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…

Foreign workers kidnapped in Nigeria

Seven foreign workers have been kidnapped in a raid on a compound in northern Nigeria.

It has been reported that a group of men armed with guns and explosives attacked the camp of a Lebanese construction company, snatching a British man along with Greek, Italian and Lebanese co-workers.

The gunmen first shot and killed a guard at the camp, which is located in Jama'are, a rural town in the Bauchi state.

Britain calls on Chad to arrest Omar al-Bashir

The British foreign office has called on Chad to arrest the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and hand him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted by the international criminal court for five counts of crimes against humanity, is due to attend a regional summit in Chad.

Chad is one of the nations that signed up to the ICC's treaty, therefore holding it legally responsible to implement the arrest warrant placed on Bashir.

Kosovo marks 5th year of independence

Kosovans came out in celebration on Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of the state's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.

In the capital Pristina people came out onto the streets to celebrate.

So far, 98 countries have recognised Kosovo. Over 90 UN member states continue to refuse Kosovo's independence. Serbia continues to view Kosovo as one of its provinces.

EU calls on Israel to respect Palestinian prisoner rights

The European Union has called on Israel to respect international humanitarian law on the treatment of prisoners, after widespread rioting in the West Bank over the treatment of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners.

European Union spokesperson Catherine Ashton stated,

UN threatens sanctions on Yemenis

Yemen’s former president and vice-president have been warned by the UN Security Council that they will face sanctions if they do not stop interfering in the Yemen’s democratic reforms.

Ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his deputy Ali Salim al-Beidh are accused of meddling in the country’s affairs and the Council also expressed concern about reports that weapons and money were being smuggled into Yemen.

Israeli troops clash with Palestinian protesters

Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian protesters on Friday, outside an Israeli prison in the occupied West Bank.

OVer 300 protesters who had gathered by the Ofer prison to show their support for Palestinians detained inside threw stones at the Israeli troops who used stun grenades, tear gas and fired rubber bullets into the crowd to break up the protest.

A spokesperson for the Israeli military said:

"The soldiers, feeling immediate danger, fired in the air," 

Pipe bomb found by Belfast school

A "viable" pipe bomb was found by Forth River Primary school in Belfast on Friday.

Police said that the device was found by a member of the public in Forth River Road at approximately 3pm. The spokesperson for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said:

“Army technical experts attended and confirmed it to be a viable pipe bomb-type device.”

Last month, a similar device was found at a community building by Shore Road.

Not 'separate', just Scotland.

In what is being seen as a significant battle won for Scottish nationalists, clerks at the House of Commons in Westminster agreed to stop using the word "separation" in titles of debates on independence. As a compromise, future debates on the effects of independence would be referred to as "post-2014".

The issue arose after a debate tabled by the Labour MP for Inverclyde Ian McKenszie - "The future of Royal Mail [postal service] in a separate Scotland", had its title altered by clerks to "The future of the Royal Mail in Scotland".

According to The Scotsman, the name was changed after the SNP Perth and North Perthsire MP Pete Wishart formally complained about the inclusion of the words "separate" or "separation".

A spokesperson for the Commons, told The Scotsman that the name was changed because a “separate Scotland is hypothetical”, and therefore fell outside the remit of ministers. Labour ministers who had previously protested against the clerks' decision had reportedly been told that the heading of debates are also neutral and the inclusion of the word "separate" was "leading" and "not impartial".

Israeli airstrikes violated laws of war - HRW

In a report released this week, Human Rights Watch confirmed that at least 18 Israeli airstrikes, during the Israel-Gaza conflict in November 2012, were in violation of international law.

A detailed investigation into the attacks revealed that 14 of the attacks on Gaza had no indication of legitimate military targeting, whilst the remaining 4 strikes, which targeted legitimate military targets, were indiscriminate and caused a higher proportion of civilian casualties.

Rwandan jailed in Norway for genocide

A district court in Oslo, Norway has convicted a Rwandan man for his part in the 1994 genocide and sentenced him to 21 years in prison.

Sadi Bugingo, a 47 year old man living in Norway, was found guilty of complicity in premeditated killings of at least 20,000 Tutsis. The court focussed on three attacks that occurred in Bugingo's home town of Kibungo in April 1994.

Judge Jonas Petter Madsoe said: