• Human rights groups call for prosecution of French troops over Rwandan genocide

    Dec 06

    French human rights organisations have called for the prosecution of French troops for complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, over reports that they abandoned hundreds of Tutsis who were subsequently slaughtered by Hutu militias.

    The International Federation of Human Rights and other organisations state that a fax from June 27-30 1994 which was recently declassified, proved that French troops knew of a group of Tutsis sheltering in a nearby wooden area in Rwanda's Bisesero hills , requesting French protection.

    "Certain elements of the French special forces with a clear mandate to halt the massacres were stationed about 5 km as the crow flies from the crime scene with all the information, communications and equipment needed to mount a life-saving operation instantly," said the group. "That did not happen".

  • Venezuela's opposition wins majority in national assembly
    As results came through for Venezuela's election on Sunday, it was clear the Democratic Unity coalition, the main opposition, won a majority ending 16 years of rule by Chavez and his supporters.

    A two-thirds majority, with 112 seats, would allow the opposition to have weight against the president, Nicolas Madura.

    Speaking on Monday, leaders from within the coalition of opposition parties pledged new laws to encourage the growth of the private sector, and for an amnesty ensuring the release of political prisoners.

  • China Russia oppose UN Security Council meeting on North-Korea
    China and Russia opposed plans to hold a special Security Council meeting on human rights in North Korea.

    A meeting headed by the United States has been backed by nine of the 15 council members, including Chile, France, Jordan, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain, Britain and the United States.

    Speaking to Reuters, one diplomat said,
  • Third round of Syria talks to be held in New York
    US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the next round of governmental talks on the crisis in Syria would take place in New York later this month.

    Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Mr Kerry, said,

    “The governments involved are going to meet later this month in New York in order to continue to move this process forward. Our goal is to facilitate transition that all parties have stated that they support."
  • Second UK air strike in Syria, Germany votes in favour of non-combat role
    The UK launched its second set of air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria on Saturday, following the parliamentary vote in favour of military action on Wednesday.

    On Friday, German MPs also voted in favour of joining the mission with a non-combat role, by 445 votes to 146.

    This will include 1200 troops being sent to the region, as well as Tornado reconnaissance jets and a naval frigade.
  • Spanish court rejects Catalan's independence resolution

    The constitutional court in Spain on Wednesday rejected a resolution passed by the Catalan assembly paving the way to establishing an independence republic in 18 months.

    The resolution which was passed last month, declared Catalan as "sovereign" and called for the drafting of laws within 30 days in order to create an independent system of maining security, as well as a separate treasury.

    The court, which was presenting a ruling on an appeal made by the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, stated the Catalan assembly "cannot set itself up as a source of legal and political legitimacy to the point of assuming the authority to violate the constitutional order."

  • British MPs vote in favour of air strikes in Syria

    British parliamentarians have voted in favour of launching air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria, following a debate in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

    British Prime Minister David Cameron said MPs has "taken the right decision to keep the country safe" after the decision to launch strikes was passed by 397 votes to 223.

  • Pakistan denies allegations of war crimes in Bangladesh
     Pakistan denied that its armed forces had committed war crimes during Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

    The Pakistan Foreign Minsitry on Monday met with Bangladesh’s envoy to reject Dhaka’s accusations of war crimes.

    In a statement released after the meeting the Pakistani foreign ministry, said,
  • US to deploy special ops force to fight Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq
    The United States on Tuesday said it was deploying new special operations troops to Iraq conduct raids against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

    The decision has already been rejected by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi who said deployment of such force was unacceptable without prior Iraqi approval.

    In a statement released shortly after the US announcement, Mr Abadi said,
     
    The US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said,
  • German, UK cabinets approve military measures against IS

    The British cabinet on Tuesday approved airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria, whilst Germany's cabinet approved providing military support to the effort.

    The UK cabinet set out a 12 point plan towards the measures. A debate in the House of Commones is currently underway and a vote is expected at 10:30pm GMT.

    “I will be making the arguments and I hope as many MPs across all parties will support me as possible," the UK prime minister, David cameron said today.

  • Venezuela arrests three in connection with opposition leader killing
    Venezuelan authorities arrested three people on Monday in relation to the assignation of an opposition leader that drew mass international condemnation in the run-up to this weekend’s elections.

    Opposition leaders have placed the blame of the killing on the ruling socialist party.

    Luis Diaz, shot dead at the age of 44, was a candidate for the Democratic Action party in the central Guarico state.
  • Russia announces suspension of visa-free regime with Turkey
    Russia announced on Friday that it will suspend its visa-free regime with Turkey effective January 1, a continuation of retaliation for the downing of a Russian fighter jet by Turkish air forces earlier this week. 

  • Prominent Kurdish lawyer shot dead in Turkey, Kurds protesting death water cannoned
    A prominent Kurdish Lawyer and rights activist was shot in the head and killed in Turkey on Saturday.
    The pro-Kurdish HDP Party called the killing of Tahir Elci a “planned assassination” and urge Kurds to protest against the Turkish state.

    Witness said that Mr Elci was shot after speaking to journalists about a historic Kurdish minoret that had been destroyed.
  • Burundi is at risk of genocide warns US Special Envoy
    The US Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa warned that Burundi is at risk of genocide thought it was “not yet present reality”, amidst ongoing unrest in the country.

    In an interview, Thomas Perriello said that the crime of genocide is a risk, stating, “We have seen very dangerous signals from senior government officials about what makes this conflict more ethnic in nature”.
  • Russian MPs submit bill to criminalise Armenian genocide denial

    The Russian opposition party has submitted a bill in parliament that will criminalise the denial of the Armenian genocide, carried out by the Ottoman Empire over a century ago.

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