• Palestine submits documents to join ICC

    Jan 02

    Palestine formally submitted its application to join the International Criminal Court on Friday, a move which has been condemned by the United States and Israel.

    Submitting the application, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told reporters “this is a very significant step.”

    “It is an option that we are seeking in order to seek justice for all the victims that have been killed by Israel, the occupying power… It is a legal option, it is a peaceful option, it is a civilised option and it is an option that anyone who upholds the law should not be afraid of."

    Mansour went on to say that Palestinians are “not afraid of the judgement of the law, especially international law.”

    A senior State Department official told Reuters that the United States was "deeply troubled by Palestinian action regarding the ICC."

  • Boko Haram blamed for kidnap of villagers

    Villagers have blamed Boko Haram for the kidnapping of 40 boys and young men in north-eastern Nigeria on New Year’s Eve.

    News of the kidnapping only emerged late on Friday after residents of Malari village in Borno state arrived in the state capital of Maiduguri, having fled the isolated region.

  • Ukrainian soldier killed by separatist militants amidst ceasefire
    Ukraine said that pro-Russian separatist militants had killed one soldier and injured five others on Friday, in what were Ukraine’s first military casualties of 2015.

    “In the past 24 hours one Ukrainian serviceman has been killed and another five have been injured because of provocative actions. In general, our servicemen are not giving in to provocations and are not opening fire,” said the military spokesperson Andriy Lysenko.
  • US places further sanctions on North Korea
    The US placed further sanctions on North Korea to impede its access to the US financial system, on Friday.

    The sanctions named 3 North Korean entities, 10 people and granted powers to the US Treasury to apply sanctions against North Korea’s government officials, reports Reuters.
  • France calls for international action to stabilise Libya
    The French defence minister, Jean Yves Le Drian called on world powers to tackle instability in Libya, after meeting Niger’s president, Mahamadou Issoufu on Friday.

    Speaking after Issoufu who called for international military intervention, Le Drian said,
  • 76,000 killed in Syria's deadliest year
    The UK based Syrain Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 17,790 civilians, including 3.501 children, died this year in Syria’s  4 year long conflict.

    Much of the violence and death came about due to the rise of Islamic State militants and other militant groups within the country, reports the BBC.

    A total of 76,000 had been killed in Syria reported the Syrian Observatory.

  • Indian and Pakistani troops killed in Kashmir clash
    Clashes between Indian and Pakistani forces at the international border of Kashmir have left one Indian soldier and four Pakistani troops dead.

    India’s Border Security Force (BSF) accused Pakistan of opening fire from the Samba sector killing on Indian guard.

    BSF inspector general for Jammu region Rakesh Sharma said, "We have retaliated effectively... four Pakistani rangers have been killed along the international border in Samba sector."

    "As Pakistani rangers suffered casualties, they waved white flags, asking BSF to stop the firing so that they can lift the bodies of the dead men. We stopped the firing after their request," he added.

  • Egypt cancels jail sentences, orders retrial of journalists
    Egypt's highest court has cancelled jail sentences against three Al Jazeera journalists who have been imprisoned for over a year and ordered a retrial, said their defence lawyer.

    The three journalists, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed had a hearing in Cairo on Thursday, appealing against jail sentences handed to them for spreading false news and allegedly supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

  • Palestine signs up to the International Criminal Court
    The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, signed papers to join the International Criminal Court on Wednesday.

    Palestine has now signed up to the Rome Statute, which places crimes committed in Palestinianan territory under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

    Abbas signed 19 other international agreements, that could potentially open the way for Palestinians to pursue Israel for war crimes.

    Warning that Israel would take “retaliatory steps,” the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said,

  • Palestinian statehood resolution fails at UN Security Council by one vote
    The UN Security Council on Tuesday rejected a Palestinian resolution calling for Israeli withdrawal form the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2017.

    A US veto ensured that the resolution was not passed. The resolution also failed to reach the required minimum 9 votes in favour for it to be passed. In total, there were 8 votes in favour, including France, Russia and China, two against and five abstentions, reports Reuters. Australia and the US voted against the resolution.

    The resolution called for negotiations on Palestinian statehood to be based on territorial lines that existed between the 1967 Middle East war, were Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

  • US enforces sanctions on Iranian individuals and businesses
    The US Treasury Department imposed economic penalties on six individuals and three companies who allegedly assisted the Iranian government in obtaining hundreds of millions of US currency or evade existing sanctions.
  • Islamist politician sentenced to death for genocide in Bangladesh
    A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal has sentenced a leading Islamist politician to death, after finding him guilty of rape, mass murder and genocide.

    A.T.M. Azharul Islam, the 62 year old assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was found guilty of 5 of the 6 charges laid against him. He becomes the 11th Islamist politician to be convicted by the tribunal and the 16th overall. 14 people have been sentenced to death so far, with one Islamist politician executed in December 2013.

    Islam has been ordered to be "hanged by the neck" for the murder of more than 1,200 people in the northern district of Rangpur. The attack was declared as part of a genocide by the tribunal, which found him guilty of being a key member of a pro-Pakistan militia during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

    Delivering the verdict, judge Enayetur Rahimjudge Rahim said, "No doubt, it was mass murder."
  • US launches airstrike in Somalia
    The United States launched an air strike in Somalia, targetting a senior leader of al-Shabab, the Pentagon said.

    US Defense Department spokesman Mark Wright said in an emailed statement that "the strike took place in the vicinity of Saakow, Somalia."
  • China to open up consulate in Kurdish capital
    China will open a consulate in the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in Iraq, announced the Chinese consul general in Iraq.

    In a meeting with the Kurdish prime minister Nechirvan Barzani, the Chinese diplomat said that his country wanted to boost economic ties with Kurdistan.

  • Turkey grants Syrian refugees secure legal status
    The Turkish government has issued new identity cards to Syrian refugees in the country, under new regulations that will grant them a secure legal status in Turkey for the first time.

    Turkey, which hosts 1.6 million Syrians who have fled the conflict, passed the new measures in October. In recent weeks, the regulations have begun to come into force, with Syrian refugees lining up to collect the new identity cards, granting them greater access to services outside of the refugees camp they abide in.

    The move was praised by Andrew Gardner, Turkey researcher for Amnesty International, as “a big step forward”. “The fact that the refugees’ rights and entitlements have been written into law should mean that authorities better implement them,” he said.
Subscribe to International Affairs

Most-Read Articles

Senior Buddhist monk from Anuradhapura remanded over sexual abuse of minor
A senior Sri Lankan Buddhist monk and chief prelate of the Anuradhapura Atamasthana,…
Velupillay makes history as first Tamil at a FIFA World Cup
Photograph: @Socceroos Nishan Velupillay has been selected in Australia's squad…
17 years today - A massacre in Mullivaikkal
To mark 17 years since the Sri Lankan military onslaught that massacred tens…
In Pictures - Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day commemorated in Mullivaikkal
All photographs by Uthayarasa Shalin Thousands of Tamils gathered at Mullivaikkal…
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay marks Mullivaikkal remembrance with pledge to support Eelam Tamils
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay issued a message on Monday evening marking…