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…

Egypt referendum clashes claim lives

The Egyptian people have voted in the first of two days in a referendum on a new constitution for the country.

The new constitution would overrule the charter put in place by the deposed President Mohammed Morsi.

His Muslim Brotherhood has called for a boycott of the vote and supporters of the group have been involved in clashes with security forces, leaving at least 9 people dead.

Hunting for Rwandan genocide fugitives

With the year 2014 marking 20 years since the climax of the Rwandan genocide, the search for suspects accused of participating in the crimes of 1994, continues to this day.

The New York Times, in a piece for “The Saturday Profile” segment, met with Alain Gauthier and his wife Dafroza  Gauthier, who for 13 years have been tracking down fugitives from the country’s genocide.

Speaking on their hunt for suspects, Mrs Gauthier said,

Brits arrested at Heathrow for “Syria terrorist activities”

Two 21 year old men were arrested on their return from Turkey on suspicion of partaking in “terrorist activities” in Syria.

The men, who are both from Birmingham, are believed to have gone to Syria in May last year.

Det Chief Supt Kenny Bell, head of the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, said to media:

British Foreign Secretary rejects complaints to ICC of 'systematic abuse' in Iraq

Responding to a damning report handed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Saturday , British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, rejected  the report’s bid to prosecute British politicians and senior military figures for alleged war crimes in Iraq.

Speaking to Sky News, Hague, said,

Iran nuclear deal set for January 20th

The 20th of January has been set as the date for when a deal, which will see Iran freeze part of its nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions, will come into effect.

The agreement, which had been worked out during talks in November, means that Iran has agreed to suspend elements of nuclear enrichment for the next 6 months. In return, key sanctions on Iran are to be eased, granting an estimated $7 billion in sanctions relief, according to the White House.

EU's foreign policy head baroness Catherine Ashton welcomed the deal in a statement, noting,

Spain condemns Basque government for rally

The Spanish government has condemned the regional Basque government over yesterday’s huge protest rally, which saw over 100,000 people pack the streets of Bilbao, reported Euronews.

The protest saw unprecedented unity between all major Basque nationalist parties, although a Madrid court ruled that the march should not go ahead.

The protestors were marching in support the rights of Basque political prisoners and human rights.

Why Nazi hunting remains crucial – NYT editorial

Commenting on prosecution of an 88-year-old former Nazi guard for war crimes, the New York Times has written on the importance of pursuing WWII-era war criminals.

The editorial, ‘Why Nazi hunting remains crucial’, notes that there has been successful legal action against over 100 Nazi war criminals since 2001, stating the ‘hunt must continue’.

The opening paragraph has been reproduced below.

Rights groups urge ICC to investigate former British officials for systematic torture in Iraq

The European Centre for Constitutional Human Rights, based in Germany, and the Public interest Lawyers firm (PIL), based in England, today called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate actions of former members of the British cabinet and troops over allegations of systematic torture in Iraq.

Basque protestors defy Madrid ban

(Pictures @berria)

Over 100,000 Basques marched through the streets of Bilbao, defying a ban imposed by a court in Madrid.

‘Late, but not too late’

Following 88-year-old former Nazi guard being charged over wartime killings, Time magazine interviewed Efraim Zuroff from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organisation that tracks down suspected WWII-era war criminals.

In a piece entitled “Meet the Nazi Hunter: Israel’s Efraim Zuroff Helps German Court Case”, Zuroff told of his organisation’s successful poster campaign that led to the arrest of the 88-year-old linked to the massacre of a French village in 1944.