WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

  Three United Nations (UN) experts called for a full and independent investigation into the killing of three Lebanese journalists by Israel last week, which they described as ‘another attack on press freedom by Israeli forces.’ On March 28, Israeli forces killed Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni, her brother and cameraman Mohamed Ftouni, and Al Manar TV reporter Ali Shoeib as they were…

Students injured as Tibetans protest after self-immolations

20 Tibetan students were sent to hospital, with at least 5 in critical condition, after Chinese security forces put down a large protest on Monday, according to reports.

The protest, reportedly involving more than 1,000 students and teachers, comes after 5 recent self-immolations this week. The total number of self-immolations for this month alone stands at 22, with 86 having been reported since 2009 according to Radio Free Asia.

Papuan rebels kill police

Unidentified gunmen, thought to be separatist rebels, have attacked a police station in Indonesia’s Papua province.

Three policemen were killed when dozens of gunmen attacked the station and set it alight.

Indonesian security forces have been increasing security in anticipation of the independence declaration anniversary coming up on December 1.

"We had identified the hotspots in Papua and even prepared additional troops from the mobile brigade," said Sr Cdr Wachjono, chief detective of the Papua police.

Spain rejects ETA talks offer

The Spanish government has said it would not enter talks with Basque separatist group ETA, after the group offered to hold discussions to bring about a “definitive end” to its armed struggle.

The country’s interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said that there would be no negotiations with a "terrorist organisation".

“They know that we have not negotiated nor will we negotiate in any way with the terrorist organisation.

Serbia calls for evidence over freed Croatian generals

The Serbian government has called for UN prosecutors to hand over evidence related to two Croatian generals who were freed earlier this week, in a move that has flared tensions between the countries.

The move suggests that Serbia is considering whether to indict the two Croatian generals themselves, after a UN court reversed convictions for both Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markac, over alleged war crimes that occurred during a 1995 Croatian military offensive known as Operation Storm

U.N. War Crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz stated that,
"evidence collected by my office will remain available to judicial authorities in the former Yugoslavia to facilitate national prosecutions for the crimes committed in connection with Operation Storm."
Meanwhile Croatian President Ivo Josipovic commented,
"The fact is that it is not Croatia that freed the generals, but that the highest legal authorities in The Hague decided that our generals are not guilty… It's a matter of respect toward the international community and international law."
However Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić responded by saying,
"It's not going well with Croatia… He wants us to talk — me as the president of a nation which has committed crimes, and him as the president of a nation which has not been convicted of anything."
"Croatians know that the crime committed during the Storm is awful, but they still celebrate because no one was convicted… They are a nation on a wrong path."

“When indictment was issued against Ratko Mladić in the Srebrenica case, we did not even wait for the guilty verdict, the (Serbian) parliament immediately passed a resolution condemning the Srebrenica crime. Our government arrested (Ratko) Mladić and extradited him to the Hague. I know it (Srebrenica) was a crime, and I will never say that it was not."

Separatists win majority in Catalonia

Pro-Catalan independence parties won a majority in the region's election on Sunday.

Artur Mas' centre-right CiU part won 50 sets out of 135 and the left-wing separatist ERC won 21.

Speaking to reporters after the election results, Mas stressed that his disappointing result - 62 seats down from last year - was a reflection of austerity cuts and not reflective of separatism.

Egypt's stock market plummets after power grab

The Egyptian stock market took a plunge Sunday, the first day it was open since the president's announcement of his widening powers and exemption from judicial review.

The decree has sparked protests and strong opposition.

Meanwhile, news came that the President Mohamed Mursi will meet senior members of the judiciary on Monday, in order to resolve the situation.

Congo rebels urged to halt advance

Leaders of four African countries have called on M23 rebels to stop fighting and withdraw from the city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Reublic of Congo (DRC).

President Kabila of the DRC, and the presidents of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya met in Kampala on Sunday. Rwanda was represented by its foreign minister.

The leaders issued a statement calling on the rebels to "stop all war activities and withdraw from Goma" and "stop talk of overthrowing an elected government".

Interpol urges arrest of Rwandan genocide fugitives

The Interpol General Secretariat has called for the arrest of over 130 fugitives suspected of taking part in the Rwandan genocide at the International Expert Meeting on Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes against Humanity in France earlier this week.

Speaking at the event, which involved more than 150 law enforcement and judicial experts from 44 different countries, Interpol's director of operational police services, Mick O'Connell, said,

Amnesty: Australian refugee camps are in-humane

Amnesty international has described Australia’s asylum-seekers camp, Nauru, as appalling and likely to be in breach of its obligations to refugees.

Commenting on the Australian government’s responsibility for the ill-treated asylum seekers, Amnesty International’s Graham Thom, who visited the camps this week, said 
“ I think it is fair to say that Australia is again in serious breach of its international obligations.”

ETA steps forward to negotiate

The Basque separatist group ETA called on the Spanish and French governments to hold discussions towards dis-arming, ceasing military operations, and the return of ETA prisoners to the Basque region.