The USA's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has vowed to take swift action if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons. After a meeting with fellow foreign ministers of NATO, Clinton said: "Our concerns are that an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons, or might lose control of them to one of the many groups that are now operating within Syria." "We have sent an unmistakable message that this would cross a red line and those responsible would be held to account." Syria has not signed the international chemical weapons treaty banning the use of...
Nato has approved the deployment of the Patriot missile defence system on the Turkish border with Syria, as fears grow over the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s regime. The bloc declared its “determination to deter threats and defend Turkey” in a statement released on Tuesday. “In response to Turkey’s request, NATO has decided to augment Turkey’s air defence capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the Alliance’s border. “NATO’s ultimate task is the protection and defence of our members. Today, we...
Protests are being held in Cairo against Egypt's new draft constitution which was rushed to completion last week and is due to go before voters in a referendum scheduled for December 15th. Egyptian riot police fired tear gas at tens of thousands of demonstrators who were gathered outside the presidential palace. It is reported that the police retreated quickly after firing one round of gas canisters, to avoid further clashes. The protests were organised by secular and anti-Islamist groups who say that the draft constitution gives religious authorities too much influence, even likening it to...
The sentences of two ex-paramilitary Bosnian Serb commanders have been upheld by the International Criminal Court. The two former members of the 'White Eagles' Serb paramilitary group, were contesting their guilty verdicts, on the back of Serbian protests against the tribunal’s unfair targeting of Serbs. Dispelling Serbia’s allegations of unfair treatment, the war crimes tribunal upheld the life sentence handed to one of the ex-paramilitary members and reduced the second member’s life sentence by 3 years.
The UN-established International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has handed over the case of a former Army Lieutenant Colonel to Rwanda for trial – marking the last case to be transferred by the UN tribunal. Lieutenant Colonel Phénéas Munyarugarama faces charges of genocide, incitement for genocide, murder and rape amongst others. The transfer of the case to Rwanda has hailed by Rwanda's Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga, who assured that all suspects would receive a fair trial commenting, "The referral of cases to Rwanda is a result of enormous effort by Rwanda in building a standard...
The British and French governments have summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries, after Israel said it would build 3,000 more settlements in Palestinian territory. The BBC quoted a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as saying: "We have called on the Israeli government to reconsider. We have told the Israeli government that if they go ahead with their decision, then there will be a strong reaction." The FCO said in a statement: “We deplore the recent Israeli government decision to build 3,000 new housing units and unfreeze development in the E1 block. This...
The head of the United Nations Peace keeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) expressed disappointment at the recent suspension of Radio Okapi broadcasts, a radio station backed by the UN. Commenting on the suspension of the Radio station, the head of the Un Organisation Stabilisation mission in DRC (MONUSCO) Roger Meece said , “We find the timing and lack of notification by CSAC puzzling and regrettable. We will be registering an official protest of this action with Congolese authorities.” The radio station was created 10 years ago with the aim of contributing to the...
The well-known spokesperson of the Syrian Foreign Ministry, Jihad al-Makdissi, is reported to have fled the country on Monday, becoming the latest in a long line of defectors. Makdissi worked in the foreign ministry for over 10 years, and spoke eloquantly in English, making him a prominent public face within the regime. Speaking to Reuters, a diplomatic source said: "He defected. All I can say is that he is out of Syria." He is believed to have escaped for Beirut, and heading to London. According to Lebanon's al-Mannar TV, the Assad regime's sources stated that Makdissi was sacked for making...
Rejecting criticism from the US and Europe, on the Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu's announcement of settlement expansion, Israel reiterated its intention to build more. An official within Netanyahu's office said : "Israel will continue to stand by its vital interests, even in the face of international pressure, and there will be no change in the decision that was made." The decision to expand came in response to the Palestinians successful bid for UN non-state observer status. Israel's Finance Minister, Yuval Steinitz said, "I want to tell you that those same Europeans and Americans who...
Burmese president, Thein Sein, has appointed opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi to head a commission to investigate the brutal crushing of a protest by police forces,that left several people injured last week. In a statement on the presidential website, President Thein outlined that the purpose of the commission was to “investigate the truth” behind the police raid. Commenting on the violent crackdown, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, said “If excessive force was used, and it seems it was, then it needs to be established who authorised it and people need to be...