Poll violence in India’s north-eastern state of Assam has left eight people dead after police opened fire on protestors. Members of the Rabha tribe were protesting against elections, saying they infringed on tribal authority. Officials claimed polling staff were attacked before the shooting. The Rabha declared a “people’s curfew” to prevent polling staff from reaching their stations.
To the surprise of all concerned, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation on Monday, stating that given his age and physical health he "had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me". Becoming the first pope to resign in over 600 years, the news has shocked the Catholic church. Speaking in Latin, Pope Benedict XVI said: "I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. " However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken...
Hundreds of protesters marched to Egypt's presidential palace on the second anniversary of the fall of Hosni Mubarak, causing clashes with security forces. Police fired tear gas and water cannons on the stone throwing protesters marching against current president Mohamed Morsi. Opposition groups state that President Morsi has betrayed the revolution and shouted slogans calling for his ousting as well as spraying graffiti on the palace walls. One protestor, Ahmed Farghaly, said , "We may be few in numbers but we will not back down from fighting criminals dressed up in police uniform".
An explosion on a minibus near the Cilvegozu border post on the Turkish side of its border with Syria has killed 13 people. "It was a powerful explosion. But whether this was a vehicle laden with explosives or another type of explosion, I think, at the latest, will become clear tomorrow," said Turkish deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc. "All possibilities are on the table, including political motives." The explosion comes as Syrian rebel groups took control of a strategic hydroelectric dam, which provides electricity to Aleppo. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday stressed that he would...
For the first time since July 2011, the Bahraini government and opposition held talks to try to solve the political deadlock and mass protests. The protesters, mainly of Bahrain's Shi'ite majority, had demanded that the Sunni ruling family create a consitutional monarchy and call for elections. Speaking to journalists after the talks, opposition negotiator Abdulnabi Salman, from the Democratic Progressive Tribune group, said: "So far so good, and we will continue for the next session, but there is no guarantee that we will continue forever."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has admitted that western pressure is affecting the country and said Iran is ready to enter talks. Both Washington and Tehran have recently dropped hints about the possibility of talks over the nuclear programme. "You pull away the gun from the face of the Iranian nation, and I myself will enter the talks with you," Ahmadinejad said at a ceremony marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution. "Today, because of dishonorable pressure by enemies, people are under pressure. The government is concerned about the uneasy situation of a big portion of the...
Swiss authorities have refused to re-open a case examining corruption accusations leveraged against Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, reported Pakistan's law ministry. The accusations have seen Pakistan's Supreme Court take on the ruling Pakistan People's Party and called on Swiss authorities to re-open cases on Zardari and his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who were alleged to have laundered at least $12 million in kickbacks through Swiss banks. The scandal saw former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ousted last year, after he refused to write to Swiss authorities and...
Speaking after the convictions of two Rwandan politicians for genocide was overturned by a UN-backed court, Rwandan officials and genocide have spoken out against the UN-backed court, stating that they were in "serious disagreement". Rwanda’s Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga stated, "It's worrying because the trend is pointing at exonerating political leadership from the responsibility of the genocide," "We shall end up with a situation where the tribunal has convicted the rank and file and left out the real big fish." "As far as Rwandans are concerned, (the ICTR is) dismantling its image, its...
The British Home Secretary Theresa May warned on Friday that an independent Scotland would have to earn trust before intelligence on terrorism and organised crime would be shared by other countries. After independence, it could not expect to exchange intelligence with Westminister as currently takes place, she explained. Criticising the Scottish National Party's plans for its own secret service, May said that they were poorly budgeted and based on "assumptions". Speaking at the Foreign Affairs Committee at Westminster yesterday, May said: “At the moment, across the UK services, we have...
Twenty Tibetan protesters have been detained in the ethnic Tibetan area of Qinghai, announced the Chinese government. The Tibeten protestors are calling for Beijing to allow greater religious freedom and the return from exile of the Dalai Lama. The government's response to protests has included sending in security forces to seal of areas and prevent information from leaking out, arresting people associated with protestors, and seizing satellite TV dishes. The government justified the clamp down on protests as a way of combating foreign forces that want to separate Tibet from the mainland...