A memorial dedicated to Kurdish victims of the Halabja genocide, where tens of thousands were killed by chemical weapons, has been unanimously approved by the Hague City Council.

The memorial, proposed by the Halabja Memorial Committee, is planned to be placed near the building of the OPCW (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons), with Harry van Bommel, an MP from the Socialist Party saying,

“For many years [since 2008] there were attempts to create a monument for a respectable memorial of the victims of the horrible poison attacks by Saddam Hussein… Now, it finally is here, there is every reason to celebrate. I want to thank everyone for their efforts.”

The announcement comes as Sweden’s parliament official recognised the Anfal campaign by Saddam Hussein’s forces against Kurdish people as a genocide.

Falah Mustafa, the head of the Kurdistan Region’s Department of Foreign Relations, stated on Twitter that the next step was to gain genocide recognition in the Netherlands.

Two Reuters cameramen were assaulted by Israeli soldiers in Hebron, West Bank on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

The soldiers punched the cameramen, forced them to strip in the street and let off a tear gas canister in front of them, leaving one of the victims in need of hospital treatment.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Avital Leibovich said that "the regional brigade commander was ordered to open an investigation," but no further information will be provided until the investigation is complete.

The victims, Yousri al Jamal and Ma’amoun Wazwaz said that they had been stopped by a foot patrol while driving to a checkpoint where an Israeli border guard had shot a Palestinian teenager dead.

Although their car was clearly marked ‘TV’ and both cameramen were wearing press jackets, they were forced to leave their vehicles by the soldiers who punched them and struck them with the butts of their guns. The Reuters cameramen said that the soldiers had accused them of working for B’Tselem, an Israeli NGO which documents human rights violations on the occupied West Bank.

Jamal and Wazwaz said that they were not allowed to produce their ID papers and were instead forced to strip down to their underwear and made to kneel on the road with their hands behind their heads.

Two other local Palestinian journalists were also stopped and forced to the ground, and the IDF patrol ran away as one soldier dropped a tear gas canister between the men.

Editor-in-chief of Reuters News, Stephen J. Adler said:

"We deplore the mistreatment of our journalists and have registered our extreme dismay with the Israeli military authorities.”

See here for full report on Reuters.

Sudan may face more charges for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur, announced the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda.

Fatou Bensouda told the United Nations Security Council that war crimes including bombings, bombardments, the blocking of humanitarian aid and direct attacks on civilian populations, continued to be committed by Sudan.

The Security Council ambassadors requested strong efforts to arrest indicted war criminal Al-Bashir and several others to trial.

“The failure of the government of Sudan to implement the five arrest warrants seems symbolic of its on-going commitment to a military solution in Darfur, which has translated into a strategy aimed at attacking civilian populations over the last 10 years, with tragic results,” Bensouda told the Council.

“It should be clear to this council that the government of Sudan is neither prepared to hand over the suspects nor to prosecute them for their crimes,” she also said.

Bensouda’s condemnation of the Sudanese government comes as Human Rights Watch reported indiscriminate bombing of civilian populations by the Sudanese government, and Sudanese security forces detained one of the country's most prominent opposition politicians, Farouk Abu Issa after he attended an opposition party forum, reported Reuters.

Israel will withold Palestinian funds in the form of tax revenues from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in response to the state's UN observer status bid.

Israel's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said:

"The Palestinians can forget about getting even one cent in the coming four months, and in four months' time we will decide how to proceed,"

"Israel is not prepared to accept unilateral steps by the Palestinian side, and anyone who thinks they will achieve concessions and gains this way is wrong,"

A former Bosnian Serb General has been found guilty of genocide and sentenced to life at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Zdravko Tolimir, who is said to have been the ‘right hand’ of Ratko Mladic, who used to be the head of intelligence, was convicted for his involvement in the Srebrenica killing, where over 7,000 Bosniak men and boys were massacred by Serb forces.

"The accused not only had knowledge of genocidal intent of others but also possessed it himself," said Presiding Judge Christoph Fluegge.

"He is therefore responsible for the crime of genocide."

Gen Tolimir was reporting directly to former military commander Ratko Mladic, who is also on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

"It was his men... who were at the detention and execution and burial sites, making sure that murder operation did its evil work until the last bullet was fired and the last body buried," said the prosecution.

The United Nations Security Council roundly condemned the launch of a long-range rocket by North Korea, following global criticism of the move by Pyongyang.

A statement by the Security Council said,

"Members of the Security Council condemned this launch, which is a clear violation of the Security Council resolutions 1718 and 1874."

U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Susan E. Rice commented,

"The statement that was issued today, that was an initial statement out of the Council, is one of the swiftest and strongest, if not the swiftest and strongest, that this Council has issued."

Earlier in the United States, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said,

"North Korea's launch today... is a highly provocative act that threatens regional security, directly violates United Nations Security Council resolutions ... and undermines the global non-proliferation regime,"

China, a long-time ally of North Korea, also expressed "regret" over the launch, in a statement released earlier on Wednesday.

The government of El Salvador has been ordered to investigate a massacre which left around a thousand people dead during its civil war.

The current government apologised for the massacre in January, with President Mauricio Funes weeping while asking for forgiveness.

However the Costa Rica based Inter-American Human Rights Court ruled that the killings by government soldiers in and around El Mozote have to be investigated.

A general amnesty, agreed in 1992, protected those accused of committing crimes during the country's civil war from 1980 to 1992.

But the court has now ordered the government to continue collecting details of the victims, conduct investigations into the massacre and pay victim's families compensation.

The United States announced it would now recognise the Syrian opposition coalition as "legitimate representative of the Syrian people".

In an interview with ABC News, US President Barack Obama said,

"We've made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population, that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime."

Violence between supporters of opposing Syrian groups has killed 6 people and injured 40 in the Lebanese capital Tripoli.

Existing sectarian tensions in Lebanon have increased since the escalation of the conflict in Syria.

Groups of young men were seen firing machine guns and rocket propelled grenades at each other in the Bab al-Tabbana area.

The BBC reported that a group of 14 Lebanese and Palestinian men from the area, who appear to have joined the rebellion, were recently killed by the Syrian army in a Syrian border town.

The opening of Sweden's first genocide trial, where a 54-year-old man faces charges over his role in the Rwandan genocide, has been lauded by Amnesty International.

The trial will see the accused, face charges over alleged involvment in leading a Hutu militia in murdering Tutsi civilians.

In an interview with Swedish radio, Elisabeth Löfgren from Amnesty International Sweden commented,

"The trial demonstrates Sweden's international responsibility... the crimes haven't occurred here but if someone is in Sweden it is important to show that there is no sanctuary here, that justice will catch up with you.''

The trial comes after Sweden launched a war crimes unit in 2007 focusing on investigating war crimes cases in an effort to prevent sweden becoming a haven for war criminals.

See our earlier post:

Sweden's first genocide trial opens (16 November 2012)

Representatives of rebels attending peace talks with the Congolese government dodged a crucial meeting, in which the government was to respond to criticism that it was facing.

The Ugandan official Cripis Kiyonha, who was chosen to mediate the talks, after speaking to the rebel representatives,  said that the M23 had no interest in hearing what the Congolese delegation had to say.

The rebel delegation’s absence from the meeting came after, on the first day of talks, the leader of the M23 Rebel delegation, Francois Rucogoza, accused  the Congolese government of lacking “visionary leadership” and corruption and incompetence.

The Congolese government delegation refused to give its response, unless the M23 rebel delegation was physically present to hear their side.

The Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi announced that he would annul his decree that gave him sweeping powers, late on Saturday following days of mass protests and talks at the presidential palace.

However, the referendum on the draft constitution, due to be held on 15th December will go on as planned, despite opposition demands to postpone it. Many liberals walked out of the talks at this point, stating that their voices were not being heard.

The South Sudanese army has shot and killed 10 protestors in the northwest of the country.

Protestors blocked roads in the town of Wau after local government officials said they would move their offices to another location.

A UN spokesperson is reported by the BBC as saying that security personnel had demonstrated “excessive use of force”, whilst breaking up the protest on Saturday, killing four people.

Another six died when troops fired on another demonstration on Sunday.