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…

Saif trial set to be held for September in Libya

The trial of Colonel Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, is set to take place in the Libyan city of Zintan next month announced Libyan prosecutors, despite efforts by the International Criminal Court to have him tried at The Hague.

Prosecutor general spokesman Taha Nasser Baara stated that,

"A committee from the prosecutor general's office has completed its investigation into the crimes committed by Seif al-Islam from the start of the revolution on February 15 (2011) and has prepared the charge sheet,"
Baara dismissed requests by the ICC to have Saif tried abroad, stating that "during investigations, there was no intervention by the ICC."

He went on to say that the prosecution had "solid proof in the form of sound recordings, images, documents and testimony", commenting,
"We believe that this evidence is sufficient to condemn and judge him."

Ban to visit Tehran, ignoring calls from US and Israel

United Nations announced on Wednesday that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be attending a summit with leaders of 120 non-aligned nations next week in Tehran, despite a strong call to boycott the meeting by the US and Israel. 

Ban is expected to have “meaningful and fruitful discussions” revolving around human rights issues, nuclear program and the ongoing crisis in Syria with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and with top diplomats of the Iranian government.

‘A fickle, cynical abrogation of morality’

The Australian Jewish community has reacted with outrage at the halting of the extradition of a Nazi-era war crimes suspect to Hungary.

90-year-old Charles Zentai escaped extradition to Hungary after he won a legal battle in Australia’s courts last week. He is accused of participating in the murder of Jews in Hunary in 1944.

Jeremy Jones, a former president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry slammed the decision as “a fickle, cynical abrogation of morality”, commenting,
"Australian governments, through commission and omission, had been complicit in allowing torturers, murderers and architects of the most gross inhumanity to come and live,in peace and without fear of consequences, in Australia."

"My  Australia. Our Australia. In the country that had taken in so many good and decent people who had rebuilt their lives and rebuilt the nation. Australia – which held itself up to the world as an exemplar of decency."

"There had been a gross distortion of decency, allowing fugitives to take places of refugees… with the result being a moral stain on our country."

“This decision almost screams from the rooftops that Australia lacks the will to redress a great historic wrong.”
See his full statement here.

UK echoes US warning on Syria’s chemical weapons

British Prime Minister David Cameron has joined Barak Obama in warning Syria that any planned use or threat of use of their chemical weapons stockpile would be ‘completely unacceptable’.

A Downing Street official said that the two leaders spoke on the telephone and said that if Assad made such a move it "would force them to revisit their approach so far”.

Mr Cameron also discussed ways to increase support to the Syrian opposition with French president Francois Hollande.

Belarusian extradition request to Ecuador set to fail

The Ecuadorian deputy foreign minister, Marco Albuja, has confirmed that Ecuador will treat an extradition request from the Belarusian government for a former financial crimes investigator, Aliaksandr Barankov, with the same respect for human rights that guided its actions in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

“Ecuador will put emphasis on not extraditing a citizen whose life is at risk, from the death penalty or life in prison,” Albuja told reporters.

Barankov is backed by activists in Belarus , where President Lukashenko has ruled for 18 years by, fixing elections, quashing free speech, jailing dissidents and keeping 80 percent of industry in state hands.

Assad defectors were bribed by the West - The Times

Defectors from the Assad regime were bribed by European countries along with Arab states to make the leap, reports The Times.

According to the newspaper, in May a meeting took place between European diplomats in Doha, Qatar, where it was agreed that Syrian officials should be "incentivised" to defect the regime and bring about its collapse.

The paper's source is quoted as saying:

“They came to the decision that publicly the Annan plan had to be supported, but privately they needed an alternative. Defections were not coming fast enough. They had to coerce and incentivise these guys to drive a wedge into the regime,”

Bribes were never mentioned explicitly, there was no need. Everyone understood precisely and left the meeting on the same page.”

Ex- Guatemalan police chief receives 70 year sentence for abduction

The former chief of Guatemala’s police force has been sentenced to 70 years in prison, for orchestrating the kidnap of a university student, during the country’s civil war.

Pedro Garcia, who was chief from 1974 until 1982, is now the highest ranking police official to have been convicted for war crimes in the latest string of cases against former government officials (see here, here and here).

US chemical weapon threat 'excuse' to attack Syria

The Chinese state's media organ, Xinhua, has accused President Obama of intending to use Syria's chemical weapons as an 'excuse' for military intervention, after he warned that there would be 'enormous consequences' if there was any indication of Syria planning to use chemical or biological weapons.

Russia warns against US intervention in Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the US against any military intervention in Syria, after US President Barack Obama warned the Syrian regime on the use of chemical weapons.

Speaking after a meeting in Moscow with China's top diplomat, State Councillor Dai Bingguo and representatives from the Syrian government, Lavrov said there was a need to
"strictly adhere to the norms of international law and the principles contained in the UN Charter, and not to allow their violation… I think this is the only correct path in today's conditions".
Lavrov went on to state that only the UN Security Council can sanction the use of force, and warned against “democracy by bombs”.

Meanwhile, Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil dismissed Mr Obama's statements as "propagandistic threats" and blamed external interference for "hindering efforts for Syrians themselves to resolve this problem".

See President Obama's statement on Syria's chemical weapons below. Comments on Syria at 18:30.

HRW: Ugandan government is intimidating rights groups

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report that rights groups were facing increased harassment and intimidation from government officials, consequently making it difficult for civil society groups to freely conduct their work in Uganda.

Describing the intimidation the HRW noted that closure of meetings, reprimands, demands for apologies or retractions, threats, harassment and physical violence were prevalent tactics that government officials had been using to interfere with the work of civil society groups.

The HRW recognised that civil society actors working on governance, human rights, land and oil were most susceptible to intimidation, because the regime perceived them “as threatening to undermine the regime’s political and financial interests.”

The executive director of the Uganda government media centre, Fred Opolot, who had not read the HRW report, told Reuters that the report’s claims of intimidation were unsubstantiated and that the civil society were allowed to work freely, “as long as they did the right things”.