• Massacre in Egypt was planned by security forces – HRW

    The killing of at least 1,150 unarmed protestors by security forces in Egypt last year was systematic and deliberate, and likely amounts to a crime against humanity, Human Rights Watch says in a new report released on Tuesday.

    The demonstration by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood was broken up by the military, headed by, now-president, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

    HRW says that security forces “followed a plan” that envisioned several thousand deaths.

    “In Rab'a Square, Egyptian security forces carried out one of the world’s largest killings of demonstrators in a single day in recent history,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch.

  • US, Iran signal support of new Iraqi govt
    The United States and Iran signaled their support of a new Iraqi government led by Haider al-Abadi, who was officially nominated to replace Nuri al-Maliki.

    "We are prepared to consider additional political, economic and security options as Iraq's government starts to build a new government," the US Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference in Australia, Reuters reported.

    "The best thing for stability in Iraq is for an inclusive government to bring the disaffected parties to the table and work with them in order to make sure there is the kind of sharing of power and decision-making that people feel confident the government represents all of their interests," he added.

  • Google teams up with Asian companies to build cross-Pacific internet cable

    Google and five other Asian firms are building a cable under the Pacific Ocean, delivering high-speed internet.

    The $300mn cable, named ‘Faster’, will connect the US with Japan, according to the consortium.

    State-owned Chinese companies China Mobile and China Telecom,Japan’s KDDI, Singapore’s SingTel and Malaysia’s Global Transit have teamed with Google, to lay the cable, which will be operational by 2016.

    "Faster is one of a few hundred submarine telecommunications cables connecting various parts of the world," said Woohyong Choi, chairman of the consortium's executive committee.

  • UN monitors call for action to stop 'genocide' of Yazidis
    UN rights monitors urged international action to "avoid a mass atrocity and potential genocide within days of hours" of thousands of Yazidi people stranded on the Sinjah mountains, after fleeing from advancing Islamic State fighters.

    "All possible measures must be taken urgently to avoid a mass atrocity and potential genocide within days or hours," UN minority rights expert Rita Izsak said, AFP reported.

    "Civilians need to be protected on the ground and escorted out of situations of extreme peril," Izsak added.

    "We are witnessing a tragedy of huge proportions unfolding, in which thousands of people are at immediate risk of death by violence or by hunger and thirst," the UN monitor on refugee rights, Chaloka Beyani said.

  • Failure of South Sudan talks is an 'outrage and insult' says Kerry
    US Secretary of State John Kerry has slammed both the South Sudanese government and opposition rebel forces for failing to meet a recent deadline to form a transitional government, as peace talks between the sides faltered.

    In a statement released on Monday, the Secretary of State said,
    “Deadlines keep passing and innocent people keep dying. The log-rolling and delay has to end... This is an outrage and an insult to the people of South Sudan. Their leaders are letting them down again and again.”
    Mr Kerry went on to condemn ongoing violence in the country, including reports that civilians may have been systematically murdered based on their ethnicity, concluding “we’re well past the point where enough is enough.”

  • US and Australia call for global response to foreign Islamist fighters
    The United States and Australia have called for an international response to the growing numbers of foreign fighters who have travelled to the Middle East and joined Islamist groups, highlighting the potential risk they pose on return.

    Speaking at the annual US-Australia dialogue in Sydney, US Secretary of State John Kerry said,
    “We have a responsibility to take this to the United Nations and to the world, so that all countries involved take measures ahead of time to prevent the return of these fighters and the chaos and havoc that come with that.”
    Kerry added that both the US and Australia would work "to assemble a compendium of the best practices in the world together regarding those foreign fighters".

  • Bolivia deports suspected war criminal to Argentina

    An Argentinean officer, accused of committing crimes against humanity during the country’s bloody “Dirty War”, has been extradited from Bolivia.

    68-year old Jorge Horacio Paez Senestrari, who had been on the run since 2011, was detained on Friday in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz.

  • Kerry urges Myanmar to continue with democratic reforms

    US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Myanmar’s leaders on Sunday to continue with their programme of democratic reforms, amidst local criticism that he was “too soft” on the administration, led by former military leader Thein Sein.

    Concerns regarding media freedom and constitutional reforms remain in the country, which had been under military rule for decades, before the recent moves to democratise the state and the resulting thawing in relations between the west and Myanmar.

    “Is everything hunky-dory? No, not yet. Absolutely not,” Mr. Kerry said. “There are still things that need to be done.”

    “Next year’s election will absolutely be a benchmark moment for the whole world to be able to assess the direction that Burma is moving in.”

    While Myanmar’s state media praised Mr Kerry’s visit, privately owned media, which have only been able to operate freely since 2012, criticised the Secretary of State, reported the New York Times.

  • India does not need to choose between China and US – Chuck Hagel

    The US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in New Delhi, neither India nor the US need to choose between their own relationship and closer ties with “fellow trustee” China.

    Mr Hagel said in a speech to the Observer Research Foundation in the Indian capital that the US has a "unique relationship" with India, and that both countries must seize opportunities to work together on defence issues, including jointly developing and producing arms.

    “Just as America need not choose between its Asian alliances and a constructive relationship with China, India need not choose between closer partnership with America and improved ties with China. In our relations with Beijing, both Delhi and Washington seek to manage competition, but avoid the traps of rivalry,” the secretary said.

    “We will continue to seek a stable and peaceful order in which China is a fellow trustee, working cooperatively with both our nations.”

    Mr Hagel said that the US “strongly supports” India’s growing global influence and military capabilities and the two countries have “shared interests in maritime security across the region, including at the global crossroads of the South China Sea.”

  • Egypt denies entry to HRW officials
    The executive director of Human Rights Watch and another senior staff member were denied entry to Egypt, reports the BBC.
  • Nigeria declares state of emergency amidst Ebola fears
    Nigeria’s major city Lagos, confirmed 10 cases of Ebola, on Monday, in what has been described as Western Africa’s worst outbreak of Ebola, reports Reuters.

    Nigeria’s president on Friday declared a state of emergency, amidst fears of an uncontrollable  outbreak.
  • US is directly arming Kurdish forces say officials
    The United States government has began to directly arm Kurdish forces in combat with militants in northern Iraq, reports the Washington Post.
  • No justice for killed Afghan civilians – Amnesty International
    Amnesty International has released a report slamming the United States military justice system, for failing to provide adequate justice for the thousands of Afghans it says have been killed or injured by US forces.

    The report, which focuses on air strikes and night raids carried out by US forces, detailed 10 incidents taking place between 2009 and 2013, which killed at least 140 civilians. The NGO said it was aware of only six cases since 2009 in which US military personnel have faced trials.

    Richard Bennett, Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Director, said,
    “Thousands of Afghans have been killed or injured by US forces since the invasion, but the victims and their families have little chance of redress. The US military justice system almost always fails to hold its soldiers accountable for unlawful killings and other abuses.”

    “None of the cases that we looked into – involving more than 140 civilian deaths – were prosecuted by the US military. Evidence of possible war crimes and unlawful killings has seemingly been ignored.”
  • Experts appointed to UN inquiry on Gaza
    Appointments to the UN investigation examining allegations of war crimes in Gaza, were announced on Monday, AP reported.
  • Renewed 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza

    A new 3-day ceasefire has begun in Gaza after Israeli and Palestinian officials agreed to a proposal by Egypt on Sunday.

    "Israel has accepted Egypt's proposal," a senior Israeli government official told Reuters, adding that if the truce held, negotiators would return to Cairo to resume indirect talks with the Palestinians.

    Izzat al-Reshiq, a Hamas negotiator in Cairo, told the news agency: "In light of Israel's acceptance of the truce and their return without pre-conditions, we will inform the Egyptian brothers of our positive response."

    Egypt's Foreign Ministry urged "both sides to exploit this truce to resume indirect negotiations immediately and work towards a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire agreement".

    A previous truce expired on Friday, which saw an immediate resumption of hostilities. 19 Palestinians died in Israeli air strikes since Friday, with Hamas firing rockets and mortars into southern Israel, leaving two civilians injured.

    Hamas urges PA to join ICC

    The Middle East Eye reported on Sunday that Hamas is demanding that President Mahmoud Abbas signs the Rome Statute which will allow Palestine to join the International Criminal Court.

    Hamas’s deputy chairman and chief negotiator in Cairo, Moussa Abu Marzouk has been instructed to sign the document supporting the State of Palestine as a member of the ICC.

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