WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Somali woman jailed for three years over social media criticism
Sadia Moalim Ali, a 27-year-old nursing graduate and rickshaw driver from Somalia, has been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment after being convicted of insulting government institutions over comments she made on social media. Ali, who had posted on Facebook and TikTok, was sentenced on 25 June in a case that has sparked outrage in Somalia and renewed concern over the shrinking space for…

Pakistani PM warns of nuclear war with India

Sep 26, 2019

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan warned of a “nightmare scenario” with India as tensions continue between the nuclear-armed neighbours continue over Kashmir.

“My main reason for coming here was to meet world leaders at the UN and speak about this,” Khan told journalists at the general assembly in New York. “We are heading for a potential disaster of proportions that no one here realises... It is the only time since the Cuban crisis that two nuclear-armed countries are coming face to face. We did come to face to face in February.”

Khan went on to call his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi a “fascist” as he went on to criticise the lockdown in Kashmir.

Indonesian students protest extra marital sex ban

Sep 25, 2019
<p>Indonesian student's protests have entered their third day as they continue to oppose proposed reforms to the criminal code that would ban extramarital sex and penalise insulting the president.</p> <p>Witnesses reported that the police fired tear gas and water cannons to break up rallies in Jakarta and other cities.</p> <p>Reuters notes that over 300 people have been injured in these protests and that at least 200 high-school students have been arrested for not possessing a permit to protest.</p>

Truck explosion in Mali kills six

Sep 25, 2019

A tanker exploded in Bamako, the capital of Mali, has killed six people and badly wounded 46 others on Tuesday. 

Reuters notes that there have been no immediate connections made to Islamist groups who frequently carry out violent attacks in the north and the center of Mali.

Read more here.

Pakistan earthquake kills at least 25

Sep 25, 2019
<p>At least 25 people have been killed and over 450 injured in an earthquake that struck Pakistani Kashmir on Tuesday, reported Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).</p> <p>Reuters reports that the earthquake leveled homes and shops and tore open roads in areas between the towns of Jhelum and Mirpur to the north part of which is in Pakistan’s portion of the disputed territory of Kashmir.&nbsp;</p> <p>Rescue operations occurred throughout the night, with&nbsp;engineers starting repairs on a key roadway that was severely damaged.</p> <p>Sardar Gulfaraz Khan, police deputy inspector general, reported that;</p>

Over 400 Egyptian protesters arrested

Sep 24, 2019
<p>Egyptians security officials have arrested over 400 people, as hundreds gathered in Cairo and other cities to protest government corruption.</p> <p>The protesters, defying a government ban on protests, called on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to step down.</p> <p>Reuters notes that witnesses saw plainclothes security officials were seen stopping people in central Cairo and checking social media content on their mobiles phones.</p>

Bombing outside of Karbala, Iraq kills at least a dozen 

Sep 21, 2019
<p>Police officials report that at least a dozen people have been killed and many more wounded in a blast near the Iraqi city of Karbala, south of Baghdad.</p> <p>The bomb was planted on a bus and detonated near a northern entrance to the city as it passed through an army checkpoint between Karbala and the town of al-Hilla.</p> <p>No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Officials reported that those killed in the explosion and subsequent bus fire were all civilians.</p> <p>The bombing occurred during a holy period marked by Shias between two important religious events, Ashoura and Arbaeen.</p>

Thousands demand justice for protesters in Sudan

Sep 13, 2019
<p>Outside of the presidential palace in Khartoum, Sudan,&nbsp; thousands of Sudanese gathered, demanding the appointment of senior judicial officials to investigate the killing of protesters since December.</p> <p>Reuters reports that this was the first major protest since a power-sharing arrangement was agreed upon between the military and civilian groups last month. The agreement maintains a three-year transition leading to elections. This follows the overthrow of former president Omar al-Bashir in April.</p> <p>In June, the military council dismissed public prosecutor Awaleed Sayed Ahmed Mahmoud and named an interim replacement.</p>

Ten people killed in Mozambique election rally

Sep 12, 2019
<p>At least 10 people have been killed and a further 98 injured during a stampede at an election rally for Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi.</p> <p>Health authorities state that the deaths occurred when a large crowd tried to move through a single gate of a stadium in the city Nampula, northern Mozambique, where the rally was being held on Wednesday.</p> <p>Mozambique’s Interior Minister, Basilio Monteiro, stated that the government would create a commission of inquiry to investigate the cause of the incident.</p> <p>This is Mozambique’s second week of election campaigning with the general election being held in October 15th.&nbsp;</p>

Venezuela’s Opposition Leader warns government plans to dissolve opposition-run legislature

Aug 15, 2019
<p>Venezuela’s pro-government Constituent Assembly held an unscheduled session on Monday which opposition leader, Juan Guaido, has claimed&nbsp;was assembled to plan for the dissolution of the opposition-run legislature and call new legislative elections.</p> <p>Reuters warns that such a move would exacerbate the crisis in Venezuela and may halt Norway-brokered talks between the government and Guaido allies.</p>

Separatist rebels seize ports of Aden

Aug 15, 2019
<p>The conflict in Yemen has escalated, with an estimated 40 people killed and hundreds wounded, as southern separatists, trained by the UAE, seized key ports in the city of Aden, triggering “devastating” humanitarian consequences.</p> <p>The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that large parts of the city were also left without electricity and water during the fighting after services were targeted. They warn that escalated conflict would have a devastating impact.</p>
Pakistani PM warns of nuclear war with India
Indonesian students protest extra marital sex ban
Truck explosion in Mali kills six
Pakistan earthquake kills at least 25
Over 400 Egyptian protesters arrested
Bombing outside of Karbala, Iraq kills at least a dozen 
Thousands demand justice for protesters in Sudan
Ten people killed in Mozambique election rally
Venezuela’s Opposition Leader warns government plans to dissolve opposition-run legislature
Separatist rebels seize ports of Aden