WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

  Three United Nations (UN) experts called for a full and independent investigation into the killing of three Lebanese journalists by Israel last week, which they described as ‘another attack on press freedom by Israeli forces.’ On March 28, Israeli forces killed Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni, her brother and cameraman Mohamed Ftouni, and Al Manar TV reporter Ali Shoeib as they were…

Silent protest spreads to Taksim Square

 

Weeks after the mass demonstrations that engulfed Turkey, a new kind of protest has come to Taksim Square.

For several hours each day, protesters stood still and silent, inspired by the silent protest of one man - Erdem Gunduz.

On 17th June, Gunduz, a dancer, began standing in front of the Ataturk Culture Center in absolute silence.

The Tamil Guardian's Ismail Okan Ukav travelled to Taksim Square to capture the mood:



Palestine eligible to join the ICC: Head prosecutor

The head prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatour Bensouda, believes that Palestine qualifies to join the ICC after the UN general Assembly voted to admit the country as a non-member state in November.

Kerry cautious over Taliban talks

US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed concerns over the planned peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, after a row over the group's office in Doha.

Mr Kerry told reporters in Doha: "We need to see if we can get back on track." adding that he was sunsure whether this was possible.

"We are waiting to find out whether the Taliban will respond," Kerry said.

Arming rebels will cause more war crimes - UN

A UN commission of inquiry on rights violations in Syria has said that increasing the weapons flow to Syria will cause an increase in war crimes.

Paulo Pinheiro who chairs the commission said:
"States who provide arms have responsibilities in terms of the eventual use of those arms to commit ... war crimes or crimes against humanity,"
"Those arms will contribute to the escalation of war crimes, we are very much worried that more arms will signify an increasing presence of those violations."

Alistair Burt condemns violence by 'extremist settlers'

The British FCO minister Alistair Burt, condemned the violence against Arab Israeli residents by Jewish settlers earlier this week.

Burt said:

UN human rights rapporteur concerned about Sudan

An independent Unite Nations expert expressed concerns about the specific situation across various states of Sudan, which have been littered with on-going clashes and hostilities.

Spain arrests al-Qaeda members

Eight alleged members of an al-Qaeda linked network have been arrested in the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

Those detained, all Spanish citizens, are suspected to have been recruiting individuals to fight in Syria and other countries.

The arrests were made in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa.

Taliban offer US soldier swap

A senior Taliban spokesperson has said they are willing to swap a captive US soldier held since 2009 for 5 senior militants held at Guantanamo Bay.

In an exclusive telephone interview with the Associated Press from the Taliban office in Qatar, spokesman Shaheen Suhail said that army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl "is, as far as I know, in good condition".

"First has to be the release of detainees. Yes. It would be an exchange. Then step by step, we want to build bridges of confidence to go forward."

Palestinian PM resigns after 2 weeks

The Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Rami Hamdullah, gave in his resignation today, after only two weeks.

The New York Times said it was 'a signal of continuing internal political disarray', and added, 'analysts also said that the image of chronic political instability could undercut crucial international support for the Palestinians, both financial and political.'

Swedish court sentences citizen for part in Rwanda genocide

A Swedish court sentenced a man on Thursday for his role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

The court deemed that Stanislas Mbanenande, originally from Rwanda but now a Swedish citizen, had played a prominent role in the genocide.

He now becomes the first person to be convicted of genocide related charges from within Sweden.