• Form Serb paramilitary hiding in Australia indicted for war crimes

    Jan 12

    A former Serb paramilitary commander who is living in Australia has been indicted for war crimes by a Croatian court.

    Dragan Vasiljkovic, also known as Daniel Snedden, lost a court battle blocking his extradition to Croatia in July, where he is due to face charges of war crimes and possibly genocide.

    Mr Vasiljkovic, who has been working as a golf instructor in Australia is accused of being behind an attack on the town of Glina in July 1991, where civilians were killed, property destroyed and captive Croatian soldiers tortured and killed.

  • UN envoy confirms Syrian peace talks in January
     The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura confirmed that the Syria peace talks were planned to start in Geneva on January 25, reports Reuters.

    Speaking to reporters after a meeting with her representatives of the United States, Russia and other major world powers, Mr Mistura said,
  • Iran releases US sailors ahead of UN nuclear watchdog announcement
    Iran freed ten US sailors a day after detaining them aboard two US Navy patrol boats on Tuesday.

    Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had released the sailors after determining they had entered Iranian territorial waters by mistake, reports Reuters.
  • Suspected IS bomb attack in Istanbul leaves 10 dead

    Ten people were killed in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday from a suicide bomb attack by a man believed to be Syrian.

    Turkish officials believe he was a member of Islamic State.

    The majority of the victims are believed to be German citizens who were visiting the country as tourists.

    The president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the attack which took place in Sultanahmet Square.

  • Guatemala’s genocide trial restarts behind closed doors
    The retrial of former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt for charges of genocide and crimes against humanity restarted behind closed doors on Monday, after years of legal battles over the sentencing.

    An initial conviction in 2013, where Mr Montt was found guilty of genocide, was overturned just days later by the country’s constitutional court. Years of legal wrangling took place after the original trial, which faced delays after Mr Montt was diagnosed with dementia.

    Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said the trial would be a major test of Guatemala’s justice system. “Tens of thousands of Guatemalans who fell victim to the heinous crimes committed under Ríos Montt’s rule have been waiting three decades to see justice done – they must not be forced to wait one second longer,” he said.
  • Catalan parties elect new regional head to take movement forward
    Catalan’s pro-independence parties agreed on a new leader that would create a regional government  following the step-down of previous leader Artur Mas, who faced a political deadlock with Madrid over Catalan autonomy.

    Carlos Puigdemot was selected to lead the Catalan region after months of disagreements between pro-dindpendence parties over whether Artur Mas should serve another term.
  • Wall Street down as Chinese markets suspended
    Shares on Wall Street were down on Thursday after China suspending trading on its market for the second time this week after stocks fell by over 7 percent.

    China's decision to suspend the circuit breaker system, only increased concern among investors about the health of the country's currency and economy.
  • Syrian govt agrees to allow aid into Madaya says UN
    The Syrian government has to allow aid into the town of Madaya after residents were reported to have died of starvation, the UN said.

    The rebel held town has been under siege by government forces.     Photographs released over recent days depicted severely emaciated children.

    “The UN welcomes today’s approval from the government of Syria to access Madaya, Fua and Kefraya and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days,” the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said on Thursday.

  • CAR UN peacekeepers face new sexual abuse charges
    UN peacekeepers in Central African Republic were accused once again of sexual abuse after fresh allegations emerged this week, Reuters reported.

    CAR's UN mission, known as MINUSCA said on Tuesday that it was "investigating fresh allegations concerning both sexual exploitation and abuse and other misconduct by U.N. Peacekeepers and international forces in Bangui."

    The new reports come only weeks after the UN was accused of failing to act on previous allegations of child sexual abuse in 2013 and 2014.

  • U.S. 'deeply disappointed' that Rwandan president will seek third term
    The United States is “deeply disappointed” by Rwandan President Paul Kagame  New Year’s announcement that he would seek a third term 2017, reports Reuters.

    The spokesperson for the US State Department, 
  • Vatican officially recognises Palestine
    An agreement singed last year to make the Vatican’s preliminary recognition of Palestine in 2012 official came into effect on Saturday, reports Reuters. 

    In a statement released on Saturday, the Vatican said,
  • Afghan president seeks to restore Taliban peace process in new year
    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that international meetings next month to lay the foundation of peace talks with Taliban would seek an approach that ended terrorism.

    Officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States are due to meet in Islamabad in less than 2 weeks in attempts to restore the peace process with Taliban which fell apart last year.

    Speaking to press, Afghan President Ashraaf Ghani, said,
  • IS massacre of minorities is a genocide says Hillary
    The US democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton said she believed the Islamic State's massacre of minorities, including the Christian community and the Yazidis constituted a "genocide", reported AP and CNN.

    Ms Clinton made this comment when she attended a campaign event in New Hampshire on Tuesday evening and was asked by a member of the audience, "Will you join those leaders, faith leaders and secular leaders and political leaders from both the right and the left, in calling what is happening by its proper name: Genocide?"

    "I will because we now have enough evidence," Ms Clinton replied, adding that "What is happening is genocide, deliberately aimed at destroying not only the lives but wiping out the existence of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East in territory controlled by ISIS."

  • US expresses concern over arrest of journalists using anti-terror legislation in Ethiopia
    The White House expressed concern regarding the arrest of journalists in Ethiopia using anti-terror legislation in a statement on Wednesday.

    The National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price said,
  • Nigeria says ready to negotiate with Boko Haram over kidnapped school girls
    The Nigerian government on Wednesday said that it would be prepared to negotiate with Boko Haram in order to ensure the release of over 200 school girls who were kidnapped in April 2014.

    "We are prepared to negotiate with them without any preconditions," the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari was quoted as saying by Reuters.

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