The number of Syrian refugees fleeing into neighboring countries has doubled since June to 300,000, said the UN Refugee Agency, warning that the number was likely to double again by the end of the year. The spokesperson for UNHCR Adrian Edwards said, “The latest figures show a total registered population of more than 311,500 Syrian refugees in the four countries (Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.” Edwards also emphasised the need for extra funding to provide adequate resources and said they hoped to raise $487.9 million in order to assist 710,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.
A Chinese firm has initiated legal action against US President Barak Obama, after he issued a presidential order , blocking the construction of wind farms on land owned by the firm. Ralls Corp bought land near US navy facilities in the state of Oregon and planned to build wind farms. However Obama blocked the construction and ordered the company to dismantle their facilities and sell the land. Chinese-owned Ralls Corp said the president violated constitutional protection granted to land owners, and said the US government had "acted in an unlawful and unauthorised manner". The company said...
A war crimes court in Bosnia has acquitted 2 Serbian policeman accused of committing war crimes by participating in the infamous 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Prosecutors alleged that Dragan Neskovic and Zoran Ilic were guilt of crimes against humanity by rounding up Muslim men and boys, then executing them. However, judges doubted the credibility of witness statements and deemed some of them to be contradictory. Over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were executed in Srebrenica in July 1995 by Bosnian Serb forces.
The US, Russia and the European Union, welcomed Georgia's election result on Monday, which has seen the country's first democratic transfer of power from the President Mikheil Saakashvili to the opposition leader, Bidzine Ivanishvili. In a statement the White House described it as "another milestone in Georgia's democratic development", whilst the EU said the results showed Georgia had "a healthy respect for fundamental freedoms". Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said it "probably means that more constructive and responsible forces will appear in parliament".
Human Rights Watch urged the Burmese government to drop charges against activists, following their peaceful demonstrations on International Peace Day on September 21. Over a dozen protesters face charges for violating the governments public assembly law, following the organisation of a march , consisting of over 1000 people, calling for peace in the conflict ridden Kachin state. According to Human Rights Watch, two ethnic Kachin participants have already been charged for the alleged offence. Commenting on the government proceedings, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Phil...
General Dogbo Ble, the former chief of the Republican Guard, has gone on trial over the killing of a colonel during violence after elections nearly two years ago. General Ble and seven other members of the security forces are accused of the killing, during clashes between former president Gbagbo’s supporters and those of current president Ouattara. The general was one of the few senior military officials who did not switch allegiance to President Ouattara as the clashes drew to an end. Mr Gbagbo is currently facing trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The...
Bahrain’s highest court has rejected an appeal from 9 medics who were convicted by the government of aiding opposition protestors, during demonstrations last year. The 9 are part of a larger group of 20 medics who were arrested during demonstrations, accused of possessing weapons, inciting to topple the state and illegally participating in protests. Dr. Nada Dhaif was one of those arrested, who managed to get her sentence overturned. She said that, "These charges, they absolutely have no base and no proof at all... These are all political verdicts against the doctors and medics in Bahrain in...
Following a march of over 1.5 million people calling for Catalonia’s independence from Spain earlier this, the autonomous region’s Parliament has backed a referendum on its independence. This is despite the Spanish constitution stating that secession was forbidden, sparking a crisis in the country. Ricard González, former Washington correspondent for El Mundo and the Catalan magazine El Temps and Jaume Clotet, novelist and former political editor of the Catalan newspaper Avui, have written in the New York Times on the recently sparked Catalonian quest for independence, arguing why independence for the region “has never made more sense”. See extracts below. Read the full piece here . “History can follow a capricious path, sometimes meandering slowly for decades only to accelerate abruptly and take a vertiginous turn. The immediate cause of Catalonia’s sudden outbreak of secessionist fever is so-called fiscal looting.” “But money isn’t the only cause of secessionist sentiment. We Catalans have long been attached to our distinct identity and never accepted the loss of national sovereignty after being defeated by the Spanish monarchy in 1714. For three centuries, Catalonia has striven to regain its independence. Most attempts to establish a state were put down by force.” “ At the core of Catalonia’s unique identity is the Catalan language, which is distinct from Spanish. Since the re-establishment of Spain’s democracy in 1977 and Catalonia’s autonomy in 1979, Catalan has been revived in the region’s schools. However, a recent ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court threatens this policy. To most Catalans, our language is a red line. If the current system of autonomy can’t guarantee protection of it, independence is the only solution. ”
US President Barack Obama has stopped a Chinese-owned company from investing in wind farm projects on land it had acquired in Oregon. Obama issued a presidential order , asking Ralls Corp to clear equipment of the sites, which are located near a naval facility, within 14 days and to sell the land within three months. “There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that Ralls Corporation (Ralls), a corporation organized under the laws of Delaware, and its subsidiaries, [...] might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States; and provisions of law, other...
Hundreds of Libyans surrendered their weapons to the new Libyan Army at the weekend, following public outcry at armed militia. See here for report in The Times. The amnesty, which took place in Tripoli and Benghazi, entered those taking part into a free prize draw with the opportunity to win items including a Hyundai hatchback, flat screen televisions and iPads. Small arms, ammunition and heavy weapons, including Kalashnikovs, anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades were all handed over as a military marching band and pop music played in the background.