• Algeria and China reiterate support for Saharawi right to self-determination

    Jan 13
    Algeria and China reiterated their support of the Saharawi people's right to self determination, said the Algerian People' National Assembly, in a statement earlier this week.

    The two sides underlined "their common positions regarding international and regional issues and reaffirmed their support to the principle of people's right to self-determination and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries," the joint statement read on Monday.
  • Syrian refugees resorting to 'drastic' coping methods warns UN
    The United Nations has warned that Syrian refugees are resorting to increasingly drastic measures to survive, as “desperate living conditions” continue to plague refugee camps in Jordan.
  • Hostilities escalate in Ukraine after bus attack
    The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists blamed each other for an attack on a bus that killed 12 civilians in the east of the country, as clashes between the two sides continued to escalate.

    Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said the attack was caused by a shell fired by the rebels, but also eluded to Russian responsibility for the attack, blaming "those who stand behind them -- those whose hand feeds them and arms them, drills them and inspires them to commit bloody crimes."

    Further accusing Russia of responsibility for the attack, Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson Viktoria Kushnir told AFP that this type of system "only exists in the operational service of the Russian army. It is not operated by us."

    Russia's foreign ministry's rights envoy responded angrily, with Konstantin Dolgov saying it was "another crime of the Kiev military". "We are outraged. This undermines all peace settlement efforts," said Dolgov.
  • Lawmakers stage walkout as Hong Kong leader warns of anarchy
    Opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong disrupted proceedings and staged a walkout, as Chief Executive of Hong Kong CY Leung gave his annual address on Wednesday.

    Some of the lawmakers who disrupted Leung's speech held banners calling for democracy, whilst others walked out holding yellow umbrellas – a symbol of the protests that engulfed Hong Kong late last year. Two of the lawmakers were dragged out by security guards.
  • Kerry pledges $250m in aid to Pakistan
    US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $250 million worth of aid for emergency relief efforts in Pakistan, as he called for wider support in fighting militant groups in the region.

    Speaking in Islamabad, Kerry said,
    “We’ve been very clear with the highest levels of the Government of Pakistan that Pakistan has to target all militant groups, the Haqqani Network and others, that target U.S. coalition and Afghan forces and target people in Pakistan and elsewhere. And Pakistan has made it very clear that they intend to do so.”
    Whilst praising the Pakistani military campaign against Islamic militants in North Waziristan, Kerry called for a wider efforts to get underway.

    "All of us have a responsibility to ensure that these groups do not gain a foothold but rather are pushed back into the recesses of memory," he added. "The task is a difficult one and it is not done."
  • Senior LRA commander to be handed over to ICC
    A senior commander from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) who surrendered last week is to be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he will be placed on trial, said a Ugandan army spokesperson.

    Dominic Ongwen, who surrendered to the US military in the Central African Republic last week, is wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity.
  • US coalition conducts 27 air strikes against Islamic State militants
    The US and its allies bombarded Islamic State forces with 27 air strikes within 24 hours, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Monday.

    The air raids ran from Sunday morning to Monday morning, destroying fighting positions and buildings near the city of Kobane in Syria.
  • Congolese protesters dispersed with tear gas
    Congolese demonstrators protesting the potential extension of the current president’s tenure were violently dispersed by security forces yielding tear gas, on Monday, reports Reuters.
  • International community ignores Boko Haram crisis says archbishop
    The international community is ignoring the threat of Boko Haram militants, said a Catholic Archbishop in central Nigeria on Monday.

    Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Kaigama said the international community had to show the same spirit and resolve it had done after the attacks in France. 
  • Suicide bombers attack north-east Nigeria
    Two suicide bombers attacked a market in north-east Nigeria, in the country’s second consecutive day of attacks on civilians.

    A security official told the Agence France Presse, that the bombs appeared to have been remote controlled, as the second bomber appeared to try and run out of the market after the first explosion.
  • Conflicting Libya factions agree to UN facilitated talks
    Libya’s conflicting factions agreed to a new round UN facilitated talks to work towards stability in the region reports Reuters.

    The announcement came after the UN envoy, Bernardino Leon met factions to agree a meeting in Geneva next week.

    “In order to create a conducive environment for the dialogue, Special Representative Leon has proposed to the parties to the conflict a freeze in military operations for a few days,” the UN mission said in a statement on Saturday.

    A member of parliament in Tripoli said that the talks would initially be indirect as the two sides did not recognise each other.

    "If there will be chance to hold direct talks, that will depend on the first round,” added Abdulqader Hwaili.

    The European Union also backed the UN facilitated talks.
  • UN report finds ethnic cleansing but no genocidal intent in CAR
    A UN report, released on Thursday, concluded that atrocities committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, but said it did not find "the existence of the necessary element of genocidal intent".

    "Thousands of people died as a result of the conflict. Human rights violations and abuses were committed by all parties. The Seleka coalition and the anti-balaka are also responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity," the commission of inquiry, set up by the UN Security Council in December 2013 said.

  • Bomb blast kills 16 in Nigeria
    A bomb blast in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri killed at least 16 people and injured 20 on Saturday, reports Reuters.

    Maiduguri, the capital of the Borno state has seen several attacks from boko Haram militants, who operate within the north-eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
  • French security forces storm hostage sites
    Two brothers responsible for the attack at the offices of French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo were killed by anti-terrorist police on Friday when their hideout was stormed, as a second siege ended with the death of four hostages.

    Simultaneous sieges occurred at a Jewish supermarket in Paris and at a warehouse North of Paris.

    In the incident in Paris, French security forces stormed the supermarket to free several hostages. The gunman and four hostages died.

    Though the hostages are not believe to have been killed during the assault investigations are underway to confirm how they died, reports the BBC.
  • As many as 2,000 reportedly dead in Boko Haram 'massacre'
    Amnesty International estimated that up to 2,000 people have been killed in the Nigerian town of Baga, in what it reported as the “deadliest massacre” by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Subscribe to International Affairs

Most-Read Articles

British Tamil engineer takes F1 podium spotlight after Mercedes win
British Tamil engineer Arun Rajkumar became an unexpected face of Mercedes’ Austrian…
Sri Lanka attends Khamenei funeral as Iran's allies gather to mourn
Sri Lanka has sent Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih to Tehran to represent Colombo at the…
Vijay looks back on Eelam solidarity, but not forward
The Tamil Nadu chief minister, Vijay, made a brief reference to Eelam Tamils during a…
Sri Lanka revives infamous Israeli-made Kfir warplanes
The Sri Lanka Air Force has carried out the first test flight of its upgraded Israeli-…
Transitional justice cannot exist without truth
Illustration by Sagi Thileepkumar. "It happened; therefore, it can happen again…it…