News in English

8. April 2017, 21:58

Britain confirms detentions in Afghanistan

The British government has confirmed that its forces in Afghanistan are holding 80 to 90 Afghans at Camp Bastion, following allegations that the army is running a secret detention facility at the base. Some of the detainees have been held for up to 14 months without charge. British lawyers acting for eight of the men have applied to the high court in London in a bid to free them. Phil Shiner is one of the lawyers: “We have no idea why these men are being detained. We are not able to determine whether they’ve been treated lawfully, whether they’ve been treated humanely.” Britain’s defence secretary Philip Hammond has condemned the lawyer’s move: “They’re asking the court to order us to release these people, to turn them back onto the battlefield, so they can carry on with the activities for which they were detained in the first place, putting British troops and other ISAF troops at risk.”

Syrian rebels condemn opposition Coalition

Four leading rebel groups inside Syria have strongly condemned the opposition Syrian National Coalition over its failure to agree a joint position ahead of an international peace conference proposed by Russia and the United States. They said the coalition failed to represent the Syrian revolution. Meanwhile Iranian officials say 40 countries are attending a conference on Syria in Tehran. The Syrian opposition and key regional countries Turkey and Qatar are not attending.

Hague tribunal convicts Bosnian Croats

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has convicted six Bosnian Croat political and military leaders of atrocities against Muslims during the Bosnian war in the 1990s. Judges at the tribunal in The Hague convicted the six of the murder, rape and deportation of Muslims as part of a plan to establish a Croat state in Bosnia.

French stabbing suspect arrested

A 22 year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of a soldier near Paris on Saturday. French prosecutors said the case is being treated as a terrorism investigation.

OECD calls for action on growth

The OECD has again cut its growth forecasts for the Eurozone, to 0.6% for this year. It called on the European Central Bank to act to boost growth, as the gap grows between Europe and faster growing economies such as the US and Japan.

Teenagers on trial over football death

The trial has opened in the Netherlands of seven teenagers and the father of one of them accused of kicking a football linesman to death. The linesman Richard Nieuwenhuizen was attacked at the end of a junior club match last December.

The Weather

Mainly cloudy with rainshowers. Some sun in the east with showers later in the day. Lively winds and top temps 7 to 23 degrees.

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