• Turkey conducts airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria

    Turkey’s air-force carried out attacks on Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time on Friday, as well as militant camps of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, reports Reuters.

  • Romania sentences former Communist prison guard for crimes against humanity
    In a land mark case, Romania has convicted a former Communist-era prison guard of crimes against humanity for his role in the Ramnicu Sarat prison from 1956 to 1963 and the deaths of 12 inmates.

    The former guard, who is now aged 89, Alexandru Visinescu, was sentenced for 20 years. He is the first senior official in the country's former communist regime to face justice.

    The prosecution argued he had ran an "extermination regime" at the prison in Eastern Romania, which was notorious for the use of torture and starvation, targeting political prisoners.

  • Belgium recognises Armenian genocide
    The Belgium parliament on Thursday voted in favour of a resolution recognising the Armenian genocide.

    The decision was swiftly condemned by Turkey. In a statement issued on Friday, the Turkish foreign ministry said, Turkey had been “unfairly indicted, historical facts have been distorted and law has been ignored."

    "The grave picture that has emerged with the July 23 decision of the Chamber of Deputies [was] met with regret by the Belgian Turkish community and has deeply impacted our bilateral relations,” the statement added.

    "It should be understood that this and similar decisions that have been made do not serve the Turkish-Armenian conciliation in any way".

  • Best outcome for Israel Palestine conflict is two-state solution says Hillary Clinton
    The US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said a two –state solution for Israel and Palestinians was the only feasible resolution to the longstanding conflict in the region.

    Responding to a question from an audience member at an election campaign event in South Carolina, Ms Clinton said that a two state settlement would be the “best outcome” for both the Israelis and Palestinians, reports Reuters.

  • France, Russia, Germany and Ukraine agree to call on separatist militants to extend arms pull back

    Leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine agreed to call on Ukraine’s separatist militants to extend the duration of a pull-back on their weapons in eastern Ukraine.

  • Italy's 1974 far-right bombers receive life sentence

    An Italian court has jailed two former far-right extremists for life, for their in a bomb attack 41 years ago.

    The 1974 bombing in Brescia killed eight people and injured over 100 at an anti-fascist rally in the city in northern Italy.

  • Pinochet-era student attack case reopened

    A Chilean judge has reopened a case investigating an attack on two students during a demonstration against the Pinochet-regime in 1986.

    Seven former military officers are being questioned about their involvement in the attack, which saw 19-year-old Rodrigo Rojas and 18-year-old Carmen Quintana doused in petrol and set on fire by soldiers, with Rodrigo dying days after, while Carmen survived severe burn injuries.

    The case was reopened after testimony provided by a military conscript, who broke the army's pact of silence on the prominent case.

  • Kerry defends Iran nuclear deal at US Congress
    US Secretary of State John Kerry staunchly defended the Iran nuclear deal telling skeptics warning his Senate that turning down the deal would allow to Iran to continue with its weapons program.
  • UN condemns attacks on aid workers in CAR

    The United Nations humanitarian official in the Central African Republic (CAR) condemned a surge in violence against aid workers, that saw a member of a UN food convoy killed.

    The UN coordinator Marc Vandenberghe, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said,

  • South Sudan committed war crimes – HRW

    South Sudanese forces are accused of having committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, killing and raping civilians during its offensive against rebels in Unity state, Human Rights Watch said in its latest report on the country.

    The New York-based rights organisation said the army and allied militants from the Bul Nuer ethnic group forcibly displaced tens of thousands of people in Unity by attacking women, elderly, and children, while burning villages and stealing cattle.

    South Sudan's government said any alleged rights violations were limited to "a few individuals" who will face justice in domestic courts. But Skye Wheeler, a researcher with Human Rights Watch told The Associated Press the attacks were "far more widespread and systematic to be blamed on a few rotten apples."

    The report, “They Burned it All: Destruction of Villages, Killings, and Sexual Violence in South Sudan’s Unity State,” is based on more than170 interviews in June and July with survivors and witnesses, and documents the killing of 60 people, including some by hanging or burning, and 63 rapes.

  • US pledges support to Afghan peace process with Taliban
    US president Barack Obama told Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani that the US would support its peace process with the Taliban, confirmed the White House on Wednesday.
  • UN aid ship reaches Yemen
    A ship carrying humanitarian and food aid to Yemen reached the port of Aden on Tuesday, reports Reuters.

    The ship contained UN food aid to feed approximately 180,000 people for a month and had been anchored off the coast of Aden since June 26 said

  • World Bank to provide $2bn aid for north-eastern Nigeria

    The north-east of Nigeria, long plagued by conflict between the government and Boko Haram militants, will receive $2bn in aid from the World Bank, according to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Speaking in Washington, after talks with officials from the World Bank, Buhari said priority ust be given to rebuilding infrastructure and helping those displaced by the conflict.

  • New bank formed by Brics nations

    Brics countries launched a new bank on Tuesday, called the New Development Bank (NDB).

    The countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, launched the bank in Shanghai and said it will lend money to developing countries to help finance infrastructure projects.

  • UN Security Council unanimously passes resolution on Iran nuclear deal
    The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that agreed on sanctions relief for Iran provide the terms of its nuclear agreement with world powers were implemented.
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