protest sites

Scores of protestors were killed in Cairo as the Egyptian army cleared protest camps in the capital.

The protestors, there in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi, have been in the camps since July.

The Egyptian security forces have now declared a month-long state of emergency in an attempt to quell the demonstrations.

Palestine-Israel talks begin under media black out

The first direct Israeli-Palestine peace talks in three years resumed today, according to Israeli officials.

Though few details about the agenda or location of the talks have been released, both sides confirmed that negotiations had begun.

MSF pulls out of Somalia

International medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders/MSF) announced that it would shut down all operations in Somalia after 22 years of working there.

The group's international president, Unni Karunakara said:
“The closure of our activities is a direct result of extreme attacks on our staff, in an environment where armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly support, tolerate or condone the killing, assaulting and abducting of humanitarian aid workers.”

Sudan allegedly arms Syrian rebels

Western officials and Syrian rebels have stated that the Sudanese government have been supplying arms through Qatar and Turkey to the rebels despite an international arms embargo in the area.

The spokesman for the Sudanese armed forces, denied such allegations, stating,