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,…

Organisers of pro-democracy protests in Hong-Kong arrested

Jul 4, 2014
Five members of a Hong-Kong based activist group that organised a mass pro-democracy rally last week, were arrested Friday reports The Independent.

The members of the Civil Human Rights Front, based in Hong-Kong, said that the charges, of violating traffic safety, they were arrested on were politically motivated.

"The government did not respond to the 510,000 people who took to the streets of Hong Kong and instead made political arrests of organizers," it said in a statement.

Hamas ‘ready’ for ceasefire

Jul 3, 2014

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Friday that it is ready for a ceasefire in Gaza, if Israeli air raids on the territory were stopped.

Dozens of rockets and mortar attacks have been directed at Israel from the Gaza strip, as tensions escalated after the discovery of three Israeli teenagers and a suspected revenge killing which left a Palestinian child dead.

Russian court charges Ukrainian officials of committing war crimes against separatists

Jul 2, 2014
A court in Moscow this week ordered Russian authorities to seek the arrest of a Ukrainian governor and billionaire for responsibility of war crimes committed against civilians during the unrest in southeast Ukraine.

See full report here.

Last month, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, which is often compared to the United States’ FBI, announced criminal investigations against  Ihor Kolomoisky and Ukraine's interior minister Arsen Avakob.

Survivors launch genocide lawsuit against Paraguay

Jul 2, 2014
A tribe in South America is suing the government of Paraguay for an alleged genocide carried out against them in the 1960s, reports The Times.

The Ache tribe, say that their men were killed, their women and children sold into slavery and their land stolen by the farmers backed by the Paraguayan government which was run by the dictatorship of Gen

Curfew declared in Myanmar city, amid Buddhist-Muslim clashes

Jul 2, 2014
Authorities in Myanmar declared a curfew in the country's second largest city on Thursday, Mandalay, reports the BBC, after Buddhists and Muslims clashed for the second night.

The curfew bans gatherings of more than five people from 9pm till 5am.

Clashes began on Tuesday evening when Buddhist mobs damaged Muslim shops and a mosque, before reports circulated that a Buddhist woman had been raped by Muslim men.

Palestinian teenager killed, revenge attack suspected

Jul 1, 2014
10:53 BST

The body of a Palestinian youth was found dead on Wednesday in what is suspected to be a revenge attack, following the killing of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank.

"In the early hours of Wednesday morning, police received a report of a person being forced into a car in Beit Hanina," the Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP.

"Within an hour, a body was found in Jerusalem that has still not been identified. We are looking to see if there is a connection between the two incidents."

Local residents identified the youth as a 16 year old boy named Muhammad Hussein Abu Khdeir, stating that he was kidnapped into a car by three [Israeli] settlers, the Times of Israel reported.

According to the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, the body was "charred, and showed signs of violence".

A senior official of the Fatah movement, led by the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters that the Israeli government must take responsibility for the killing.

"The Israeli government bears responsibility for Jewish terrorism and for the kidnapping and murder in occupied Jerusalem," the official, Dmitry Diliani, said.

The suspected revenge attack meanwhile sparked clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian youth in East Jerusalem, with police firing rubber bullets and using tear gas, reported Al Jazeera and the BBC. 

An emotionally charged funeral took place on Tuesday, as the Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu declared a national day of morning.

India summons US diplomats over NSA spying

Jul 1, 2014
New Delhi summoned senior US diplomats, after leaked documents revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) was authorised to spy on the ruling party, BJP in 2010.

Describing the spying activities as "unacceptable", New Delhi "sought an assurance from the US that it won't happen again," reported NDTV.

"We told the Americans that our concerns remain and want the US to revert on facts. We want an assurance that it won't happen again," the news channel quoted a source in New Delhi as saying.

Eritrean leader reported to Swedish police as new law is passed

Jul 1, 2014

A new law, making crimes committed abroad prosecutable under Swedish law, has been used to take action against several Eritrean leaders, including President Isaias Afewerki, reported Al Jazeera.

Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza after 3 missing teenagers found dead

Jun 30, 2014
updated 10:58 GMT

Israel launched air strikes over Gaza on Tuesday, hours after Israeli sources said the bodies of three missing teenagers had been found in the West Bank, reports Reuters.

Kurdish leader plans referendum on independence from Iraq

Jun 30, 2014

The president of the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq has spoken of his intentions to hold a referendum for Kurdish independence from Iraq.

Speaking to the BBC, Massoud Barzani said that although the Kurds would contribute in tackling the crisis caused by the ISIS rebellion in Iraq, they would ultimately still pursue independence.

Mr Barzani said:

Organisers of pro-democracy protests in Hong-Kong arrested
Hamas ‘ready’ for ceasefire
Russian court charges Ukrainian officials of committing war crimes against separatists
Survivors launch genocide lawsuit against Paraguay
Curfew declared in Myanmar city, amid Buddhist-Muslim clashes
Palestinian teenager killed, revenge attack suspected
India summons US diplomats over NSA spying
Eritrean leader reported to Swedish police as new law is passed
Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza after 3 missing teenagers found dead
Kurdish leader plans referendum on independence from Iraq