• Mass grave found in Mali

    Dec 03

    Investigators have found a mass grave containing 21 bodies, while looking for missing soldiers who were loyal to former president Amadou Toumani Toure, known as red berets.

    At least 23 soldiers went missing after President Toure was toppled in a coup in March 2012.

  • Thousands attend funeral of assassinated Hezbollah commander
    Thousands attended the funeral today of the assassinated Hezbollah commander, Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday. The funeral took place in Baalbek, in Eastern Lebanon.


    Accusing Israel of the crime, Hezbollah sources have reported that al-Laqqis was shot at close range by a silenced gun.

  • Ukrainian opposition motion defeated

    A no-confidence motion brought by the main Ukrainian opposition has been defeated by parliament. The motion would have put more pressure on the government to resign, over the direction the country is taking in its foreign relations.

  • International protocol for investigating sexual violence in conflict in the making
    Following on from the UK government's push for international action to address the problem of sexual violence in conflict, the FCO's International Protocol Project Coordinator, outlined the challenges that need to be addressed in documenting and investigating such crimes.

    See here for full piece, extract reproduced below:
    'Our objective is to create a consistent set of guidelines that are used by first responders to ensure that survivors of these attacks receive consistent and sympathetic responses but also that information that is collected from them (physical and testimony) is taken and stored in a way that assists future prosecutions or other justice mechanisms.

  • Palestinians to seek membership of UN agencies if talks fail
    The Palestinian Authority has said it will seek membership of individual UN agencies if peace talks fail, reports The Times.

    The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said that it was preparing for the possibility of joining 16 agencies in April next year if talks failed with Israel.

    A senior member of the PLO, Hanan Ashrawi, said,
    “We are ready.. Everything is in place and will be set in motion.”
  • UN launches conflict surveillance drones in eastern Congo

    The United Nations forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the first time, launched unmanned aircraft drones to monitor the unsettled border of Rwanda and Uganda.

  • Assad implicated in war crimes – UN

    The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has said that an UN inquiry has shown that officials at the “highest level”, including President Bashar al-Assad, have authorised war crimes and human rights violations in Syria.

    A Commission of Inquiry into Syria has produced "massive evidence... [of] very serious crimes, war crimes, crimes against humanity."

  • Military will remain neutral as protests against Thai Premier intensify

    Protests in Thailand intensified today as Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, rejected demands to step down.

    Explaining the reasons behind her dismissal of demands she said,

  • Tuareg group withdraws from ceasefire with Mali

    The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) has ended a ceasefire agreement with the Malian government, in force since June.

    The Tuareg separatist group made the move after clashes between protestors, who demonstrated against a visit by President Oumar Tatam Ly, and Malian troops.

  • UK looks to set up EU-China free trade arrangement

    The British Premier, David Cameron, flew to China with intention of establishing a multi-billion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and the European Union, on  Sunday.

  • Israeli policeman shoots dead Palestinian hours after Ban's warning
    A Palestinian was shot dead by an Israeli policeman near Tel Aviv, said a police spokesperson, Micky Rosenfeld.

    The incident occurred near in the town of Petah Tikva, following a paramilitary Border Police Unit search for all Palestinians who do not have a permit to stay in Israel.

    Rosenfeld said,
    "Border police in the night were searching for illegal Palestinian workers,"
    According to Rosenfeld, the Palestinian man, in his twenties, "tried to stab" the policeman, before the policeman "fired a shot at the suspect, [who was] injured critically and died soon after."

    The shooting comes hours after the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon warned of an "escalation of violence and incitement" between Israeli-Palestinian tensions that could threaten the peace talks.

  • US to aid in destruction of Syrian chemical weapons
    The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), announced today that the US was prepared to help destroy lethal parts of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.
  • $13.8 bn Chinese-built railway in Kenya launched
    Kenya has announced the launch of a brand new $13.8 billion which will run across East Africa to reach Burundi, the DRC and Sudan, funded by the Chinese state owned China Road and Bridge Corporation.

    Kenya's President Kenyatta hailed the project, stated it would “define my legacy as President of Kenya”.
  • Karzai warns drone strikes threaten security deal
    Afghan President Hamid Karzai has warned that he will refuse to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States, if drone strikes continue in Afghanistan.
  • UN warning over Iran nuclear deal

    The verification of Iran’s commitment to curb nuclear activities under a deal agreed last week may take some time, according to the head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) .

    Yukiya Amano said he could not confirm when the inspections could begin.

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