WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

German police arrest Rwanda genocide suspect accused of ordering killings
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,…

Boko Haram ‘massacre’ in Cameroon

Feb 4, 2015

Militants from Boko Haram have killed over 100 people in the Cameroonian border town of Fotokol, reports Reuters.

According to a local leader, residents were killed inside their homes and mosques.

Nato to reinforce presence in Eastern Europe

Feb 4, 2015

Nato will today announce a plan to bolster its military presence in the east of Europe, amidst continuing fighting in Ukraine.

The alliance’s defence ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday and are expected to announce a new rapid reaction "spearhead" force of up to 5,000 troops, the biggest reinforcement since the end of the Cold War.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc was responding to "the aggressive actions we have seen from Russia, violating international law and annexing Crimea."

US missile strike kills main al-Shabaab leader

Feb 3, 2015
A US missile strike launched last week, killed the Al Shabaab militant group’s chief of external operations  and planning for intelligence and security, the US said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Yosuf Dheef was the coordinator of guerrilla attacks inside and outside Somalia. He was also one of the main leaders of al Shabaab,” the Somalia’s national intelligence and security agency said in a statement announcing his death on Wednesday.

Myanmar slams 'interfering' UN official

Feb 3, 2015
Myanmar's foreign ministry released a statement condemning a top UN official for “interfering” in the country's affairs and for use of the term “Rohingya”.

The UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, had described conditions in camps, where some 140,000 Rohingya are residing in following clashes with Buddhists in 2012, as “abysmal”.

The foreign ministry responded by saying she should do her job in a  "professional and prudent manner", adding,
"Selectivity is often exercised. On some occasions, interfering on issues which fall within state sovereignty and domestic jurisdiction is evident."

Deadly shell attack on Donetsk hospital

Feb 3, 2015
At least three people have been killed after a shell hit Donetsk hospital in eastern Ukraine, a region currently under the control of pro-Russian separatists.

City officials said that nearby buildings were damaged in the attack, with six schools and five kindergartens reportedly also hit by shell fire.

The Ukrainian general prosecutor's office blamed the separatists for the attack, saying “the terrorists have once more used weapons against the civilian population of Donetsk region," in a statement on its website.

Egypt hands out 230 life sentences to activists

Feb 3, 2015

An Egyptian court has handed out life sentences to 230 people, who were involved in pro-democracy protests which toppled former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Prominent liberal activist Ahmed Douma was also among those sentenced.

Mr Douma was one of the leaders of the Tahrir Square revolution and was a symbol of the repression that followed it, according to the BBC.

Justice process and peace negotiations in South Sudan are not mutually exclusive says HRW

Feb 3, 2015
Asserting that the South Sudan “peace process and justice process are by no means mutually exclusive,” Human Rights Watch urged the African Union to reverse its decision to delay publishing findings from the AU’s commission of inquiry into atrocities committed during South Sudan’s ethnic conflict.

The HRW Africa Director Daniel Bekele accusing the AU of “putting justice on hold,” said,

Chadian troops kill 'more than 200' Boko Haram militants

Feb 3, 2015

Chadian troops in Nigeria say they have killed over 200 militants with Boko Haram.

The troops, who entered Nigeria on Tuesday to fight Boko Haram, are fighting for control of Gamboru, a town on the border with Cameroon.

The army said it had recaptured the town, but gunfire was still heard in the town on Wednesday AFP reported.

Chad and Nigeria are also bombing the vast Sambisa forest, where Boko Haram is believed to have bases.

Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird steps away from politics

Feb 3, 2015
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down from the role and would not stand for elections, reports Agence France Presse.

Speaking in parliament Mr Baird, outlining details of his conversation with the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, said,

“I expressed my intention not to run in the next general election…. and I also expressed my intention to stand down as a member of parliament.. in the weeks ahead.”

John Baird has been vocal on the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka over past years. Speaking to the Tamil Guardian last year, he listed his 3 biggest concerns with Sri Lanka as the “lack of accountability for war crimes, lack of meaningful reconciliation with the Tamil minority and the ongoing trend of authoritarian politics.”

Head of UN war crimes inquiry into Gaza conflict resigns

Feb 2, 2015
The head of a United Nations inquiry into allegations of war crimes committed during Israel's offensive into Gaza into 2014 has resigned from his post, after accusations of an anti-Israeli bias.

Canadian law professor William Schabas was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to head a three-member group investigating reports of war crimes committed during the conflict.

Israel had slammed the commission and accused Mr Schabas of having an anti-Israeli bias, citing consultancy work the professor had done for the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in October, 2012.

Mr Schabas though said the legal opinion that he had written for the organisation represented “a tiny part” of his work and rejected the claims of bias. "The complaint about my brief consultancy, as I understand it, is not about the content, which is of a technical legal nature, but the implication that in some way I am henceforth beholden to the Palestinian Liberation Organisation," he wrote.
Boko Haram ‘massacre’ in Cameroon
Nato to reinforce presence in Eastern Europe
US missile strike kills main al-Shabaab leader
Myanmar slams 'interfering' UN official
Deadly shell attack on Donetsk hospital
Egypt hands out 230 life sentences to activists
Justice process and peace negotiations in South Sudan are not mutually exclusive says HRW
Chadian troops kill 'more than 200' Boko Haram militants
Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird steps away from politics
Head of UN war crimes inquiry into Gaza conflict resigns