• Former LRA commander pleads not guilty as ICC trial begins

    The former Lords Resistance Army commander, Dominic Ongwen, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda pleaded 'not guilty' as his trial opened at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday. 

    Mr Ongwen who was reportedly abducted by the LRA as a child said he too was a victim. 

  • Malaysian prime minister urges action over genocide of Rohingya Muslims

    Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak this weekend urged action over the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. 

    “UN please do something. The world cannot sit by and watch genocide taking place,” he told thousands who had attended a rally in Kuala Lumpur condemning Myanmar's military's attack on Rohingya villages

  • Colombia’s Congress ratifies peace deal with FARC

    Colombia’s Congress approved a revised peace deal with the FARC on Wednesday. 

    By seeking approval through Congress, the government avoided another national referendum, which in October turned down the initial deal by a narrow margin.

  • UN experts warn of genocide in South Sudan

    UN human rights experts have warned of an impending genocide in South Sudan, after a commission found that ethnic cleansing is already underway in the country as violence continues.

  • Sunni fighters call for a Federal Iraq after Islamic State is defeated

    Sunni tribes helping in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq, have called for a federal state structure once the Islamic state is defeated, reports Reuters.

    Fighters and community leaders from the Sunni community in Shayyalah al-Imam, a village near Mosul, expressed deep distrust in Iraq’s Shia-dominated governance, calling for deep changes once the war is over.

  • Fidel Castro dies aged 90

    The former President of Cuba Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90.

    Cuba’s incumbent president Raul Castro, announcing the news on television on Friday night, said,

    “With profound sadness I am appearing to inform our people and our friends across [Latin] America and the world, that today, 25 November 2016, at 10.29pm, Fidel Castro, the commander in chief of the Cuban revolution, died. In accordance with his wishes, his remains will be cremated.”

  • UN official accuses Myanmar of ‘ethnic cleansing’

    A United Nations official has accused Myanmar’s government of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” with military operations in the Rakhine state, which has caused tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to be displaced, following a UN Security Council closed door meeting on the crisis last week.

  • US names Syrian commanders responsible for killing and torture of civilians

     The US Ambassador to the United Nations in New York Samantha Power named 13 Syrian military commanders that had been involved in killing and injuring civilians since 2011 through air and ground assaults, and detaining and torturing civilians reports Reuters.

    “The United States will not let those who have commanded units involved in these actions hide anonymously behind the façade of the Assad regime, said MS Power.

    The US Ambassador added,

  • Hospitals in Aleppo out of service following heavy airstrikes says WHO

    All hospitals in Aleppo have been deemed out of action following days of heavy airstrikes said the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday.

    The White House national security adviser Susan Riche said the United States condemned “ in the strongest terms” the latest series of air-strikes against hospitals.

  • EU and US agree to keep economic sanction on Russia

    The US President and European Union (EU) leaders agreed on Friday to keep in place economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its encroachment into Ukraine.

    The agreement was made by six government heads at an informal summit hosed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, where close transatlantic cooperation between the US and EU was discussed.

  • Russia to withdraw from ICC

    Russian president, Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to withdraw Russia from the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

    The decision came after the ICC ruled Russia’s activity in Crimea was an “ongoing occupation”. 

    Russian forces have also been accused of war crimes in Syria in recent months, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other groups calling for an ICC investigation. 

  • Bangladesh considers dropping Islam as state religion

    Officials in Bangladesh are considering dropping Islam as the national religion. 

    Dr Abdur Razzak, a member of the ruling Awami League Party, proposed that Islam be removed from the constitution during a discussion organised by the SAARC Cultural Society in Dhaka. 

    “Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony. Here we live with people from all religions and Islam should not be accommodated as the state religion in the Bangladeshi constitution," he said

  • Colombia given second chance at a peace deal

    The Colombian government and the FARC on Saturday signed a modified peace deal, six weeks after the initial deal was rejected through a national referendum. 

    The modified agreement has omitted some controversial benefits initially given to the FARC, such as a provision guaranteeing FARC’s political wing 16 seats in Congress over an eight-year period. 

  • Facts prove that cooperation is only way says Chinese Premier to Trump

    China and the US will have one of the strongest relationships moving forward, said US President-elect Tump’s office in a statement made shortly after the leaders of the two nations spoke on the phone.

    A statement from Trump’s presidential transition office said,

  • Myanmar troops fire on Rohingya Muslim areas

    The Myanmar government confirmed that troops had fired on villages in Rakhine belonging to Rohingya Muslims, the BBC reported on Sunday. 

    The report corroborates photographs released by Human Rights Watch which shows villages burnt to ground with 430 destroyed buildings. 

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