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,…

CMA militants sign peace deal granting greater autonomy to northern Mali

The Tuareg led militant alliance in Mali signed a landmark deal which looked to end a 5 decade long conflict that saw many die in the northern regions of the country.

The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), a coalition of rebel groups signed a deal that called for the creation of an elected regional assembly that granted some levels of autonomy for northern Mali.

Arrests in Bosnia over war crimes

Eight Bosnian Croats were arrested by police in Bosnia-Herzegovina on suspicion of having committed war crimes during the conflict in Bosnia in the early 90s, AP reported.

A statement from the prosecution office in Sarajevo said on Thursday the men were members of the Bosnian Croat armed forces and that they are suspected of having arrested and tortured some 200 Bosniak civilians, including women and minors.

Belgian PM says Armenian killings ‘must be viewed as genocide’

The Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel outlined his government’s recognition of the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide this week.

Mr Michel said the killings “must be viewed as a genocide”, telling parliament “the relationship between history and the future are occasionally complicated”.

AU calls on UN to set date for Saharawi self-determination referendum

The African Union Summit of Heads of State and Government,  called on the United Nations General Assembly to finalise a date for holding a referendum for self-determination of the Saharawi people in Western Sahara.

Record number of IDPs

The UN reports that the number of displaced people the world reached a record high of nearly 60 million people in 2014.

UNHCR said that there was an increase in 8.3 million from the previous year. The ongoing war in Syria is seen as a major contributor. The authors of the report say their findings mean that one in every 122 people on the planet was either a refugee, internally displaced or seeking asylum.

The report states that more than 15 conflicts have begun or recommenced, including three in the Middle East and eight in Africa.

38.2 million of the total 59.5 million have been internally displaced in their own countries. 19.5 million of the total figure were refugees, half of these being children.

UN sponsored talks end with no ceasefire agreement in Yemen

Peace talks between Yemen’s government and Houthi militants ended in Geneva without an agreement for a ceasefire, reports the Washington Post.

The UN sponsored talks, ended with an appeal by the global body for $1.6 billion emergency aid to avoid a humanitarian crisis in the region.

Former Kosovan PM detained over war crimes allegations

The former Prime Minister of Kosovo, Minister Ramush Haradinaj has been detained in Slovenia, because of an investigation looking into war crimes, during the Balkan conflict in the 1990s.

He was blocked from boarding a flight at Ljubljana Airport, his party reported.

Mr Haradinaj, who was previously been acquitted over war crimes charges from a UN Court, denies allegations that he guided campaigns of murder and torture against Serbs and their allies.

ADB commits to increase lending to India

The President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Takehiko Nakao committed to increase lending to India over upcoming years on Tuesday.

Speaking after a meeting with India’s Finance minister and Minister of Urban Development, Mr Nakao, said,

HRW slams regressive policy fueled by extremist Buddhists in Myanmar

Myanmar’s long standing repressive policy toward the Rohingya Muslims was made clear in recent weeks said Human Rights Watch in a damning statement released on Tuesday.

 Senior Asia researcher for HRW, David Scott Mathieson, citing tragic events saw that thousands of Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar on boats, said,

UN calls for ban on peacekeeping for countries over child sex abuse

UN has urged he ban of countries from peacekeeping duties, if their troops sexually abused children where they were deployed, after a recent scandal involving French troops.

An internal review, commissioned before the latest scandal broke, recommended that the home countries of peacekeepers are identified annually and a six-month deadline for investigations are imposed on the countries.

It also recommended that countries be obliged to disclose disciplinary action taken against soldiers, as well as governments' failure to report.

At the moment, peacekeepers can only be prosecuted by their own state.

The review panel's chairman, former president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta stressed "immunity should not mean impunity".

Sri Lankan troops were expelled from Haiti for sexually abusing children in 2007, with 111 soldiers and 3 officers were repatriated back to Sri Lanka after being part of UN mission in Haiti and were accused of a string of sexual assaults, including rape of children as young as 7 years old. No prosecutions or punishments have taken place.