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,…

Kenyan Anti-Terror police carried out killings and disappearances – HRW

Human Rights Watch said that Kenya's Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) has been involved in summary executions and enforced disappearances, calling on international donors to suspend their support to the security forces behind the human rights violations.

In a statement released on Monday, the non-governmental organisation stated that their research had documented at least 10 cases of extra-judicial murders, 10 cases of disappearances and 11 cases of mistreatment of suspects since 2011, all with evidence of involvement from the country's counter-terrorism unit.

Leslie Lefkow, HRW's deputy Africa director, said,
“Kenyan counterterrorism forces appear to be killing and disappearing people right under the noses of top government officials, major embassies, and the United Nations.. This horrendous conduct does not protect Kenyans from terrorism – it simply undermines the rule of law.”

Pope to mark Armenian genocide centennial with mass

Pope Francis is to celebrate Mass on 12 April 2015 to mark 100 years since the Armenian genocide.

"The Pope replied to the invitation from the Armenian Catholic Church a year ago through the Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX to celebrate a mass for the recognition of the Genocide," a pastor told Prensa Armenia on Sunday, following an announcement by the Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires on Sunday.

IS militants accused of killing hundreds, UK PM urges more action

The British Prime Minister David Cameron urged greater action to stop the advance of Islamic State (IS) militants, as reports emerge of the massacre of hundreds in Iraq and Syria.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph Cameron said the UK will have to use its "military prowess" to defeat the militants, warning that if world turned a blind eye the militants would create a "terrorist state" on Mediterranean shores.

“The creation of an extremist caliphate in the heart of Iraq and extending into Syria is not a problem miles away from home. Nor is it a problem that should be defined by a war 10 years ago. It is our concern here and now,” he wrote.

Israel Palestine peace-talks resume as end of ceasefire looms

Israel will not agree to any long-term ceasefire unless its security needs are met, said the Israeli Prime Minister as it resumed peace-talks with Hamas on Sunday.

The Israeli delegation in Cairo, said that it was acting with a clear mandate from Benjamin Netanyahu to stand firm on Israel’s security needs, reports Al-Jazeera.

The Hamas spokesman, said that the Palestinians would not back down from their core demands which included the lifting of Israel’s seven year blockade on Gaza.

85 Nigerians ‘rescued from Boko Haram’ by Chad

Reports indicate that 85 Nigerians, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram earlier this week, have been rescued by Chadian troops.

An unnamed senior Nigerian security official told AFP that the troops intercepted a convoy with gunmen and the villagers during a routine check, but neither Nigeria nor Chad have confirmed the rescue.

IS control of Mosul dam broken by Peshmerga

Islamic State’s hold on Iraq’s largest dam has been broken by Kurdish forces, who are now in near complete control of the dam.

Kurdish troops launched the operation to recapture the Mosul dam on Sunday morning, with the support of US air strikes. The US said its air strikes hit 19 IS vehicles and a checkpoint around the dam on Sunday.

AP quoted an unnamed Peshmerga officer, who explained the importance of the dam.

Two UN peacekeepers killed in Mali attack

Two Burkinabe UN peackeepers were killed and seven wounded in a suicide attack on a UN base in the north of Mali.

The attacker drove a pickup laden with explosives into the base in Ber. It is unclear who was behind the attack, which was condemned by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

“Such attacks will not deter the United Nations from its efforts to support the Malian people in their search for peace in their country,” Mr. Ban said in a statement.

US conducts drone strikes in Iraq as Canada, EU pledge arms to Kurds

The United States carried out two drone strikes in Iraq, destroying two Islamic State vehicles, amid reports of 80 Yazidi men being killed by IS fighters.

"We have information from multiple sources, in the region and through intelligence, that [on Friday] afternoon, a convoy of [Islamic State] armed men entered this village," senior Iraqi official Hoshyar Zebari told AFP.

"They committed a massacre against the people," he said, adding, "Around 80 of them have been killed."

On Friday the UN Security Council unanimously approved sanctions on those found to funding and supporting IS militants, including the IS spokesperson who now faces travel bans and asset freezes.

Meanwhile European Union Foreign Ministers supported efforts by member states to supply arms to Kurdish forces, welcoming US air strikes in the region.

Ukraine destroys Russian military vehicles

 The Ukrainian President announced that the Ukraine’s forces had destroyed a group of Russian military vehicles on Ukrainian territory, reports the Washington Post.

Petro Poroshenko confirmed to the British Prime Minister that the reports were true.

NATO’s Secretary General confirmed that  Russian vehicles incurred into Ukrainian territory on Thursday night, and was not able to comment on what happened to the military vehicles.

French journalists arrested in Papua

Two French journalists were arrested in West Paupa by Indonesian police last week.

Police charged that the men had engaged in journalistic activities on their tourist visa, without obtaining a journalist visa.

Papua province police spokesman Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono said the two documentary filmmakers from German-French channel Arte, could face up to five years in prison and a 500 million rupiah ($42,000) fine, reported France24.

Thomas Dandois, 40, and Valentine Bourrat, 29, were reporting on the separatist movement in the province of West Papua.