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,…

Yemen foreign minister rejects calls for peace talks

The Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yaseen rejected the former president’s calls for peacetalks in a statement made on Sunday.

Speaking at a news conference in London, Mr Yaseen said,

More than 1,800 feared dead as earthquake hits Nepal

Countries from around the world have pledged humanitarian aid to Nepal after a massive earthquake killed at least 1,800 people on Saturday.

Measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, the earthquake levelled centuries-old monuments, collapsed buildings and caused avalanches on Mount Everest, as the death toll looks almost certain to rise.

Islamist militant alliance captures key Syrian town

A coalition of Islamist opposition militants have, which includes the Al Nusra Front, has captured a key Syrian town in the north of the country.

The opposition alliance, which also includes the Ahrar al-Sham movement and Jund al-Aqsa, united last month in an effort to overwhelm Syrian government forces and take the town of Jisr al-Shughour. The coalition, which does not include the Islamic State (IS), captured the town of Idlib last month.

Deaths in Burundi protests

Thousands have defied a ban on protests, a day after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his bid for a third term in office, leading to clashes with police.

At least two protesters were killed and more than five were injured, with one in a coma, Burundian Red Cross spokesman Alexis Manirakiza told the BBC.

President Nkurunziza said in his speech,

Israel indicts soldiers for crimes committed in Gaza

Three soldiers with the Israeli Defense Force have been indicted for looting, allegedly committed the violence in Gaza last year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

According to a statement from the Military Advocate General, two soldiers were charged with looting around $600 from a Palestinian house in the Gaza neighborhood of Shajaiyeh and a third soldier was charged with aiding and abetting the theft.

The soldiers were reported to military police by the soldiers' commander last summer.

The IDF is reviewing over 120 cases of alleged violations of humanitarian law in Gaza, of which so far 19 are currently being investigated further. Several of the cases concern incidents in which Israeli military operations caused multiple civilian fatalities, the LA Times said.

Pakistan prime minister condemns activist killing, orders immediate investigation

 The prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, condemned the killing of the leading human rights activist Sabeen Mehmud.

Mr Sharif, in a statement made on Saturday, expressing his condolences, ordered an immediate investigation into the killing, reports the BBC.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the killing, Ms Mehmud had been subject to death threats before she spoke at an event on the alleged torture of Balochi political activists by the Pakistani military.

Pakistani human rights activist gunned down in Karachi

A leading Pakistani human rights activist has been shot dead in Karachi, shortly after hosting an event detailing torture in Balochistan.

Sabeen Mehmud, director of the charity The Second Floor (T2F), was killed as gunmen opened fire on her vehicle leaving a seminar she hosted on torture in Balochistan. Her mother, who was also in the car, was injured in the attack.

FARC militants blame Colombian government for delayed peace-talks

FARC militants in Colombia, rejected the Colombian government’s request to accelerate peace talks on Friday.

The Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, repeatedly urged a swift end to peace talks, which have taken place in Havana over the last two and a half years.

However in an open letter to Mr Santos on Friday, the FARC leadership blamed the Colombian government for the unnecessary delays in the process, reports Reuters.

FARC militants killed 11 Colombian soldiers in an attack, which they called a form of self-defence.

India puts Ford Foundation on security watch list

The Indian government placed the philanthropic organisation, the Ford Foundation, on a national securty watch list, due to its past/ funding of an NGO which recently pushed for the prosecution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his role in the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat on 2002.

The home affairs ministry on Thursday sent a letter to the Reserve Bank of India, asking the central bank to place the Ford Foundation on a watch list to ensure that the funds it distributes are used "for bona fide welfare activities without compromising on concerns for national interest and security".

The move means the organisation can now only disburse funds after clearance from the home affairs ministry.

Vaccine against malaria could be available in months

The final stages of clinical trials of a vaccine against malaria are ongoing, which, if successful, could help immunise millions of children from the disease which can be deadly.

However tests conducted on 16,000 children in Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, showed that booster doses were not as effective as the initial dose, and immunisation waned over time.

Prof Brian Greenwood, study author and professor of clinical tropical medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said to the BBC he was "a little disappointed" by the results.

"I hoped the vaccine would be more effective, but we were never going to end up with the success seen in measles vaccines with 97% efficacy."