INTERNATIONAL

9 people lost their lives during clashes between Ethiopian security forces and protesters in Oromia. The protests sparked when authorities refused to release a detained opposition politician and a media magnate. Protests started through a social media campaign, where people demanded the release of a well known Oromo opposition leader Bekele Gerba and a journalist Jawar Mohammed who were detained after the killing of an iconic Oromo singer, Haacaaluu Hundeessaa. In a statement by Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), "Deaths have also been reported in 13 different locations in the Oromia region, which surrounds the capital Addis Ababa." EHRC condemned such acts and is alarmed by the loss of lives during protests in Oromia. EHRC called upon authorities to refrain themselves from...

A prominent female activist, Reham Yacoub was gunned down and three others were injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire on their car in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, on Wednesday. This was the third incident this week in Iraq where gunmen targetted anti-government political activist after one activist was killed and four others had their car fired upon in a separate incident. Reham had been an active activist since 2018 and had led various women's marches. After the assassination of an activist Tehseen Osama, a fresh series of protests took place for three days where protesters lobbed rocks and petrol bombs into governor's house while the police retaliated by opening fire upon them. Condemning Yacoub's murder, The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor in a statement ...

After a week-long silence over the UAE-Israel deal, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal said that the Kingdom was determined to remain committed about the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative with Israel and to not normalizing ties with Israel until Israel signs the internationally-recognised peace accord with the Palestinians. On Wednesday, during a visit to Berlin, Prince Faisal told reporters that “Peace must be achieved with the Palestinians”. Prince Faisal’s statements ruled out talks about Saudi following UAE’s footsteps until the Palestinian issue is resolved on the basis of international accords. Reiterating criticism of Israel, Price Faisal stated Israel’s annexation policies as “unilateral” and said that Israel constructing settlements in the ‘occupied’ West Bank was "il...

In a major shift from its stand on Kashmir, Pakistan has now proposed the Northern Ireland power-sharing arrangement as a solution to the Kashmir issue, pleading that the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) could bring light at the end of the tunnel. Pakistan’s human rights minister Shireen Mazari who, of late, has been very critical of her country’s foreign policy on Kashmir, on Monday proposed the Northern Ireland model as a possible solution to what she called the “Kashmir dispute”. She was speaking at a webinar organised by Islamabad Policy Institute, a prominent think tank of Pakistan. She proposed “pursuing the model of the GFA in 1998, which brought together all parties to the conflict in Northern Ireland and ended decades of violence as a possible approach to resolving the Kashmir di...

Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa met senior officials in Saudi Arabia in an effort to tone down the escalating tensions between the two countries over the Kashmir issue. According to statements by government officials and the Pakistani military, Bajwa may try to ease the prevailing situations, between Pakistan and Saudi over Kashmir, which could lead to adverse effects on Pakistan's central bank foreign reserves as Saudi threatened Pakistan with its financial lifeline. Although, the Pakistani army spokesperson said that “General’s visit is primarily military affairs oriented.” Adding to this, Saudi’s Vice Minister of Defense, Khalid Bin Salman in a tweet said, “We discussed bilateral relations, military cooperations, and our common vision for preserving regional se...

United Arab Emirates 's (UAE) accord to normalize ties with Israel has led to a backlash from Turkey and Iran. After Friday prayers, Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addressed reporters and spoke about suspending diplomatic ties and withdrawing its ambassador from UAE. “The move against Palestine is not a step that can be stomached. Now, Palestine is either closing or withdrawing its embassy. The same thing is valid for us now," Erdogan said during the address. Adding that he gave orders to his foreign minister, Erdogan said, “I told him we may also take a step in the direction of suspending diplomatic ties with the Abu Dhabi leadership or pulling back our ambassador." Turkey's foreign ministry stated that history would never forgive the UAE’s “hypocritical behavior” by agreei...

The United States (US) draft resolution on the extension of the arms embargo against Iran failed as Russia and China vetoed during the UN Security Council (UNSC) session on Friday. The current weapons ban on Iran is set to expire in October as a part of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. The UNSC votes for extending the arms embargo were divided between the US and the Dominican Republic voting yes, eleven members, including France, Germany, and Britain, abstaining and Russia and China vetoing. Commenting on the results US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said, "The Security Council’s failure to act decisively in defense of international peace and security is inexcusable.” In a statement after the voting, China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun said that the result “once...

On Thursday, the United States (US) President Donald Trump announced the historic news of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel joining hands to establish full diplomatic ties as part of a deal to halt further annexation, as per Isreal's 2020 plans, of land claimed by Palestinians. This move makes UAE the first Gulf Arab nation and the third Arab country to sought diplomatic ties with Israel, amid the continuous tensions between Palestine and Israel. This deal is said to back Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's continuous statements about his government enjoying closer ties to Arab countries than publicly spoken about. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1293922936609546240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1293922936609546240%7Ctwgr%5E&re...

After Alexander Lukashenko’s victory in the presidential election in Belarus, there have been massive violent clashes by the protesters in Minsk. The unrest in Belarus is going on for 4 continuous days where thousands of protesters accused Lukashenko who has been in power since 25 years of swindling votes. Alexander Lukashenko's 2020 election's opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania citing her children’s safety. Tikhanouskaya’s campaign rallies drew some of the biggest crowds since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. According to reports, witnesses gave statements that dozens of people have been arrested and beaten by the police during protests. Car horns were blared to show support and solidarity with the opposition (Tikhanouskaya), and some people were s...