• Commission of Inquiry into Eritrea will pave way for accountability, says special rapporteur

    Sep 30
    The recently mandated Commission of Inquiry into Eritrea would help pave the way to accountability a United Nations expert said, reports the UN News Centre.

    Warning of a deteriorating human rights situation, the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Shaila Keetharuth added,
    "the creation of my special rapporteur’s mandate has increased international awareness about the large-scale violations of human rights in Eritrea.”
    Eritreans are escaping systematic and widespread human rights violations. I hope the Commission of Inquiry would pave the way to establish accountability for these violations, especially in view of the continued non-cooperation of Eritrea with my mandate and other UN mechanisms,” said Sheila Keetharuth.

  • Afghanistan signs deal to keep US troops

    The new Afghan government has signed a deal with the United States to keep troops in the country.

    Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), saying his country has “regained its sovereignty as a power."

    US President Barack Obama said it was a "historic day" in US-Afghan relations.

  • Karadzic was 'driving force' for genocide say prosecutors
    Prosecutors at the trial of the former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic told judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, that Karadzic was the "driving force" behind the genocide in Bosnia, reports Reuters.

    "After hundreds of witnesses, 80,000 pages of transcripts, and 10,000 exhibits, the policy of ethnic cleansing is finally exposed. And Karadzic was its driving force," said the prosecutor Alan Tieger, as the prosecution made its closing remarks on Monday. 

    "He said at the time what would happen and it did. Thousands killed, hundreds of towns destroyed, masses forceably displaced," Tieger added.

  • Spain wants to ban Catalonia referendum

    The Spanish government has asked its constitutional court to declare the independence referendum planned in Catalonia as illegal.

    Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the vote was not "compatible with the Spanish constitution".
    Rajoy said "Nobody and nothing will be allowed to break up Spain”, during a televised address to the nation on Monday.

  • Tens of thousands defy Hong Kong riot police and demonstrate into the night
    Tens of thousands of people defied calls to dismantle their protests and return home, after pro-democracy demonstrations grew in Hong Kong on early Monday morning.
  • Turkey reiterates support to Kurdistan in fight against Islamic State militants
    The Turkish President pledged to support the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in their fight against Islamic State militants, reports the International Business Times.

    Tayyip Erdogan met with the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister at the sideliners of the World Economic Forum meeting in Istanbul.
  • Modi attracts thousands on historic visit to the US, calls for global front against terrorism
    Updated 10.36 BST
    The Indian prime minister, Modi addressed over 20,000 thousand Americans at a rally organised by the Indian American Community Foundation in Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
  • Thousands demonstrate in Hong Kong as Occupy Central launches protest
    Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday as pro-democracy group Occupy Central launched a mass disobedience campaign outside government headquarters.

    Over 30,000 people reportedly attended the protest around Hong Kong government offices as police cordoned off the area, using pepper spray and tear gas against demonstrators.

  • US led coalition carries out airstrikes on Islamic State oil refineries
    A coalition of air-forces, led by the US, bombed four oil refineries under Islamic State control in Iraq, reports the BBC.

    The airstrikes came as fighting continued on the town of Kobane that borders Turkey.
  • CAR calls for loosening of arms embargo
    The interim president of the Central African Republic (CAR), in her first address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) urged the international community to relax weapons sanctions imposed during the country’s mostly sectarian violence.

    Welcoming the recent appointment of a UN peacekeeping mission to help end sectarian violence in the region, Samba Pamza said,
  • Taiwan rejects China unification plan

    The Taiwanese president has rejected the terms for unification with China, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

    Speaking to Al Jazeera, President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan does not accept the “one country, two systems” deal, proposed by their neighbours.

    "In the early 1980's the 'one country, two systems' concept was created for Taiwan, not for Hong Kong. But Taiwan has sent a clear message that we do not accept the concept," said Ma.

    "If the system is good, then we believe it should be 'one country, one system'."

    "We are not expecting to go to war with the Chinese Communist Party," added Ma. "Instead, we are hoping to minimise the possibility of war between us."

    Referring to the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, Ma said: "Taiwan is the only place in China where we are able to practice democracy .... We are worried about the developments in Hong Kong.

  • Israel waged 'war of genocide' in Gaza, Abbas tells UN
    Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of carrying out a “war of genocide” in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly and called for punishment for war crimes.
  • Prosecutors call for Karadzic to be jailed for life over genocide
    Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic should be jailed for life over his role in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide said prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia on Friday.

    In a final trial brief, prosecutors said,
    "Under his command and oversight, Karadzic's subordinates and those cooperating with them expelled, killed, tortured and otherwise mistreated hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Croats."

    "Should the Chamber find Karadzic responsible for a substantial portion of the crimes ... life imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence."
    Karadzic is facing trial for 11 counts, including genocide. He is accused of directing atrocities throughout the conflict, including the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, where up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were executed by Serbian troops.
  • Catalan president defies Madrid to call independence vote
    Photograph @gencat

    The president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, signed a decree on Saturday authorising a vote on independence on November 9th, for the north-eastern region of Spain.

    Signing the decree in Barcelona, Mas said the vote, that has been entitled the 'Non-referendum popular consultation on the political future of Catalonia 2014', would be held in line with the Scottish referendum.

    "Catalonia wants to speak. Wants to be heard. Wants to vote. Now is the right time and we have the right legal framework to do so," Mas told reporters following the signing in a speech in Catalan, Spanish and English.


    The decree defies the government in Madrid, which has declared any such vote as unconstitutional.

    The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed to block any referendum.

    "Quite simply, it is not legal so won't be held," Rajoy was quoted by CNN as saying.

    "In addition to not being legal, it goes against our whole history and our feelings, against what the vast majority of the Spanish people think, against our past and against the future of the Spanish people that live in Catalonia and in the rest of Spain."

  • British fighter jets deployed over Iraq
    Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets were deployed over Iraq, after British parliament on Friday endorsed airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

    The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the first RAF combat mission, on Saturday, had not engaged any targets. 
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