• ICC Kenyatta trial faces further delays

    Sep 05
    The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court  asked the judge to further delay the Kenyan President’s trial for crimes against humanity, as the government had failed to gather sufficient evidence for the case.

    Kenyatta was charged by the ICC, in 2012, with crimes against humanity including, deportation and rape.
  • Nuclear energy deal signed between India and Australia

    The Indian government has signed a civilian nuclear deal with Australia, allowing the export of Australian uranium to the country, which is facing increasing energy needs.

  • Syria air strikes do not need Assad approval says Cameron
    The UK could conduct air strikes in Syria against Islamic State militants without President Assad's approval said the British Prime Minister David Cameron stating that the Assad regime was not a legitimate government as it had committed war crimes.

    Asked about the legality of air strikes over Iraq and Syria under international law, Cameron told BBC Radio 4's Today programme yesterday:
    “I don’t think it’s that complicated because obviously the Iraqi government is a legitimate government... whereas President Assad has committed war crimes on his own people and is therefore illegitimate."
    “My view is that President Assad is part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. We have got to understand that Assad has been part of the creation of IS, rather than part of its answer," he added.

  • Germany to give Holocaust child survivors one-off payment
    The German government has agreed to make a one-off payment of financial assistance to to child survivors of the Holocaust, in an effort to tackle the effects of malnutrition and psychological trauma, reports AP.

    The agreement, which would see payments of 2500 Euros to Jewish children who were detained in concentration camps, ghettos or were in hiding for at least six months, was agreed on at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
  • Iran's Supreme Leader approves cooperation with US forces
    Iran’s Supreme Leader has approved cooperation with the US, Iraq and Kurdistan to fight against the Islamic State (IS) reports the BBC.

    Ayatollah Khamenei, the spiritual leader of Iran, authorised a top commander to co-ordinate military operations with US, Iraqi and Kurdish forces said sources in Tehran.
  • Pro-Russian militants sign truce with Ukraine as NATO forms "Response Force"
    The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian militants signed a ceasefire deal as NATO leaders agreed to form a robust alliance against Russia’s aggression on Friday.

    Though the militants said that the ceasefire had not changed their politics of advocating for separation from Ukraine, a ceasefire was agreed to commence by 15:00 GMT, reports the BBC.
  • US forms core coalition of countries to fight against IS
    The US administration said that it had formed a coalition of countries to counter Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria, reports the New York Times.
  • Nigeria launch air strikes against Boko Haram

    The Nigerian army are reported to be carrying out airstrikes against Boko Haram's bases, especially the town of Bama which had been captured by the militant group earlier this week.

  • UK funds investigation to establish war crimes case against Islamic State
    A team of international investigators funded by the British government is compiling evidence against Islamic State (IS) fighters in Iraq and Syria, reports the BBC.

    The group have prepared over 400 cases for the prosecution of senior Islamic State  leaders and fighters over the last few months.

    The investigators working from a European city have avoided publicity until now.
  • India on alert as Al Qaeda announces Indian wing
    States across India were put on increased alert Thursday after the Al Qaeda leader, Ayman al Zawahri announced launch of an Indian wing, reports Reuters.

    Al Zawahri promised to spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the Indian subcontinent in a video posted online.
  • We will not be cowed' - Cameron and Obama
    The UK Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama said they "would not be cowed by barbaric killers" and called for a stronger NATO alliance in the face of the ongoing violence in eastern Ukraine and the advance of Islamic State across Syria and Iraq.

    In a joint op-ed published Thursday in The Times     as NATO met in Wales, the two leaders called on NATO leaders to use "all the resources at our disposal — military, economic and political" to solve the ongoing crises. 

    See here for full op-ed.

    Extracts published below:
    "If terrorists think we will weaken in the face of their threats they could not be more wrong. Countries like Britain and America will not be cowed by barbaric killers. We will be more forthright in the defence of our values, not least because a world of greater freedom is a fundamental part of how we keep our people safe."

  • Merkel presses Burma on human rights

    Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will pledge further economic support to Burma, providing that the Burmese regime does more to protect ethnic groups and holds fair elections next year, during a visit to Berlin by President Thein Sein.

  • NATO leaders expected to unite against Russia at summit
    NATO leaders convened at a summit in the UK to reiterate their support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, and discuss the threat of the Islamic State reports Al Jazeera.
  • US vows justice for journalist beheading, UK holds Cobra meeting
    The United States vowed justice for the beheading of a second American journalist Steven Sotloff by Islamic State militants, depicting in a video released yesterday.

    The video, entitled 'A second message to America', was deemed authentic by US and UK intelligence services.
  • Ukraine-Russia leaders backtrack from 'permanent ceasefire' announcement
    The presidents of Ukraine and Russia appeared to backtrack from an announcement, made only hours earlier, of an agreement on a "permanent ceasefire" to the violence between government and separatist forces in eastern Ukraine.

    Earlier on Wednesday morning, the Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, tweeted: "As a result of my telephone conversation with the Russian president we reached an agreement on a permanent ceasefire on Donbass."

    However, a statement published on the President's website excluded the word "permanent".

    "The parties reached mutual understanding on the steps that will facilitate the establishment of peace," the statement read.

    Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, told Russian news agencies that no such agreement had been made, but the two leaders had instead "discussed how to end the conflict".

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