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,…

UN, UK and US express concern at Israeli settlement plans in Palestine

Israel’s planned settlements violated international law and would raise “grave concerns” regarding its commitment towards a durable peace with the Palestinians said a senior UN political chief, reports the BBC.

Britain said that the settlement activity made it harder for Israel’s friends to defend it against accusations that questioned Israel’s commitment to peace.

A White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, said,

Sweden formally recognises Palestine

Sweden formally recognised the state of Palestine on Thursday, becoming the first European Union member to do so, reports AFP.

The decision, which came ahead of schedule, has been criticised by Israel.

“Some will claim that today’s decision comes too early. I’m rather afraid it’s too late,” Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom wrote in the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.

“The past year, we’ve seen how the peace negotiations once again have halted, how decisions on new settlements on occupied Palestinian land have obstructed a two-state solution and how violence has returned to Gaza.”

Realisation of right to self-determination vital for international peace says UN expert

The realisation of the right to self-determination is fundamental in maintaining local, regional and international peace and must be seen as an important conflict prevention strategy, said the United Nations independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.

Presenting his third report the UN General Assembly on Monday, Alfred de Zayas, said,
“Over the past decades too many conflicts have started because of the denial of the legitimate aspiration of peoples to achieve their human rights, including the right to internal or external self-determination.”
The UN expert called for a strategy to ensure that a recurring questions regarding self-determination were addressed and that a proactive role was taken by the UN to mediate existing and potential crises associated with self-determination, reports Panarmenian.net.

FSA rebels arrive in Kobane to support Kurds

Rebels from the Free Syrian Army have arrived in Kobane to support Kurdish fighters defending the town against 6-week long assault by the Islamic State.

FSA commander Col Abdul Jabbar al-Oqaidi, told the BBC’s Arabic service that "around 200 fighters" had entered the Kobane to help the defenders.

UK cannot leave EU without backing of each home nation – Nicola Sturgeon

The leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon said the UK cannot leave the European Union as the result of a referendum, unless each nation returns a majority vote in the proposed referendum on membership.

Sturgeon said in an interview with BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland, that if a referendum bill was proposed in the Commons, the SNP would table an amendment requiring that for the UK to leave the EU, it would need "not just a majority across the whole UK but a majority in each one of the four nations - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland".

"If you look at states like Australia and Canada there are some circumstances where changes to their constitution requires not just a majority across the country but in each of the provinces as well.

"The UK is not a unitary state it is a family of nations, it is made up of the four home nations.

"We were told during the referendum that each of these nations had equal status, that our voices mattered.

"If that is the case I think it is right that something that would have such significant consequences for jobs, for the economy, for our standing in the world, it should require the consent of not just the UK as a whole but that family of nations."

Bangladesh war crimes tribunal sentences opposition leader to death

The chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in Bangladesh was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, including genocide, torture and rape during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, reports Reuters.

“Considering the gravity of crimes, the tribunal punished him with the death sentence," a Bangladeshi state prosecutor told the press.

News of the verdict has sparked several violent protests from supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, resulting in the deployment of thousands of Bangladeshi police officers across major cities.

North Korea envoy meets with UN investigator amid calls for ICC referral

North Korea's envoy met with a UN rights investigator, Marzuki Darusman, on Monday amid calls for the country to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

The meeting was to discuss "future cooperation in the area of human rights", a North Korean official told AFP.

On Wednesday, Darusman, who was also on the Panel of Experts to present a report on Sri Lanka's mass atrocities, is to present a report to the UN General Assembly.

The report is believed to call on the UN member states to seek a Security Council referral to the ICC and consider sanctions, to ensure North Korea to face justice for war crimes, which were detailed by a UN Commission of Inquiry earlier this year.

The EU and Japan have already tabled a draft resolution calling on the Security Council to "take appropriate action". China however, expressed scepticism.

EU justice mission in Kosovo accused of graft

European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo has been accused graft, in documents leaked by a prosecutor to a national newspaper, Koha Ditore.

The leaked documents reportedly reveal an investigation is being carried out into allegations that senior EULEX officials dropped some criminal charges in Kosovo in exchange for money, reports Reuters.

EULEX declined to comment on the leak. "[EULEX does not comment on] any ongoing investigation, or any leaked document," the body said in a writtern reply to Reuters.

"Allegations are receiving the follow up required," it added.

Another ‘mass grave’ discovered during search for Mexican students

Mexican authorities have discovered another suspected mass grave during their search for 43 students who disappeared after clashes with police.

Attorney general Jesus Murillo Karam said that suspects arrested last week provided information leading to the discovery.

Karam said police officers had confessed to handing over the students to drug gangs in the southern state of Guerrerro.

"We have the people who carried out the abduction of these individuals," Karam told reporters.

Peshmerga forces deployed to defend Kobane from Islamic State militants

Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq set out towards the Syrian town of Kabani to help Kurdish militants fight against the advancing Islamic State militants on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

A senior official in the Kurdistan Democratic Union Party (PYD) said that Peshmerga combatants were flying from Erbil airport in northern Iraq to Turkey, where they would travel on land to Kobane.