The appeals judgement in the case against Ratko Mladic, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb armed forces, was delivered by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals today (8 June), prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to issue a statement, urging “all those in positions of power to refrain from denying the seriousness of the crimes that have been adjudicated.”
Mladic is “one of the highest-ranking officials to be tried by the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the Residual Mechanism,” according to the statement, which also notes that the judgement is “a reflection of the international community’s commitment to international criminal justice and the fight against impunity” and “another vital step towards coming to a conclusion.”
Mladi was found guilty of genocide, persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, and inhumane act of forcible transfer in the Srebrenica area in 1995; of persecution, extermination, murder, deportation, and inhumane act of forcible transfer in municipalities throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina; of murder, terror, and unlawful attacks on civilians in Sarajevo; and of hostage-taking of UN personnel. In 1992, he was acquitted of genocide charges in a number of communities around Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Despite college administrations’ warnings, anti-Gaza war protests on campuses are still going strong and new ones are being launched.
Police in the Philippines have arrested three men suspected in the killing of community radio broadcaster Juan Jumalon, who was gunned down while broadcasting live on Facebook.
It’s caterpillar fungus harvesting season in Tibet, and parents have staged protests urging Chinese authorities to let their children leave a residential boarding school to help collect the rare ingredient used in traditional medicine, two sources inside the region said.
In March 2015, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported that from October 2011 to September 2014, there were 226 deaths in detention facilities nationwide. The Ministry of Public Security explained them as being due to illness and suicide. Since then, no further reports have been issued.
Israel has proposed a cease-fire plan for Gaza, which Hamas says it is reviewing. This follows after an Egyptian delegation visited Israel, during which officials described a “new vision” for a prolonged end of hostilities.
The need for sustainable solutions becomes more pressing as climate change wreaks havoc around the world. In Nigeria, a private company recently introduced an Uber-style taxi system made of approximately 200 electric vehicles.
A Myanmar junta airstrike on a hospital in the west of the country has killed four people, including patients and staff, and wounded 15, a rebel group told Radio Free Asia on Friday.
As part of measures to tackle the militant attacks, mass kidnappings, and banditry activities that have plagued the nation, Nigeria is considering establishing state police throughout all 36 of its states. The violence has overwhelmed the country’s police force, which numbers over 300,000 members.The state police are an addition to this force. Nigerians cautiously welcome the move.