• France to recognise Palestine as independent state if negotiations with Israel fail

    Nov 27
    France warned that it would recognise a Palestine state if the final international effort for peace talks between Israel and Palestine failed whilst proposing a two-year negotiation time frame to end the conflict through a UN backed resolution.
  • British High Court confirms Egyptian cabinet can be investigated for war crimes
    British police are free to investigate members of the Egyptian cabinet for war crimes confirmed the UK High Court on Thursday, after ruling that they were not immune from investigation.

    The UK Crown Prosecution Service agreed to inform the Metropolitan Police that “issues of immunity do not preclude investigations into allegations against persons still in office, irrespective of their function, for the purpose of future prosecution”.
  • Many killed in suspected roadside bomb in Nigeria

    An explosion, suspected to have been caused by a roadside bomb, has killed at least 25 people in Nigeria.

    The deaths, near the town of Mubi in Adamawa state, included 5 soldiers, according to a government spokesperson.

  • 5 dead in attack on British embassy in Kabul
    Five people have been killed in an attack on the British embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Thursday in a suicide bombing, reports Reuters.

    One Briton is believed to be among the dead, whilst 33 people were injured.

    "I can confirm it was a British vehicle and there are some injuries. We are working with the Afghan authorities," a British embassy spokesperson told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

    The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it had "targeted foreign invading forces".

  • Student leaders arrested as police clamp down on Hong Kong protests
    Hong Kong police, on Wednesday, moved in to clear one of the largest protest sites in the occupy movement and faced several clashes with pro-democracy activists that continued to stream into cleared areas.

    Several student leaders were arrested, including Joshua Wong and Lester Shum, reports the BBC.

    Police used pepper spray and batons against demonstrators, whilst arresting individuals that resisted the police.

  • Catalan parties to unite in 18 month plan for independence
    Catalonia’s leader Artur Mas, outlined a plan to create a Catalan state within 18 months, by uniting the region's politicians, reports Reuters.

    Catalonia’s two main parties, on Wednesday, came close to agreeing on a decision to call for regional elections that could be used as a proxy for a referendum on independence from Spain, by the parties uniting on a common election platform.

    The leader of Catalonia’s second-biggest party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), welcomed Mas’ plan as a “good starting point.”

    “We need to seek formulas that add up between all the political forces that want to move towards independence,” said Oriol Junqueras.

  • US led coalition foreign ministers to discuss action plan against Islamic State militants
    Foreign ministers from up to 60 countries within a US led coalition against Islamic State militants will hold their first meeting next week in Brussels.
  • US drone strikes kill 5 militants in Pakistan
    A US drone strike in Pakistan killed 5 militants, a government official said on Wednesday.

    The US drone strike hit a house used by militants, near the Afghan border, as the Pakistani military intensified their own airstrikes in an offensive against Taliban militants.

    The Pakistani government condemned the US strike as an infringement of Pakistani sovereignty.
  • Farc releases two soldiers in bid to restart peace talks
    The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have released two Colombian soldiers and vowed to release an army general, in a move that is hoped to revive stalled peace talks.

    Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos hailed the release, stating it was “an important step which shows the maturity of the peace process and the gestures of peace all Colombians demand."

    In a statement released from Havana, Cuba, FARC said it had ”fulfilled the conditions of the first phase of the Special Humanitarian Accord and will now focus its efforts on freeing General Ruben Dario Alzate ... and his companions."

    The group went on to call for a halt on all Colombian government military activity in area held by FARC, saying,

    "We hope the operations led by the defense ministry and the military siege against the civilian population will be immediately suspended so that the release of these individuals can go ahead without any scares."

    The Colombian army has been accused by the militants of bombings, deploying troops and of surveillance flight over FARC-held territory. The two soldiers captured in the eastern Arauca province in a reported clash with FARC militants two weeks ago.
  • Grand jury decision over Michael Brown shooting sparks protests
    A Missouri grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year old Michael Brown earlier this year, has sparked protests across the United States.

    Responding to Monday's verdict, rights’ activists and civil liberties’ organizations denounced the failure to indict Wilson as symptomatic of a larger failure by the American justice system to hold police officers accountable for their disproportionately high rates of violence against people of colour.

    Jeffrey Mittman, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union said     in a statement,
    “The grand jury's decision does not negate the fact that Michael Brown's tragic death is part of an alarming national trend of officers using excessive force against people of color, often during routine encounters. Yet in most cases, the officers and police departments are not held accountable. While many officers carry out their jobs with respect for the communities they serve, we must confront the profound disconnect and disrespect that many communities of color experience with their local law enforcement.”
    In a statement released on Monday, the family of Michael Brown expressed their disappointment with the decision.
    “We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions. While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen”
    Thousands of Americans at demonstrations throughout the country have condemned the failure to indict Wilson as unjust. Despite calls for restraint by various state and federal officials, including President Obama, some have turned to rioting and violence with reports of police having fired tear gas and flash-bang canisters at protesters. In Ferguson alone, 61 people were arrested Monday night.
  • Dozens killed as Syrian government bombs Raqqa
    At least 87 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a series of air strikes carried out by the Syrian government on the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Raqqa.

    Rami Abdulrahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 10 Syrian government jets had struck Raqqa at least 10 times, killing dozens.

    "The majority of the strikes were in the eastern part of the city," Abdulrahman said. "At least 36 of those killed are civilians. As for the rest, we are not sure yet if they were fighters."

    "Most of the casualties were caused by two consecutive air strikes targeting the city's industrial area," he went on to add. "The first strike came, residents rushed to rescue the wounded, and then the second raid took place."
  • US confirms successful airstrikes against Islamic State militants
    The US military in a statement, said that it had, with its allies, conducted several successful airstrikes in Syria and Iraq.

    According to the statement 9 strikes in Syria took out at least three Islamic State militant fighting positions, whilst 15 strikes in Iraq destroyed militant checkpoints and military vehicles, reports Reuters.
  • US welcomes interim oil deal between Kurdistan and Baghdad
    The US vice president Joe Biden welcomed an agreement made last week between the Iraqi central government and Kurdistan over managing oil exports in the region.

    Speaking in Istanbul on Saturday, Biden said he was encouraged by the interim agreement made by the two regional governments.
  • At least 45 killed in blast in Afghanistan
    An explosion, thought to have been caused by a suicide bomber, has killed at least 45 people and wounded dozens more at a volleyball match in eastern Afghanistan.

    The attack on Sunday occurred in the Paktika province, where locals had gathered to watch the game.

    Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani said the incident was a"heinous attack", according to his spokesman and Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement, "no cause justifies such acts of terrorism and taking of innocent lives."

    No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

    The explosion occurred just hours after the lower house of the Afghan parliament, approved security deals which will see around 12,000 NATO and US troops remain in the country after most foreign troops withdraw next month.
  • Almost 50 killed in attack in northern Nigerian state
    Boko Haram militants are alleged to have killed 48 people in an attack in the northern Nigerian Borno state, on the border with Chad.

    The victims, mostly fishermen reportedly had their hands tied and throats slit by insurgents from the Islamic militant group.
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