• Egypt summons British ambassador over Al-Jazeera journalist comments

    Aug 29

    Britain’s ambassador to Egypt John Casson has been summoned by the Egyptian foreign ministry, after accusing him of interference due to comments made on the sentencing three Al-Jazeera journalists.

    An Egyptian court had found the three journalists, Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste, guilty of “spreading false news” and sentenced to three years imprisonment – a ruling that has been widely criticised by human rights and press freedom groups.

    Speaking in Arabic outside the court, Mr Casson said the court's decision would "undermine confidence in Egypt's stability".

    Egypt's foreign ministry said his words were "unacceptable intervention in Egyptian judicial rulings” and had summoned him “to express its strong objection” to his comments.

    “Egypt does not need lessons from anyone,” the foreign ministry statement added.

  • Egypt jails Al Jazeera journalists for three years

    An Egyptian court has jailed three journalists with Al Jazeera for three years, for "spreading false news".
    The three men were initially sentenced in July 2014 but their convictions were overturned and they were released in February this year.

  • Wanted Sudanese president to visit China
    Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who has international arrest warrants for crimes against humanity and genocide, is set to visit China to mark World War II commemorations next week.

    The reported visit has sparked outrage from human rights groups who have repeatedly called for Mr Bashir’s arrest.

    “It is outrageous that anyone would welcome him into their border without arresting him,” said Tom Andrews, president of the Save Darfur Coalition.

    His comments were echoed by Elise Keppler, acting director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, who said “Omar al-Bashir should be in The Hague facing justice, not in China celebrating at their World War II event”.

    “Experience has shown that fugitives may be able to evade justice for a time, but not indefinitely,” she added.
  • Bosnian Muslim commander charged with war crimes

    A former Bosnian Muslim commander was charged with war crimes during the 1992-1995 ethnic conflict.

  • CAR militants release captured children as part of UN negotiations
    An armed group in the Central African Republic released 163 enslaved children on Friday as part of a pledge in a UN agreement.

    The children were freed by the predominantly Christian anti-Balaka militants, who are thought to have captured 6,000 children.

    A negotiator from the UN children’s agency UNICEF, Mohamed Malick Fail, said,
  • British Library criticised for rejecting Taliban archive over terrorism fears
    The British Library was criticised on Friday by academics around the world for refusing to house the master copy of the largest digital archive of Taliban manuscripts and literature, citing fears of contravening the UK's anti-terror legislation, reported AFP.

    A spokesperson for the British Library said it was "no currently able to acquire a copy of the archive", which includes laws, official newspapers, maps, poetry and radio broadcasts, stating that "it is a large digitised archive which contains material that could contravene the Terrorism Act".

    "The legal advice received jointly by the British Library and other similar institutions advises against making this type of material accessible," she added.

    "It's surprising and disappointing," the lead researcher, Alex Strick van Linschoten, who is based in Berlin said.

  • China and US look to strengthen ties as Rice meets Xi Jinping
    The United States and China said they looked to strengthen and building on ties between the two countries, as the US' national security advisor, Susan Rice, met with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday.

    "We have seen our bilateral relationship evolve and strengthen in recent months. And we have found areas of broadened and deepened cooperation that we are certainly looking forward to building upon," Ms Rice was quoted by Reuters as saying.

    "At the same time, we have been able to discuss frankly our differences, which we both acknowledge need to be addressed effectively," she added.

  • US sanctions European funders of FARC militants
    The US Treasury said it would place financial sanctions on four Colombians accused of laundering money for the FARC militants in Colombia through an outfit in Switzerland.

    Four individuals were sanctioned for serving as a front for FARC militants by running a store that specialised in rare Latin delicacies, reports

  • UN Sec-Gen calls for probe into chemical weapons usage in Syria

    The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon outlined plans into a further investigation into allegations of chemical weapons attacks in the Syria’s 4 year conflict.

  • Warring sides in Syria agree two day ceasefire

    Syrian rebels, the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah agreed a 2 day ceasefire in 3 conflict regions near Lebanon’s border reports Reuters.

  • US warns South Sudanese leaders over peace accord

    The US has warned South Sudan's president Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar  not to violate the peace deal signed on Wednesday.

    State Department spokesperson John Kirby said the US would "hold to account" those who breach the peace deal and would support sanctions against them, the BBC reported.

    Mr Kirby said the US did not "recognise any separate reservations made about the agreement", made by President Kiir.

    "To end the fighting we call on all parties to adhere to the permanent ceasefire within the next 72 hours and begin the process of implementing this agreement," he added.

  • South Sudan signs peace deal

    South Sudan’s president signed a peace deal on Wednesday that sought to end the 20 month conflict with rebels reports Reuters.

    Speaking to African leaders in Juba Nigeria, President Salva Kir said,

  • Guatemala court in genocide ruling for former dictator
    A Guatemalan court says former dictator Efrain Rios Montt can stand trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, but ruled that he cannot be sentenced because the 89-year-old suffers from dementia.
  • Former KLA political head endorses war crimes court in Kosovo
    Kosovo's foreign minister, and former head of the Kosovo Liberation Army's political wing, Hashim Thaci, endorsed the establishment of a war crimes court to investigate crimes committed by the KLA during the 1990s conflict with Serbia.

    In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, published on Tuesday, Mr Thaci, he had “nothing to hide” and would cooperate with the court “in any circumstance and any form needed”.

    “I very much hope that no one will try to rewrite history, to try to draw parallels or equate the genocide perpetrated by Serbia with individual acts of some desperate citizens,” Mr Thaci told the WSJ. See here for more.

  • Red Cross suspends work in Yemen after offices raided by gunman
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was temporarily stopping all operations in the city of Aden in Yemen, after a gunman entered its office, reports Reuters.

    The ICRC, which had earlier this month warned of the escalating violence and lawlessness in the region, is one of the few aid agencies in the area after violence erupted between pro government forces backed by the Saudi government, and the Houthi forces. 

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