MYANMAR was accused yesterday of genocide at the U.N.’s highest court for its campaign against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority, as lawyers asked the International Court of Justice to urgently order measures “to stop Myanmar’s genocidal conduct immediately.” Gambia filed the case on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
THAILAND A court has issued arrest warrants for the former head of a major national park and three park employees accused of killing an ethnic Karen environmental activist.
INDIA Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party has suffered a big setback in western Maharashtra state after its longtime ally broke away and joined two other parties to form the new state government. The Shiv Sena split with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party yesterday and decided to form a coalition government with the BJP’s key opponents, the Congress party and National Congress Party.
AUSTRALIA’s most populous state declared a state of emergency yesterday due to unprecedented wildfire danger as calls grew for Australia to take more action to counter climate change. New South Wales state Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said residents were facing what “could be the most dangerous bushfire week this nation has ever seen.”
AFGHANISTAN An official says a Pakistani delegation is in Kabul to meet Afghan authorities amid increased tensions. Yesterday’s meeting is the first since the Pakistani Embassy closed its consular section in Kabul earlier this month, citing unspecified security concerns.
RUSSIA President Vladimir Putin is complaining to his cabinet that widescale corruption at Russia’s new space launch facility is continuing. The facility in the Far East, named Vostochny, is intended to reduce Russia’s reliance on the Baikonur launchpads in Kazakhstan, from which all manned space missions and many other major rockets set off. But construction of Vostochny has been plagued by corruption.
BOLIVIA Opposition leader Carlos Mesa says former President Evo Morales was brought down by a popular uprising, not the military. Mesa’s comments yesterday were part of a growing dispute over whether Morales’ resignation on Sunday was the result of a military coup. Mesa says there was no coup and that the military had made a decision not to deploy in the streets because “they didn’t want to take lives.”
FRANCE President Emmanuel Macron marked Armistice Day yesterday by visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, as a giant tricolor flag flew overhead. Greeted by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Macron laid a wreath and inspected troops during the ceremony celebrating 101 years since the Armistice that ended the slaughter of World War I.
US President Donald Trump is set to offer a tribute to those who served in the armed forces as he kicks off New York City’s Veterans Day Parade. Trump is to speak at the opening of the 100th annual parade organized by the United War Veterans Council in Madison Square Park. He is the first sitting president to accept the group’s invitation to speak at the event.
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