• Lithuania to reintroduce conscription over political concerns

    The Lithuanian president announced the government will reintroduce conscription for 5 years, due to the "current geopolitical environment".

    President Dalia Grybauskaite said conscription, abolished by parliament in 2008, would aim to "enhance and accelerate army recruitment".

    Western officials have warned Russia could expand its controversial actions in eastern Ukraine to Baltic states, including Lithuania, which was a Soviet state and joined Nato in 2004.

  • Britain to send military advice to Ukraine
    British military personnel will train Ukrainian military personnel over the next few weeks to provide reports the BBC.

    Britain’s Premier, on Tuesday, told the House of Commons that up to 75 British soldiers would go to an area away from the conflict zone to provide medical logistics, intelligence and infantry skills.
  • Libyan Prime Minister accuses UK, US and EU of failing to support government
    Libya’s Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni criticised the US, UK and EU for failing to help his forces battle of the rival ‘Libyan Dawn’ militants  that took control of the capital last year.

    Speaking to Arabic television on Tuesday, Thinni, said,

    “Unfortunately the international community and especially the United States, Britain and the European Union have refused to arm the Libyan army.”
  • Yemen's president 'wanted for justice' say Houthi
    Houthi militants declared that Yemen's  President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled from the capital last week, is “wanted for justice” and warned against protecting him.

    In a statement released on Tuesday, the Houthi said “the higher revolutionary committee is following the suspicious moves by ... Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who lost his legitimacy to act as president of the Republic of Yemen, and whose reckless acts harmed the Yemeni people and its security, stability, economy and livelihood".

    The group went on to warn against shielding Mr Hadi, stating those that did would be "held accountable."
  • IS kidnaps dozens of Christians in Syria
    As many as 90 Assyrian Christians have been kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    In an early morning raid on the village of Hassakeh in north-east Syria the villagers, including women and children, were seized according to the group. The Associated Press said that IS radio broadcast that the organisation had captured “tens of crusaders” in the latest battles.
  • 94-year old Auschwitz suspect charged

    A former sergeant with the SS has been charged on 3,681 counts of accessory to murder, dating back to his time as a medic in the Auschwitz concentration camp during the Nazi reign.

    The 94-year old suspect is said to have helped the camp function, according to state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state prosecutor Stefan Urbanek.

    Defence lawyer Peter-Michael Distel told the Bild newspaper there was no evidence of a "concrete criminal act".

  • PLO and PA liable for Israel attacks - US court

    A New York court has fined the Palestine Liberation Organisation $218mn after it held the group liable for attacks in Israel 10 years ago, in which Americans were amongst the victims.

    The jury ruled in favour of 10 American families who sought damages relating to the 6 attacks, which killed 33 and injured hundreds.

    The families of the victims say internal documents prove the Palestinian authorities approved the attacks.

    "Those involved in the attacks still receive salaries from the Palestinian Authority and still get promoted in rank while in jail," said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of the Israel-based Shurat HaDin Law Center, one of the lawyers representing the families.

  • Separatist attacks prevent withdrawal of heavy weapons says Ukraine
    The Ukrainian military stated that it has not been able to withdraw heavy weaponary from the front lines of the conflict in the east of the country, due to attacks from pro-Russian separatists

    Under the terms of a ceasefire agreement which came into effect on 15 February, both sides has been expected to create buffer zone in the contested region, pulling back their heavy weaponry.

    "Given that the positions of Ukrainian servicemen continue to be shelled, there cannot yet be any talk of pulling back weapons," said Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov.
  • Egyptian activist sentenced to 5 years in jail
    Prominent Egyptian activist has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for breaking a law that forbids unauthorised protests from being organised.
  • Muslim Brotherhood supporters charged

    An Egyptian court has charged 215 supporters of the proscribed Muslim Brotherhood with establishing a militant group and killing six policemen.

    Chief Prosecutor Hesham Barakat said the Helwan Brigade was formed to support the banned organisation and accused them of killing the policemen in Cairo.

    The government arrested thousands of those thought to be supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came into power in 2013, after the ouster of the brotherhood's Mohammad Morsi.

  • Senior Islamist politician sentenced to death in Bangladesh
    A senior leader from the Jamaat-e-Islami party has been sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh, examining crimes committed during the country's 1971 independence war.

    Abdus Subhan, 79 years old, is the ninth leader from Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, to be convicted since the tribunal was set up in 2010. He was found guilty of killing 400 villagers in northern Bangladesh during the war of independence from Pakistan.

    One of the prosecutors, Sultan Mahmud, said, “We were able to prove the charges and Abdus Subhan has got maximum punishment”. However, Shishir Munir, a lawyer for Mr Subhan, said that an appeal would be made, adding, “we believe the tribunal has made errors of fact and law in deciding this case” .

    The tribunal, which has faced criticism for failing to reach international standards, has so far handed down 16 verdicts. Critics accuse the ruling government of using the tribunal to attack opposition leaders. There have been no acquittals.
  • Bomb blast at pro-Ukraine rally in Kharkiv

    At least two people have died after a bomb exploded at a rally in Kharkiv to mark a year since the toppling of pro-Russia leader Viktor Yanukovych.

    Eyewitness Alexei Grechnev told the BBC: "We were walking in a column of people, in the front section, when I heard a loud boom and saw some people fall to the ground a few metres away from me, a somewhat unexpected and unreal scene, like in movies."

    Ukraine's second largest city is near the Russian border but is outside the conflict zone.

    The ceasefire, in effect since last week, continues to be breached by both sides, but the government has agreed to withdraw heavy weapons from Sunday, with rebels agreeing to do the same from Tuesday.

  • UN may publish list of Syrian war criminals
    United Nations investigators announced they are considering publishing the names of hundreds of suspected war criminals in Syria and recommended the establishment of an international ad hoc tribunal, as fighting in the country continues.

    “It is unconscionable that Syrians should continue to suffer as they have for the last four years and have to live in a world where only limited attempts have been made to return Syria to peace, and to seek justice for the victims,” said Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic after briefing the UN Security Council on Friday.

    Hundreds of names of suspected war criminals have previously been compiled on four lists, with a fifth being drawn up by investigators. Former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, said last year that "the evidence indicates responsibility at the highest level of government, including the head of state," suggesting the presence of high level government officials on the list.

    "Not to publish names at this juncture of the investigation would be to reinforce the impunity that the Commission was mandated to combat," said the investigators in a report released on Friday.
  • Starbucks apologises for 'offensive' Armenian posters
    The global coffee chain Starbucks has apologised to the Armenian community and withdrawn a poster campaign that showed women dressed in traditional Armenian clothing, drinking coffee under the crescent and star of the Turkish flag.

    The Armenian National Committee Of America (ANCA) criticised the posters which were displayed ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, where 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman forces. Turkey has refused to recognise the killings as genocide.

    “Why is Starbucks selling coffee using an image of women, dressed in traditional Armenian costumes, celebrating a Turkish state that systematically victimized Armenian women during the Armenian genocide, and that still denies this crime against all humanity?” asked ANCA on Facebook.

  • US considering 'serious sanctions' against Russia

    The US is considering "serious sanctions" against Russia, over its conduct in relation to the conflict in Ukraine said Secretary of State John Kerry.

    Speaking during a visit to London, Mr Kerry accused Russia of "craven behaviour" by supporting the rebels, which undermined a recent ceasefire.

    "Russia has engaged in an absolutely brazen and cynical process over these last days," he said.

    "We're not going to sit there and be part of this kind of extraordinarily craven behaviour at the expense of the sovereignty and integrity of a nation."

    "In the next few days I anticipate that President Obama will evaluate the choices that are in front of him and will make his decision," he said.

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