Six In The Morning

UN launches probe into drone strikes

Expert to inquire into drone strikes and whether resultant civilian deaths constitute a war crime.

Rahul Radhakrishnan Last Modified: 24 Jan 2013 22:21

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has launched an investigation into drone strikes and will review resultant civilian casualties to determine whether the attacks constitute a war crime. 

Ben Emmerson, a UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, formally launched the inquiry on Thursday, in response to requests from Russia, China and Pakistan.

A statement released by the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights states that the inquiry will provide a "critical examination of the factual evidence concerning civilian casualties". 

It also states that the inquiry ultimately intends to make recommendations to the UN General Assembly to prompt countries to "investigate into the lawfulness and proportionality of such attacks".

25 January 2013 Last updated at 06:42 GMT

North Korea warn South over UN sanctions

North Korea has issued another warning, a day after announcing plans for a third nuclear test.

In a statement, Pyongyang pledged "physical counter-measures" against South Korea if it participated in the UN sanctions regime.

The threat came 24 hours after North Korea said it would proceed with a "high-level" nuclear test in a move aimed at "arch-enemy" the US.

The White House condemned the move, labelling it "needlessly provocative".

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests in the past, in 2006 and 2009. It gave no time-frame for its third test.

Its announcement followed the adoption by the UN Security Council of a resolution condemning North Korea's recent rocket launch and extending sanctions.

North Korea says its rocket launch was for the sole purpose of putting a satellite into orbit; the US and North Korea's neighbours say it was a test of long-range missile technology banned under UN resolutions.

EGYPT

Anniversary of Egyptian revolution brings new unrest

Egyptians expect large demonstrations Friday, the second anniversary of the country’s revolution. Thursday, police clashed with protesters demonstrating against President Mohamed Morsi and the Islamist-backed government.

Protesters tried to dismantle a wall of blocks shutting off a street leading to Tahrir Square, the birthplace of 2011's revolution. The demonstrators also plan to gather in front of the presidential palace, where rallies against Morsi in December descended into deadly clashes with Islamists.

"I call on everyone to take part and go out to every place in Egypt to show that the revolution must be completed," the opposition leader and former head of the UN's atomic agency Mohamed ElBaradei said in a statement.

In addition to tensions between the Islamist government and a secular political class that helped bring down the regime of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Egypt faces an economic crisis, with dwindling foreign tourism and investments, the pound dangerously low against the dollar, and a deficit that shows no sign of recovering.

Church and State: Where Catholic Beliefs and Public Needs Collide

By Frank Hornig, Barbara Schmid, Fidelius Schmid and Peter Wensierski

Rape victims are being turned away, and divorced employees are losing their jobs. Catholic hospitals, kindergartens and nursing homes -- which are primarily tax-funded -- are causing problems for Germany's social welfare state. But some politicians are fighting back.

The origins of the Cellitine sisters and their beneficial ministry date back to late 13th-century Cologne, when the nuns devoted themselves to the "care of the sick, the weak and the poor."

Their original mission has expanded into a corporation encompassing 16 nursing homes and 10 hospitals. The only problem is that care is precisely what has been lacking there recently. Wanting nothing to do with a possible early termination of a pregnancy, doctors working for the Cellitines turned away a woman who was seeking help shortly before Christmas, despite the strong suspicion that she had been raped.

Last week, the order publicly downplayed the case when it made national news, calling it "very regrettable" and "a misunderstanding."

South Africa's helicopter gift for Mugabe

25 JAN 2013 00:00 - CRAIG MCKUNE, STEFAANS BRÜMMER

Fears have surfaced that retired military helicopters from the South African National Defence Force will be used to prop up Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF

The South African National Defence Force is about to send a gift of helicopters and spares to its Zimbabwean counterparts, raising the spectre they will be used in a military-backed campaign to put President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party back in power in polls expected this year.

The Mail & Guardian has seen the confidential minutes of a meeting in Cape Town two months ago between defence chiefs of the two countries.

Under the heading "disposal of Alouette III helicopters and spares", the minutes noted that "the administrative processes in the SANDF have been finalised and the equipment will soon be handed over to the ZDF [Zimbabwe Defence Forces]".

Is Canada telling Hungary's Roma 'Do not seek asylum here'?

The Harper government has launched an ad campaign in the Hungarian city of Miskolc – from which many Roma have migrated to Canada in recent years – warning of tougher immigration laws.

By Bilbo Poynter, Contributor / January 24, 2013

HAMILTON, ONTARIO

Canada has long had an international reputation of welcoming refugees from around the world. But now it's telling Hungary's Roma community that that doesn't apply to them.

The Canadian government is spending approximately $13,000 on an information campaign, including billboards, notices in bus shelters, newspapers, and on radio spots in the Hungarian city of Miskolc, to dissuade would-be Roma asylum-seekers from coming to Canada.

The campaign began on Jan. 15 and, according to a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, is to last one month.

The billboards read, “An announcement from the Government of Canada: To deter abuse, Canada’s refugee system has changed. Asylum claims are evaluated within weeks instead of years. Applicants with unjustified immigration claims are sent home faster.”