WORLD NEWS

World News

Latest news from and about the homeland

  Three United Nations (UN) experts called for a full and independent investigation into the killing of three Lebanese journalists by Israel last week, which they described as ‘another attack on press freedom by Israeli forces.’ On March 28, Israeli forces killed Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni, her brother and cameraman Mohamed Ftouni, and Al Manar TV reporter Ali Shoeib as they were…

Islamic State claims Baghdad bombing, 120 dead

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for two bombings in Baghdad over night which over 120 dead and over 200 injured.

The bombs went off at a shopping area as people celebrated Ramadan.

The attack comes after Iraqi forces won Falluja last month.

The Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared three days of morning.

"We remain united with the Iraqi people and government in our combined efforts to destroy Isil," the White House said in a statement.

UN Security Council condemns Dhaka attack

The United Nations Security Council has condemned an attack on a café in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, which killed twenty hostages and two police officers on Friday night.

The Council stated that it “condemns the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” and reaffirmed that “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”.

Government pressure forces cancellation of Myanmar rights group report launch

A rights group in Myanmar was forced to cancel the launch of a report on alleged army torture and war crimes, the Guardian reports.

Ta'ang Women's Organisation (TWO) claimed that the regional government forced two hotels in Yangon to cancel their booking for the launch event.

The report highlights "systematic war crimes" by armed forces in areas inhabited by, Ta'ang, an ethnic minority in Myanmar.

Scotland lobbies in Brussels, amidst Spanish opposition

Scotland has “won the right to be heard in Brussels” said European Union Parliament president Martin Schulz, as Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon attended a series of talks with senior officials this week, reports the BBC.

Mr Schulz said he had "listened carefully and learned a lot" from Ms Sturgeon, who also met with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Gianni Pitella, the leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.

Serbian parties call for recognition of Srebrenica genocide

A group of political parties in Serbia have submitted a proposal calling for the recognition of the Srebrenica genocide, in hope of reconciling relations between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Factions composed of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Party of Democratic Action of Sandzak, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina and The Green Party submitted a resolution which “condemns the genocide in Srebrenica and any denial of genocide, and proclaims July 11 the Day of Remembrance of the Genocide in Srebrenica".

The parties urged parliament to pass the resolution as "a major step towards resolving outstanding issues between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Serbian and Bosniak [Muslim] peoples".

"The recognition of genocide in Srebrenica is a civilised step that Serbia needs [to make] to confirm the seriousness of the intent to build dialogue, cooperation, trust and lasting peace in the region, based on the acceptance of the acts committed in the past, dealing with the past and commitment to justice, support for victims as the basis for strengthening security, stability and prosperity in the region," the resolution added.

Human rights groups call for suspension of Saudi Arabia from Human Rights Council

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have called for Saudi Arabia to be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council, stating it has been using its position “to effectively obstruct justice for possible war crimes”.

Speaking from the UN on Wednesday, head of Amnesty’s UN Office Richard Bennett said, “Since joining the council, Saudi Arabia’s dire human rights record at home has continued to deteriorate and the coalition it leads has unlawfully killed and injured thousands of civilians in the conflict in Yemen”.

“To allow it to remain an active member of the council, where it has used this position to shield itself from accountability for possible war crimes, smacks of deep hypocrisy. It would bring the world’s top human rights body into disrepute,” he added.

“The credibility of the U.N. Human Rights Council is at stake.”

36 confirmed dead in Istanbul airport attack

Thirty-six people have been confirmed dead in a bomb and gun attack on Istanbul's international airport on Tuesday.

Turkey's prime minister Binali Yildirim suggested that the attack may have been perpetrated by Islamic State. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up after opening fire.

Calling for the incident to be seen as a turning point in the world's fight against militancy, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said "the bombs that exploded in Istanbul today could have gone off at any airport in any city around the world."

Over 140 people were injured in the attack.

Cambodian PM tells foreign countries to stop interfering in domestic politics

International powers should stay out of Cambodian domestic politics warned Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen on Tuesday, as tensions run high between the Prime Minister's ruling party and the opposition.

Hun Sen's party is accused by foreign governments of intimidating and harassing his political opponents. Last month, the European Parliament threatened to review about a half billion dollars of aid to the country if such harassment continued.

US express concern at detention of Bahraini journalist for reporting on torture

Bahrain’s attempt to try an activist for tweets condemning the prison system as sparked criticism by the US State Department reports Reuters.

Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab was arrested earlier this month on unspecified charges in what appears to be an escalating crackdown on dissent by the Sunni-led government, and is set to face over a decade in person.

In a statement released by the State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau, the US said,

German lawsuit accuses Turkish president of war crimes against Kurds

A group of German parliamentarians and civil society activists have filed a lawsuit against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other government officials, accusing them of committing war crimes against the Kurdish population.

Lawyers for the group, Britta Eder and Petra Dervishaj said,