Month: July 2020

After a popular musician, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot in what the Ethiopian police referred to as “targeted killing”, protests erupted in Ethiopia's capital city and other areas surrounding the Oromia region. These protests led to military deployment as Ethiopian armed gangs roamed neighbourhoods where more than 80 lives were claimed. Bedassa Merdasa, the Oromia police chief, said, "So far 81 people have been killed, including three Oromia special police force members.” The killing of Haacaaluu, from the country's largest ethnic group ‘Oromo’, invoked a sense of political marginalisation between ethnicities in Ethiopia. This hinders the country's planned democratic transition. Oromo, Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, have long complained of being excluded from power. Ethiopia has bec...

Those who were responsible for the killing of a civilian in Kashmir have to be made to account for it, according to the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Asked about the incident at his daily briefing on Wednesday, Stephane Dujarric said, “We will look into it. Obviously people who were responsible need to be brought to account. But let me look further into it.” The family of the slain civilian accused the Government Forces of killing the civilian, Bashir Ahmed from HMT area in Srinagar, while the CRPF accused the Militants of carrying out the killings. In answer to another question about the protests following the killings, Dujaric said, “As anywhere, we encourage people to be, authorities to allow people to demonstrate freely and that they can express their ri...

Not only Palestinians but a large part of the international community has spoken against Israel’s unilateral annexation of the ‘occupied’ West Bank, reported Aljazeera. The “Middle East Plan”, Israel set in line with the US President Donald Trump, aims to settle illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank- including the Jordan Valley. This action would result in one-third of the West Bank being under illegal settlements. This comes as a result of The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, being recognized as occupied territory under international law. Therefore, making all Jewish settlements there along with the planned annexation - illegal. Palestinian officials have responded to the annexation plans by threatening to abolish bilateral agreements with Israel. This would...

On Wednesday, Russian voters went to polls to cast ballots in a nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments, the amendments pave the way for current President Putin, who has governed Russia for two decades, to remain president until 2036. According to the preliminary results, President Vladimir Putin has overwhelmingly won his bid to stay in power until the middle of next decade. The Campaign slogan for Putin’s constitution reform’s was "Our country, our constitution, our decision", indicating its design to appeal to conservative voters as a return to old-fashioned family values of Russia. The key point of the reform was to reset the time on Putin’s term limits, allowing the president to stay in power for two more six-year terms when his presidency ends in 2024. After pr...