• Police killed in clashes with armed group in Macedonia

    May 08

    Clashes with an armed group have left at least five police officers dead in Kumanovo, northern Macedonia.

    The armed group, from an unidentified neighbouring state, was armed with bombs and automatic rifles, interior ministry spokesperson Ivo Kotevski said, adding that members of the group were sheltered by some residents in the Diva Naselba neighbourhood.

  • WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola
    The World Health Organisation declared Liberia free of the Ebola virus, after 42 days passed since the last reported new case in the country.

    “The outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Liberia is over,” the WHO said in a statement, after 4,700 people had died from the illness in the country. Over 11,000 people are thought to have died in the region form the disease since last year, as Guinea and Sierra Leone continue to battle the virus.
  • Former Egyptian President Mubarak sentenced to 3 years in prison
    Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to three years in jail in a retrial of  a corruption case on Saturday.

    The court’s judge, Hassan Hassanein, on Saturday, announced,

    “The ruling of the court is three years in prison without parole for Mahomed Hosni Mubarak and Gama Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and Alaa Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.”
  • International investigators find undeclared chemical weapons agents in Syria

    International inspectors in Syria have found undeclared traces of sarin and VX nerve agent at a military research site, reports Reuters.

  • Omar Khadr freed on bail after almost 13 years in custody
    After almost 13 years in custody, including nearly a decade in Guantanamo Bay, where he was once their youngest detainee, Omar Khadr was finally allowed to walk free on Thursday.

    A judge at the Alberta Court of Appeal rejected the Canadian Government’s last-ditch attempt to keep Mr Khadr detained and told him that he was free to go on a bail order his lawyer had obtained for him on April 24.

    Mr Khadr, a Canadian citizen, was initially detained by American authorities in 2002 at the age of 15 for allegedly having thrown the grenade responsible for killing Sgt Christopher Speer, during a raid by the American military on a house in which he was living in Afghanistan.

    Speaking to the press after his release Mr Khadr said, “Freedom is way better than I thought”. Addressing Stephen Harper, under whose leadership the Canadian government has tried to keep Khadr out of Canada he said, “I’m going to have to disappoint him. I’m not the person he thinks I am.”
  • Saudi Arabia led coalition announces 5 day ceasefire in Yemen
    US Secretary of State John Kerry and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, announced that a 5 day ceasefire would be put in place in Yemen, but warned that it was conditional.
  • US launches investigation into Baltimore Police Department

    The US has launched an investigation into Baltimore’s police department, in order to determine whether it engages in routine bias or uses excessive force, the BBC reports.

  • Foreign ambassadors killed in helicopter crash in Pakistan
    A Pakistani army helicopter has crashed in northern Pakistan killing several foreign diplomats, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines.

    The Pakistani Taliban immediately claimed credit for the attack, but the government of Pakistan has said a technical fault caused the accident.
  • UK General Election 2015: Conservatives win majority government, SNP achieves landslide victory in Scotland
    The Conservative party became the first majority Conservative government in almost 20 years, with the Conservatives reaching an unexpected majority of 331 seats in parliament, as the UK 2015 General Election vote count drew to a close on Friday.
     
  • Saudi-led coalition vows to step up attacks against Houthi militants
    The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi militants in Yemen said it would step up attacks after offering a 5 day humanitarian ceasefire to the militants.

    The spokesperson for the coalition, Ahmed Asseri, explaining the retractment of the ceasefire offer, said,
  • US military starts training Syrian rebels
    The US military has commenced the training of Syrian rebels in order to strengthen the battle against Islamic State, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

    "We are announcing today that combat training has begun for a company size group of the new Syrian forces. This programme is critical and a complex part of our counter ISIL efforts."

    The US defence secretary, Ashton Carter said that about 90 Syrian fighters were being trained and their training paid for by the US. The training of a second group of fighters will commence soon, he added.

  • Israel to appeal against boycott proposal at FIFA
    Israel’s top football officials met the FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Wednesday, in an attempt to stop a vote being held to suspend Israel form the world football body.

    Palestine’s Football Association (PFA), have submitted an Israeli suspension proposal to be vote on at the FIFA general assembly on May 29.
  • US approves ferry services to Cuba

    The US government has given the go-ahead for ferry services to resume between Cuba and Florida, after a 50-year hiatus.

    A number of ferry companies say they have been given licenses, according to the BBC.

    Havana Ferry Partners of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said it had a licence on its Facebook page.

    "This is a historical event. Thanks to President Barack Obama, to whom we are very grateful, for his leadership," the firm wrote.

  • UN promises ‘robust’ response to killing of Tanzanian peacekeepers in DRC

    The United Nations has promised a “robust” military offensive in response to the killing of two Tanzanian peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    The attack, suspected to have been carried out by the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), also injured thirteen others.

  • Record number displaced by conflict worldwide – NRC

    The Norwegian Refugee Council says a record 38 million people have been displaced from their homes by conflicts across the world, in a report released today.

    Describing the numbers as “the worst figures for forced displacement in a generation,” Secretary General Jan Egeland said it “signalled our complete failure to protect innocent civilians”.

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