• Prosecution demands death for US soldier

    US military prosecutors are seeking the death sentence for a soldier who is thought to have massacred Afghan civilians.

    Sgt Robert Bales is accused of carrying out the attacks in March this year, killing 16 people, including nine children.

    Several soldiers testified, saying he returned to the base covered in blood.

  • Israel kills Palestinian military chief in strike

    The most senior military commander of Hamas, Ahmed al-Jaabri, was been killed in an Israeli air strike amidst the escalating conflict.

    Israeli military sources described the airstrike as a result of “precise intelligence gathered over a period of months. Outlining the motive behind the attack, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) stated that the operation was intended “to severely impair the command-and-control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure.”

    A tweet from the Israeli military indicated that it was prepared to “initiate a ground operation in Gaza” if necessary.

  • Hillary Clinton to step down, Susan Rice may replace

    Current US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has confirmed she will be stepping down at the end of the term.

    According to reports President Obama will likely nominate current US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice or Senator John Kerry for that position.

  • 2.5 million ‘displaced’ in Syria

    The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has estimated that over 2.5 million peple have been displaced by fighting between the government and opposition militants.

    The chief spokesperson of the UN High Commission for Refugees, Melissa Fleming, said that the figure could be much higher.

  • New members elected to UN Human Rights Council

    The UN General Assembly has elected 18 new states to join the UN Human Rights Council.

    The elected countries were Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Montenegro, Pakistan, South Korea, Sierra Leone, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Ireland, Estonia and the United States.

  • Kuwait frees one detained royal

    Kuwait has released a member of the ruling family, Shaikh Abdullah Salem Al Sabah, who was arrested after tweeting comments that were critical of the government.

    Shaikh Abdullah said he was questioned by the secret service police around accusations of instigating against the regime.

    Sheikh Abdullah and another young Sheikh, Shaikh Nawaf Malek Al Sabah, wrote tweets that were sympathetic of the Kuwaiti opposition protests.

    The Kuwaiti opposition were protesting against an amendment that allowed for a pro-government parliament to be assembled in a unexpected general election due to take place on 1st December. The opposition argue that the amendment allows the government to influence the outcome of the elections.

  • Arab League backs new Syrian opposition coalition

    The 22 member Arab League has acknowledged the new National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legal representatives for the Syrian opposition.

    Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council, consisting of six members, formally recognised it as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people.

  • Ivory Coast former first lady testifies at genocide trial
    The former first lady of the Ivory Coast has begun testifying at her trial, where she faces charges of genocide and embezzlement amongst others, reported the AFP.

    Simone Gbagbo was detained along with her husband Laurent Gbagbo, after he refused to hand over power to the opposition, following his loss at the 2010 November Presidential elections.
  • Ecowas agrees to send troops to Mali

    The West African bloc Ecowas has agreed to deploy troops to free Mali’s north from militants.

    The regional leaders agreed at a summit that 3,300 soldiers, mainly from Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso, would be sent to Mali to retake the northern regions from Tuareg and Islamist militants.

  • Abbas determined for UN upgrade

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Barack Obama on Sunday to congratulate him on the recent Presidential election and told him that he will press ahead with presenting a resolution to the United Nation’s General Assembly to become a non-member state.

  • Dalai Lama slams China after wave of self-immolations
    Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has spoken out against China on Monday, after a spate of self-immolations in the past week.

    Speaking to reporters in Japan, the exiled leader said,
    "The Chinese government should investigate the cause (of the incidents). China does not look into it seriously and tries to end (the incidents) only by criticising me".
    His comments come after at least 7 reported self-immolations in the past week alone.

    China, meanwhile, continued to criticise the Dalai Lama, with Losang Gyaltsen, vice-chairman of the Tibet region's government saying,
    "The Dalai Lama clique and overseas Tibetan separatists have been sacrificing other people's lives for their own secret political aims".
  • Irish PM lays green wreath to mark fallen British soldiers

    In a historic moment, the Irish prime minister Enda Kenny, laid a wreath in honour of fallen British soldiers, during British Remembrance Sunday.

    Taking part in a commemorative service in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, marking the 25th anniversary of the IRA bombing of a Remembrance Sunday service, Kenny stood head bowed before laying a wreath at the spot of the explosion.

  • Israel's first warning shots to Syria

    The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have fired warning shots at Syria for the first time since 1973, responding to an incident on Thursday when a mortar shell fired from Syria hit an Israeli military post in the Golan Heights.

  • Syrian opposition groups unite

    The various splinters of Syria’s opposition have reached an agreement to form a Western and Arab-backed government-in-exile and rally behind a new leader.

    Representatives of Syria’s various opposition groups, including rebel fighters, veteran dissidents and religious and ethnic minorities, agreed on Sunday to join a new assembly and unanimously elected Mouaz al-Khatib, a reformist Damascus cleric, as its president.

    The decision came after days of fierce arguments in Qatar, under the watch of frustrated US, Arab and other foreign officials.

    Khatib, a former imam who advocates a liberal and tolerant Islam, called on all factions to unite and for soldiers to renounce the Syrian army, telling reporters:

    "We demand freedom for every Sunni, Alawi, Ismaili (Shi'ite), Christian, Druze, Assyrian ... and rights for all parts of the harmonious Syrian people."

  • ‘Choosing Jack the Ripper to guard a women’s shelter’
    Geneva-based NGO, UN Watch, has slammed the election of Sudan to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and called on the United States, European Union and UN chiefs to condemn the appointment.

    Criticising Sudan as “genocidal, misogynistic and repressive” Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch labelled it an “outrage”.

    He stated,
    “Electing genocidal Sudan to a global human rights body is like choosing Jack the Ripper to guard a women’s shelter. This diminishes the credibility of the United Nations human rights system and casts a shadow upon the reputation of the organization as a whole.”
    “Sudan, whose leader was indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide and crimes against humanity, will now help choose the members of the Commission on the Status of Women, the executive of UN Women, and UNICEF, which protects children’s rights,”
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