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…

German industry leaders support calls for asylum seeker employment

German industry leaders have called for asylum seekers to be allowed to work, reports the Telegraph.

Legislation in Germany currently prohibits asylum seekers from working whilst their application is being processed.

Kenya wrongly detaining individuals based on ethnicity warns Human Rights Watch

Kenyan security forces were too slow to respond to attacks on villages and beat Muslims and ethnic Somalis in police custody, found Human Rights Watch,

The Kenya Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Watch (HRW) called the government to increase its oversight of police and military investigations.

South Africa allows suspected war criminal al-Bashir to leave, despite court order

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has landed in Khartoum, unhindered by South African authorities, despite a high court order preventing his departure.

Mr Bashir, prevented from leaving South Africa on Sunday due to the charges of war crimes and genocide he faces at the International Criminal Court.

An ICC official said the failure to arrest the president was "disappointing".

Israel defends Gaza conflict as ‘lawful’ and ‘moral’

The Israeli government has released  report concluding that action taken in the Gaza Strip last summer was "lawful" and "legitimate", ahead of a forthcoming United Nations report on the conflict.

The Israeli report largely blames Palestinian militants – namely Hamas – for violations of international law, stating that action taken by Israeli troops was an “imperative necessity”.

ICC urges South Africa to arrest Sudan's President Bashir

The International Criminal Court (ICC) called on South Africa to arrest Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir who is attending the African union summit in Johannesburg.

The ICC president Sidiki Kaba in a statement acknowledging South Africa’s contribution to “strengthening the Court,” called on the government to “spare no effort in ensuring the execution of arrest warrants.”

South Africa court order bars Sudan's President from leaving country

A South African judge barred Sudan’s indicted president form leaving the country on Sunday, amidst calls from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

A judge is expected to hear an application calling for the arrest of President Bashir on Monday.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party responded to the court order, alleging that the ICC was targeting African nations.

Farc attack cuts power to half a million Colombians

An attack by Colombia’s Farc militants has left three police officers dead and hundreds of thousands of Colombians without power.

President Juan Manuel Santos ordered bombing raids on rebel positions, which were halted due to ongoing negotiations, aimed at ending the decades-long conflict.

The southern region of Caqueta, home to almost 500,000 people, was plunged into darkness after the militants brought down an electric pylon.

Turkish election gains hailed as ‘milestone for Kurdish people’

The former prime minister of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region hailed the gains made by the Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the Turkish elections as “a milestone for Kurdish people”.

The Kurdish party has for the first time won enough votes to enter the Turkish parliament and is being hailed as a watershed moment in Turkish politics.

Barham Salih, the former premier of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, said “not long ago, Kurds were officially nonexistent, at best identified as mountain Turks”. “After decades of denial and persecution, the time for the Kurds has arrived,” he added.

The victory comes as HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas accusedthe government of having links to the violence that erupted across Kurdish regions this week.

Relations have remained strained with the Turkish government, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accusing Western nations of backing the Kurdish “terrorists”, whilst bombing Turkmen and Arabs in Syria.

"The West, which has shot Arabs and Turkmens, is unfortunately placing the PYD (the political wing of the YPG) and PKK in lieu of them," said Mr Erdogan in a speech.

Israel denies responsibility for deaths of Palestinian children

The Israeli military cleared itself of responsibility for a missile attack that killed four children on Gaza beach last summer, reports the Guardian.

The Israeli advocate general’s office concluded that the deaths were a “tragic accident.” Israel’s military spokesperson Peter Lerner, said that the strike had targeted a Hamas compound belonging to Hamas naval forces.

US and China discuss strengthening military ties

US President Barack Obama’s senior national security adviser met with a senior Chinese general and stressed the need to reaffirm the two nations commitment to strengthen coordination and develop a “sustained and productive military-to-military relationship.”

A meeting at the White House, between Susan Rice and General Fan Changlong, discussed methods of minimising disagreements on maritime and cyber security issues,