S Sudan: UN
AFP, Juba
UN human rights experts on Thursday said “ethnic cleansing” was under way in South Sudan after visiting the country where violence has soared since a peace deal collapsed in July.
“There is already a steady process of ethnic cleansing underway in several areas of South Sudan using starvation, gang rape and the burning of villages; everywhere we went across this country we heard villagers saying they are ready to shed blood to get their land back,” said Yasmin Sooka of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. “Many told us it’s already reached a point of no return.”
Indonesian Muslims protest Christian governor
AFP, Jakarta
More than 200,000 Indonesian Muslims prayed in unison and chanted Koranic verses Friday in the second major demonstration against Jakarta’s Christian governor, as conservative groups push for his arrest for allegedly insulting Islam.
People in white Islamic robes and skullcaps packed out a massive park in the capital, with over 20,000 security personnel deployed to prevent a repeat of violence that erupted at the last protest against Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.
Crown Prince becomes Thailand’s new king
AFP, Bangkok
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn was proclaimed king of Thailand on Thursday, opening a new chapter for the powerful monarchy in a country still mourning the death of his father. Vajiralongkorn, 64, who inherits one of the world’s richest monarchies as well as a politically troubled nation, ascends the throne 50 days after King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s death.
Ethiopia arrests opposition leader
AFP, Addis Ababa
An Ethiopian opposition leader has been arrested following his return from Europe where he had spoken out against a state of emergency imposed last month to quell anti-government protests, his coalition said Thursday. Merera Gudina, the 60-year-old chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) was arrested at his home in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday.
and is being held in an unknown location with three others, said Beyenne Petros, president of the Medrek opposition alliance of which the OFC is a member.
