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…

Interpol chief vows to pursue genocide perpetrators

Rwanda in partnership with Interpol hosted an international meeting this week to discuss strategies against ideologies that lead to genocide

 Participants in the April 14 - 16 meet included national law enforcement and judicial authorities as well as experts from Interpol member countries, representatives of international organisations, civil society organisations, academia and the media.

India to join Chinese naval exercise, US pulls out after Japan excluded

India is sending a stealth frigate to participate in an international fleet review and maritime exercise hosted by the Chinese Navy on April 23, which the United States declining to join after Japan was excluded from the event. See The Hindu’s report.

Ukraine announces amnesty for separatist militants in response to disarmament deal

The interim Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, addressing Ukrainian parliament today, said an amnesty bill was prepared for separatists who laid down their arms and left government buildings in response to an agreement made in Geneva yesterday.

The United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine yesterday, agreed a plan to help deescalate tensions in eastern Ukraine in Geneva.

US urges Burma to protect Rohingya

The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, today urged the Burmese government to intervene in the Rakhine state and end the violence between Buddhists and Muslims, reports Voice of America.

Speaking at the end of a briefing at the United Nations Security council on the situation in Burma, Power said that the United states to support Burma’s reforms but was greatly concerned by the ethnically driven violence in the country.

UN camp attacked in South Sudan

Gunmen in South Sudan on Thursday attacked a UN peacekeepers’ camp where thousands of people had sought safety, killing at least 58 people, the Washington Post reports.

Almost 5000 civilians were sheltering at the camp. The South Sudan government today deployed troops to provide security for UN facilities.

The United Nations said the gunmen, using a peaceful demonstration as cover, stormed the camp and opened fire after breaking through the gate.

The United Nations Security Council has  expressed outrage at the attacks.

UN asks for $270 million to aid humanitarian operations in CAR

The United Nations launched an appeal for $274 million to aid people that have fled the sectarian conflict in the Central African Republic, reports the Associated Press.

“All agencies working in the region are dramatically underfunded,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said today.

Syrian activists accuse government of further chemical weapons attacks

In the fourth allegation this week, Syrian activists today published online, alleged evidence of chemical weapons attacks on civilians, reports the BBC.

Opposition activists also published photographs of injuries similar to those suffered from chemical weapons attacks.

A UN inquiry in December found credible evidence of the usage of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict.
The Syrian government failed to meet a deadline in February to hand over its 1300 tonne chemical weapon agent stockpile and has an impending deadline in June to destroy all its chemical weapons.

Burmese soldiers killed in conflict against Kachin rebels

Burma’s presidential spokesperson, yesterday confirmed that a senior commander and several troops, had been killed in fights with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), reports Voice of America.

The KIA spokesperson, rejecting calls from the government to disarm, expressed concern over the state militarisation of the area, and said,

British journalists' union calls for public inquiry into 1984 Amritsar massacre

Britain’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called on Prime Minister David Cameron to establish a full public enquiry into the 1984 Amritsar massacre, following revelations in recently released official documents about British assistance in planning the Indian military’s assault on the Golden Temple in which thousands were killed.

In a statement Wednesday the NUJ said delegates at its conference last week unanimously accepted a motion calling for a British public inquiry that would cover “all the documents and events relating to India, covering the whole of 1984.”

Security Council apologises for failure at preventing Rwandan genocide

The United Nations Security Council, commemorating the Rwandan genocide, apologised for the UN’s failure at preventing the mass atrocities.

The former president of the Security Council at the time of the massacre, Colin Keating, addressing the council today, said,

“This briefing also provides a fitting opportunity, for me in my capacity as former President of the Council to apologise for what we failed to do in 1994 and for that to be formally recorded in the official records of the Security Council.”