Latest news with #separatist
Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Appeals court in Bosnia confirms sentence for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — An appeals court in Bosnia confirmed Friday an earlier court ruling that sentenced the pro-Russia Bosnian Serb president, Milorad Dodik, to one year in prison and banned him from politics for six years over his separatist actions as tensions mount in the fragile Balkan state. The landmark ruling in Sarajevo came after a year-long trial that ended in February on charges that Dodik disobeyed the top international envoy overseeing peace in the country. Dodik has repeatedly called for the separation of the Serb-run half of Bosnia to join neighboring Serbia, which prompted the former U.S. administration to impose sanctions against him and his allies. Dodik was also accused of corruption and pro-Russia policies.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
Security forces respond to militant attack on courthouse in south-east Iran
An attack by the jihadist separatist group Jaish al-Adl on a courthouse in Iran's south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan has left at least six civilians, including a mother and child, dead and 22 wounded. Attackers stormed the building, shooting a number of people inside. They then launched mortars and grenade at the courthouse, where a clash began with security forces that lasted three hours. Three gunmen were killed in the clash.
CTV News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Smith, Alberta Next panel begin town hall series to hear grievances about Ottawa
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith speaks during a news conference in Calgary on Friday, October 13, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and a hand-picked panel are set to hold the first in a series of town halls to address public concerns with the federal government. Some 650 people are expected at today's event in Red Deer as Smith and the 15 other members of the Alberta Next panel hear about grievances inspiring separatist sentiment in the province. The government is dedicating time at the event to several strategies it's pitching to wrest more control from the federal government, including pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan and withholding social services from some immigrants. There will also be an open question-and-answer period. Smith and panel members are set to hear feedback in Edmonton on Wednesday. The premier has said the panel will recommend ideas and policy proposals for a referendum after the town halls wrap up in October. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kurdish separatist fighters in Iraq begin laying down weapons
Fighters with a Kurdish separatist militant group that has waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey have begun laying down their weapons in a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq, the first concrete step towards a promised disarmament as part of a peace process. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced in May it would disband and renounce armed conflict, ending four decades of hostilities. The move came after PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group in February to convene a congress and formally disband and disarm. Ocalan renewed his call in a video message broadcast on Wednesday, saying: 'I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons.' In Turkey, Devlet Bahceli, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's nationalist ally who initiated the peace process, welcomed the development. 'Starting today, members of the separatist terrorist organisation have begun surrendering their weapons in groups, marking historic developments that signal the end of a dark era,' Mr Bahceli said in a written statement. 'These are exceptionally important days for both Turkey and our region.' Mr Bahceli, who has traditionally maintained a hardline stance against the PKK, had surprised everyone in October when he suggested in parliament that Ocalan could be granted parole if he renounced violence and disbanded the PKK. The ceremony took place in the mountains outside the city of Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The state-run Iraqi News Agency reported that 'the process will take place in stages, with a group of party members initially laying down their weapons 'symbolically''. The disarmament process is expected to be completed by September, the agency reported. The PKK has long maintained bases in the mountains of northern Iraq. Turkish forces have launched offensives and air strikes against the PKK in Iraq and have set up bases in the area. Scores of villages have emptied as a result. The Iraqi government in Baghdad last year announced an official ban on the separatist group, which has long been prohibited in Turkey. Journalists were not allowed at the site of Friday's ceremony. An Iraqi Kurdish political official said that about 30 fighters took part in the ceremony, which took place in the presence of a representative of the Turkish intelligence service and representatives of the Kurdish regional government, Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, and the People's Equality and Democracy Party, a pro-Kurdish party in Turkey. PKK officials previously said that in order to continue the disarmament process, they want to see Turkey take steps to end 'the regime of isolation' imposed on Ocalan in prison and to allow integration of former militants into the political system.
CNA
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CNA
China, Taiwan clash over history, Beijing says can't 'invade' what is already Chinese territory
BEIJING/TAIPEI: China and Taiwan clashed over their competing interpretations of history in an escalating war of words over what Beijing views as provocations from Taiwan's government, and said it is impossible to "invade" what is already Chinese land. China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure over the past five years. China has an especial dislike of Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, calling him a "separatist". Lai has since Sunday (Jun 22) given two speeches in what will be a series of 10 on "uniting the country", saying that Taiwan is "of course a country" and China has no legal or historical right to claim it. Speaking on Wednesday at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said any "independence provocations" from Lai and his administration will face "resolute countermeasures". "Though the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have not yet been fully reunified, the historical and legal fact that compatriots on both sides belong to one China and that both sides' compatriots are Chinese has never changed," she said. Tensions between China and Taiwan, including several rounds of Chinese war games, have raised the possibility Beijing may one day make good on threats to take Taiwan by force, which could ignite a regional war. China's last war games were in April, and its air force and navy operate around Taiwan on a daily basis, sometimes using dozens of warplanes, according to the island's defence ministry. Asked about US comments on Chinese drills strengthening preparations for an attack, Zhu corrected the reporter. "Taiwan is a part of China; there is no invasion to speak of," she said. Lai takes a different view on Taiwan's status and future. In a speech late on Tuesday, he said Taiwan's future can only be decided by its people, democratically, not by a decision by any party or president, and that "Taiwan independence" refers to the island not being a part of the People's Republic of China. The defeated Republic of China, founded after the 1911 revolution that brought down the last emperor, fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, and that remains the island's formal name. "How old is the Republic of China? It's 113 years old, and will be 114 years old this year. The People's Republic of China? It's only some 70 years old, right? It's simple and clear," Lai said. This year's 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two is another sensitive topic, and China has invited old soldiers who fought for the Republic of China to a military parade in Beijing in early September. Taiwan does not want them to attend, and on Wednesday its defence minister, Wellington Koo, said Beijing was trying to distort history.
