WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

Al-Shabab fighters are claiming to have seized control of Adan Yabaal, a town in central Somalia, on Wednesday.  Adan Yabaal is situated about 220 kilometres north of Mogadishu and serves as the logistical hub for government forces. Raids were launched by al-Shabab fighters before dawn on Wednesday, forcing the army to retreat after fierce battles, according to a security officer quoted…

The truth about Canada’s new immigration policies

In an unusual move, a group of Canadian lawyers and legal academics are urging voters not to support the Conservative Party in the May 2 election, the Toronto Star reports.

India puts three satellites into orbit

 
India successfully launched a rocket carrying three satellites and deployed them Wednesday

Stiff war crimes sentences for Croatian generals

Croatians - and their government - have reacted with shock and outrage over the sentencing in the Hague last week of two former generals for crimes against humanity committed over fifteen years ago by troops they commanded.

Kosovo’s new President

Kosovo’s newly sworn in President, 36 year-old Atifete Jahjaga, has vowed to pursue wider recognition of her country’s independence and its entry to the United Nations, as well as stronger relations with the United states.

Ivory Coast: the problem is not elections, but xenophobia

“It is convenient for the world to think that the ongoing Ivory Coast civil war and genocide is about election and election results, and removing recalcitrant Gbagbo from an office which he lost in the polls.

“In reality, this is hypocrisy. The UN and the stakeholder-countries involved in Ivory Coast [know] that the problem is not Gbagbo and Ouattara, or elections. The primary issue in Ivory Coast is that of “North vs. South” which is now translating into perhaps Muslim North vs. Christian South.

EU migration chief urges members to accept Libya refugees

European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has urged member states to resettle Eritrean, Somali, Ethiopian and other refugees fleeing Libya.

See reports by Reuters here and the Jesuit Refugee Services here

"We need to show an element of solidarity. There are ... people who have nowhere to go and with this we will have to help, to resettle them," she said.

Justice is the glue that binds any long term peace

“Peace versus Justice; it is an old question for prosecutors at the International Criminal Court and one they are hearing all over again as they plunge into investigations in Libya and Ivory Coast.

“What price stability, the argument goes, if the new leaders find themselves in the ICC crosshairs? Peace, in other words, trumps justice. It is a short term solution, but it is the wrong one, and not just on moral grounds

Indian nuclear program to continue, joint review with Russia

Alarmed over the recent nuclear catastrophe in Japan, India and Russia have decided to jointly review the safety of nuclear reactors installed in India, but have also agreed not to impose brakes on ongoing projects.

"We will do this exercise together. But nothing stops and it does not replace anything that we have already agreed in the long-term,” National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon says.

Responding to R2P criticisms

Critics argue that we are inconsistent, even hypocritical, in our military interventions. After all, we intervened promptly this time in a country with oil, while we have largely ignored Ivory Coast and Darfur — not to mention Yemen, Syria and Bahrain.

We may as well plead guilty. We are inconsistent. There’s no doubt that we cherry-pick our humanitarian interventions.