International community will be judged on Gaza response - UN
Fergal Keane
Special correspondent
A senior UN Official has warned that “history will ask questions” about what the international community was doing when atrocities were happening in Gaza.
The head of the UN Human Rights office that covers the Palestinian Territories, Ajith Sunghay, says the violations and suffering of people on a day to day basis is unparalleled.
“It is unprecedented. We cannot keep silent,” he tells the BBC.
Summary
A senior Hamas member has confirmed their leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in combat, but says his death will only strengthen the group
US President Joe Biden says the killing of Sinwar in Gaza raises "the prospect of a ceasefire" in the year-long war
Sinwar, who topped Israel's most-wanted list, was the key figure behind the 7 October attacks and was killed after Israeli troops attacked a building in Rafah
Regime is punishing families of Woman, Life, Freedom protesters who died at hands of security forces, say activists
Fri 18 Oct 2024 15.31 BST
The mother of a 16-year-old Iranian girl who became one of the faces of the unprecedented nationwide protests against the regime has reportedly been arrested.
Nasrin Shakarami, the grieving mother of Nika Shakarami, who was allegedly killed by the security forces in September 2022, had been outspoken in her criticism of the regime over the death of her daughter.
She had rejected official claims that Nika’s death was caused by falling from a building and insisted she was beaten to death by regime forces.
South Korea says North Korean soldiers headed to Ukraine
South Korea's spy agency believes as many as 12,000 troops are being sent to Russia to help it fight its war in Ukraine.
South Korea believes the North has sent troops to Russia to support its war in Ukraine.
The National Intelligence Service said Friday an initial contingent of 1,500 special forces soldiers has already been deployed to Russia's Vladivostok.
The spy agency said it had "detected from the 8th to the 13th, North Korea transported its special forces to Russia via a Russian Navy transport ship, confirming the start of North Korea's military participation."
In EU first, France grants visas to six Russian soldiers who deserted Ukraine war
France's decision to grant visas to Russian deserters is being celebrated by human rights groups who hope other EU countries will follow suit, offering a way out for Russian soldiers who want to stop fighting in Ukraine.
The escape route for Russian soldiers wishing to flee the fighting in Ukraine is complex and fraught with danger. Deserters face harsh punishment under Russian law, and it is almost impossible for them to travel to "safe" countries outside the Kremlin’s sphere of influence.
The six soldiers arrived in France separately in recent months after initially fleeing from Russia to Kazakhstan. It was the first time any EU country has allowed a group of deserters entry without travel documents or foreign passports, the Guardian reported on Thursday.
As war rages in neighbouring Ukraine, Moldova readies for two crucial votes
On Sunday, Moldovans will have the opportunity to cast two votes.
One is to elect a new president. The other is a referendum on whether their country should include the goal of European Union accession in its constitution.
Philippines vice-president: I’ll dig up president’s father and throw him in sea
Fri 18 Oct 2024 15.56 BST
The Philippine vice-president, Sara Duterte, has threatened to dig up the remains of President Ferdinand Marcos’s dictator father and throw them into the sea, launching a scathing attack on her rival.
Duterte was once allied with Marcos Jr, and ran on a joint ticket with him in the 2022 election, winning a landslide victory. However, she resigned from the cabinet in June and the two powerful dynasties are now engaged in a bitter struggle for power before next year’s midterm elections, with both also preparing for presidential polls in 2028.
The stakes are especially high for the Dutertes, as the vice-president’s father, the former president Rodrigo Duterte, is facing an investigation by the international criminal court (ICC) for crimes against humanity over his bloody “war on drugs”.
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