US President Barack Obama has insisted that Burma still has progress to make on reforms, as he becomes the first ever sitting US President to visit the country. Speaking from Thailand, President Obama told a press conference, “President Thein Sein is taking steps that move us in a better direction... don’t think anybody’s under any illusion that Burma’s arrived. The country has a long way to go.” "I'm not somebody who thinks that the United States should stand on the sidelines and not want to get its hands dirty when there's an opportunity for us to encourage the better impulses inside a...
Israeli jets have bombed government buildings in Gaza, as speculation mounted over reports that Israel was preparing for a ground invasion, with the call up of over 75,000 more reserve soldiers. Israel reportedly bombed 200 sites overnight, including Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya's office. Gaza militants were also reported to have fired rockets into Israel, with one being aimed at Tel Aviv having been intercepted. The violence continues as the Arab League met in Cairo and agreed to send a delegation to the Gaza strip in the next few days. Israel’s Interior Minister Eli Yishai meanwhile...
The US government has lifted a ban on the import of most Burmese goods, a few days before a historic visit by President Obama. The sanctions, which had been in place for a decade, were lifted after rapid reforms implemented by the Burmese government in recent times. Obama will be the first US president to visit the country and the trip shows the importance the US places on normalising relations between the countries. The import ban will remain for some gems, as they are thought to be a revenue source for the Burmese military. Concerns about human rights abuses, including the treatment of...
Continuing its pro-active endorsement of the newly formed Syrian opposition coalition, France is set to accept an ambassador from the Syrian opposition's coalition as an envoy to France. After meeting the coalition's leader Moaz al-Khatib, the French president Francois Hollande announced on Saturday that Mounzir Makhous would be appointed as the envoy, as a further step to " assure its [Syrian opposition coalition] legitimacy and credibility ." The new envoy would not be placed at the Syrian embassy in Paris however, as the President Hollande said the building did not belong to France...
Three former members of the Kosovan Liberation Army have been arrested by EU police on suspicion of war crimes committed in 1999. Blerim Krasniqi, spokesman for the EU’s rule of law mission, told Reuters that two of the three men were members of the Kosovo Security Force, which receives training by Nato. "The suspects are charged with war crimes against the civilian population," said Krasniqi. Local reports suggest the men are being held over the murder of supporters of moderate politician Ibrahim Rugova, a few days after the end of the war.
Meeting the new Syrian coalition and its President in London today, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said he was encouraged, and welcomed their wish to be a "credible, political alternative to the Assad regime". In a statement, Hague said : "The formation of the coalition is a very encouraging development, and I'm further encouraged by the discussions I have had with them this morning. It is important of course, and I have stressed to them, that they respect minority rights, that they are inclusive of all communities in Syria, committed to a democratic future for the people of Syria." "And...
A court in The Hague has freed two Croatian generals, who were convicted of committing atrocities against Serbs in the 90s. General Ante Gotovina and General Mladen Markac were sentenced to 24 years and 18 years respectively last year, for crimes of murder, persecution and plunder. Their release was met by jubilations across Croatia, where the majority of people see both men as war heroes. "The verdict confirms everything that we believe in Croatia: that generals Gotovina and Markac are innocent," Croatian President Ivo Josipovic said. However, the Serbian government condemned the verdict...
A Swedish citizen of Rwandan origin has started his trial in Sweden, marking the country’s first trial for the crime of genocide. 54-year-old Stanislas Mbanenande trial for charges of genocide and violations of international law opened on Friday with the indictment alleging that he had an "informal role as a lower-level leader among young Hutus who sympathised with, or came to sympathise with, Hutu extremism". He is also alleged to have taken part in massacres, leading a Hutu militia in Kibuye, western Rwanda, in April 1994. Prosecutors described how civilians in a church and hotel were...
The French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said that he will push for relaxation of an EU arms embargo, to allow the arming of Syrian rebels. France is the first Western country to recognise the Syrian opposition coalition as legitimate representatives of the Syrian people. "For the moment, there is an embargo, so there are no arms being delivered from the European side. The issue... will no doubt be raised for defensive arms," Mr Fabius said to France's RTL radio. "The issue will be raised because the [opposition] coalition has asked us to do so. "This is something that we can only do in...
Officials from five EU countries have agreed to a proposal for a training mission for Malian soldiers, who are fighting against rebels in the north of the country. Foreign and defence ministers from Germany, Italy, France, Poland and Spain met in Paris on Thursday and endorsed a decision made by the EU Foreign Affairs Council from October, which says that they are "determined to support Mali in restoring the rule of law and re-establishing a fully sovereign democratic government". The Malian army has been trying to regain territory captured by Tuareg and Islamist militants earlier this year...