• Military action 'necessary to avoid carnage' – Hollande

    French President Francois Hollande has stated French military intervention in the Central African Republic was 'necessary', after two French soldiers were killed in a clash with armed militias.

    On Tuesday, Hollande stated the French military action was "necessary if one wants to avoid carnage".
  • US and UK suspend aid to Syrian opposition over warehouse seizure

    The US and UK have suspended 'non-lethal' aid to the Syrian opposition after warehouses storing resources were seized by the Islamic Front, which quit the Free Syrian Army last week, reports the Reuters news agency.

    The US embassy spokesperson in Ankara said the suspension was to "to inventory the status of US equipment and supplies provided to the SMC".

  • Iran's commander slams Western influence over govt

    The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, condemned what he said was the Iranian government's undue acceptance of Western influence.

    The Fars news agency quoted Major General Mohammad Jaffari as saying on Tuesday yesterday,

  • India reinstates gay sex ban

    India’s Supreme Court has upheld a colonial law which outlaws gay sex.

    The court overturned a ruling by the Delhi High Court in 2009, which decriminalised homosexual acts.

    A 153-year-old colonial-era law classed homosexual acts as an "unnatural offence" and punishable by a 10-year prison sentence.

  • French soldiers die in the Central African Republic

    Two French soldiers have died in clashes in the Central African Republic, the first French to die since last week’s deployment of 1,600 troops.

    The soldiers were reported to be involved in a clash with armed militias near the capital Bangui’s airport.

  • ICC welcomes international intervention in CAR
    The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, today, released a statement on the heightening ethnic violence in the Central African Republic.
  • UN officials re-affirm commitment to preventing and punishing genocide
    United Nations officials and international experts convened in New York today to mark the 65th anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

    Addressing the United Nations Headquarters on behalf of  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, deputy, Jan Eliasson said,

     “Today we have to move beyond early warning to early action. We have to strengthen the capacity of our institutions to respond in a timely and effective way to potential conflicts and to the threat of grave and massive human rights violations. Even the best system of early warning will be less helpful unless States are able and willing to take action when the warning is received.

    “We can no longer afford to be blind to this grim dynamic, nor should we imagine that appeals to morality, without credible threat of action, will have much effect on people who have adopted a deliberate strategy of killing and forcible expulsion.

    “Anyone who embarks on genocide commits a crime against humanity. It is therefore important that humanity must respond by taking action in its own defence. It is our collective obligation to stand firm and provide a shield to the defenceless.

    “Genocide does not happen overnight. There are almost always many warning signs usually over a period of years. Very often these are violations of human rights against one particular group or entity within a population.

    “We must be vigilant, courageous and persistent. We live in a troubled world, but it is within the power of all of us to make a difference. We must not be passive bystanders. We must always stand up for human rights, the rule of law and a life of dignity for all.”
  • France begins disarming of rebels

    French troops have begun to disarm rebel militias in the Central African Republic.

    1,600 French troops are currently in the country, after clashes between Christians and Muslims claimed hundreds of lives.

    France said that fighters loyal to President Djotodia had to return to their barracks and all other militas had to disarm.

  • Philippines power sharing deal hailed

    A power sharing deal between the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government of Philippines has been signed in Malaysia, raising hopes that the decades-long conflict in the region may reach a resolution.

  • Bosnia war crimes prosecutions 'floundering'
    The prosecution of war crimes cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina  is 'floundering', said the prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia earlier this week.

    Speaking to the UN Security Council, Serge Brammertz slammed Bosnia's state court, stating that little progress had been made towards 9 of 13 cases which had been transferred to it.
  • Farc announces ceasefire after bomb blast

    Colombian rebel group Farc has announced a unilateral ceasefire for 30 days, commencing on December 15, a day after 9 people were killed in a car bomb attack on a police station.

    The government has refused to cease attacks on the rebels without a conclusion to the peace talks which started last year. This is the second time that Farc has unilaterally declared a ceasefire.

  • UN inspectors arrive in Iran
    UN inspectors arrived in Iran on Sunday, accepting Tehran's offer to welcome the inspectors to visit Iranian nuclear facilities, reports Reuters.

    A spokesperson for the Iranian atomic energy agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi said,
  • Israeli soldiers accused of shooting Palestinian boy in West Bank
    Israeli soldiers in the West Bank have been accused by witnesses of shooting a 15 year-old Palestinian boy, who died of his injury on Saturday, reports Reuters.

    The boy's father said his son, Wajih Wajdi Al-Ramahy, had just left a grocery store when he was shot by gunfire coming from an Israeli settlement 300m away.
  • Syria chemical munitions destroyed
    The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced on Friday that the destruction of all Syria's unfilled munitions had been verified.

    The watchdog also said that its experts had verified the destruction of parts of weapons productions facility buildings.
  • African Union troop surge for CAR

    The Central African Republic will see a significant increase in troop numbers from the African Union.

    The AU already has around 2,500 soldiers in the country and is increasing the number to 6,000. France is also increasing the number of soldiers it has deployed to 1,600.

    Hundreds of people have died in fighting between Christian and Muslim militias.

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