Hailemariam Desalegn told a press conference charges would also be dropped for those still awaiting trial.

The move was designed to allow political dialogue, he said.

Ethiopia is accused by human rights groups of using mass arrests and detention to stifle opposition.

Ethiopia PM Hailemariam Desalegn ‘open to criticism’

However, this is the first time the government has admitted to having any political prisoners, previously describing them as “criminals”, BBC Ethiopia correspondent Emmanuel Igunza says.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the government of using anti-terrorism laws to jail its critics.

Who are the political prisoners?

Those held in jails across the country include opposition activists from the Amhara and Oromia regions, which were at the centre of anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016, as well as the Southern Nations and Nationalities Peoples Region, and journalists who have criticised the government.

It is difficult to know exactly how many “political prisoners” there are, but our correspondent estimates there are about 1,000 held under the country’s anti-terrorism proclamation, including high profile leaders from the opposition.

However, there are another 5,000 cases still pending, made up of those arrested after a state of emergency was declared in October 2016, he adds.

Will they actually be released?

The government has given no timeline on the release of the prisoners, or explained exactly who is considered “political” and who is not.

Our reporter notes a number of cases have political backgrounds, but are also linked to groups the government considers to be terrorists. Nineteen people linked to Ginbot 7 – deemed a terror group – were sentenced to prison terms just this week.

Any dialogue would have to include legitimate opposition groups like the Oromo Federalist Congress, whose leaders would have to be freed to fully participate in the process, our correspondent says.

What about the detention centre?

As well as releasing the prisoners, Mr Hailemariam announced the closure of Maekelawi – a detention facility in the capital, Addis Ababa, which HRW alleged was using illegal interrogation methods back in 2013.

HRW is not the only group to make such allegations, which are strongly denied by the government.

Despite this, the government has now decided the prison will become a “modern museum” – a move the privately-owned Addis Standard newspaper called for in an editorial in 2016.

A new detention centre will be opened, Mr Hailemariam said, which would comply with international standards.

Why now?

Our correspondent says the detention of political prisoners has always been a major concern. In December, social media users staged a day of action to remember those held behind bars.

But this decision comes hot on the heels of a meeting between the parties which make up the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) collation.

Over the past months, infighting within the coalition, which has been in power for more than 25 years, has led the prime minister to acknowledge the need for change.

The Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization and the Amhara National Democratic Movement, which are part of the coalition, have been pushing for increased political space and the “respect of their people” following the massive anti-government demonstrations that have been witnessed in the country.

Who is Hailemariam Desalegn?
A trained engineer, Mr Hailemariam took the reins of power in 2012, after the death of Meles Zenawi, who had ruled since 1991.

However, while the former deputy prime minister was a close ally of Mr Meles, he struggled to gain approval of the other EPRDF leaders in order to assume his new role.

He is not known for tolerating dissent well, despite statements to the contrary, his critics say.

In 2016, he blamed “anti-peace forces” for the violence in the Oromia region, a year after he told the BBC that bloggers and reporters arrested were not real journalists and had terror links.

–

Source: BBC

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Kirkuk province’s governor, Rakan Said, said they were found at an airbase just outside the city.

Some of the victims were in civilian clothes but others were wearing the jumpsuits that IS used to dress people who were condemned to death.

Mr Said said the base had been “turned into an execution ground”.

General Mortada al-Luwaibi said the Iraqi military found the graves after local residents gave “witness accounts”.

Iraqi forces have discovered dozens of mass graves in areas that were once under IS control. Last year the Associated Press published a survey of mass graves that identified 72 sites. They could contain from 5,200 to more than 15,000 bodies, the news agency said.

Since then the military has retaken more ground from IS.

Hawija is 240km (150 miles) north of Baghdad and was retaken last month after being under IS control since 2013.

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Source: BBC

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The judge ruled he could remain free pending an appeal.

Lula has rejected claims that he received an apartment as a bribe in a corruption scandal linked to state oil company Petrobras.

He says the trial is politically motivated and has strongly denied any wrongdoing.

The case is the first of five charges against him.

Running again?

Lula served eight years as president until 2011 and has expressed interest in running again in next year’s elections for the left-wing Workers’ Party.

On Wednesday, a judge found him guilty of accepting bribes from engineering firm OAS in the form of a beachfront apartment in return for his help in winning contracts with the state oil company.

The head of the Workers’ Party, Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, hit out at the ruling, saying it was designed to stop Lula standing for office.

She said the party would protest against the decision.

The BBC’s Katy Watson in Sao Paulo says Lula remains a popular politician and the sentence will deeply divide Brazil.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

The charges Lula faces all relate to the Car Wash scandal, the nickname for Brazil’s biggest ever corruption probe.

Operation Car Wash was launched three years ago amid escalating public anger over political corruption.

The investigation centres on firms that were allegedly offered deals with Petrobras in exchange for bribes, which were funnelled into politicians’ pockets and party slush funds.

Lula, a former steel worker turned union leader, came to office as the first left-wing leader in Brazil in nearly half a century.

He was Brazil’s most popular president during his tenure – former US President Barack Obama labelled him the most popular politician on Earth.

Unable to stand for a third consecutive term, he was succeeded by close ally Dilma Rousseff, who was later impeached.

Current President Michel Temer also faces corruption allegations and is resisting calls for him to step down.

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Source: BBC

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Mohammed Haji Saddique, 81, sexually touched the girls in front of his class and slapped students repeatedly if they made mistakes during lessons.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Saddique had metal and wooden sticks, which he used to poke the children as they studied.

Saddique of Cyncoed, Cardiff,  was born in Hong Kong and moved to Pakistan before coming to the UK in 1967.

He was a member of the Madina Mosque and was involved in running it, including as a treasurer and teaching Quran studies to primary school pupils.

Classes took place four times per week after school and the court heard how pupils referred to the imam as ‘Uncle Saddique’ as a mark of respect.

Saddique would touch the girls under their traditional loose-fitting clothing during his lessons, and rub them against his groin and leg.

Sentencing him to 13 years in prison, Judge Stephen Hopkins QC said: ‘You would attempt to maintain discipline and concentration by tapping or slapping the child sitting next to you who didn’t read correctly.

‘Every time one of these small children made a mistake you would slap them until they got it right and slap them for every mistake they made.’

Police first launched an investigation in 2006 following complaints by two girls, but Saddique denied any wrongdoing.

The investigation was restarted in 2016 after two other girls came forward.

In victim impact statements read to the court, the girls, now in their 20s, spoke of the lasting impact of Saddique’s offending.

Speaking of one, Judge Hopkins said: ‘It has put her off religion, she deliberately doesn’t own a Quran.

‘[For her] the ethos of going to the mosque at any time is that when you are there, God is protecting you.

‘Her idea was shattered because you abused her when she was reading from the holy book.’

Saddique was found him guilty of 14 offences – six indecent assaults and eight sexual assaults – that took place between 1996 and 2006

–

Source: Metro UK

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The attack occurred on Saturday in the village of Jima, south-east Kenya, said James Ole Serian, who leads a task force of security agencies combating al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda.

Beheadings by al-Shabaab have been rare in Kenya even as the group has carried out dozens of deadly attacks over the years. Beheadings are not uncommon in Somalia, where the group carries them out on people who are believed to be their enemies and to terrorise local populations.

Kenya has seen an increase in attacks claimed by al-Shabaab in recent weeks, posing a security threat before next month’s presidential election. Al-Shabaab has vowed retribution on Kenya for sending troops in 2011 to Somalia to fight the group, which became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa last year.

Saturday’s attack occurred in the Pandaguo area of Lamu county, where al-Shabaab fighters engaged security agencies in a day-long battle three days ago. A police report said about 15 al-Shabaab fighters attacked Jima and seized men, killing them with knives.

In recent months al-Shabaab has increased attacks in Kenya with homemade bombs, killing at least 46 people in Lamu and Mandera counties.

The increase in attacks presents a huge problem for Kenya’s security agencies before the presidential election on 8 August, said Andrew Franklin, a security analyst. On election day security agencies will be strained while attempting to stop any possible violence and al-Shabaab could take advantage, he said.

There was no immediate government comment on the latest attack. The acting interior minister, Fred Matiangi, issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew for parts of Garissa, Tana River and Lamu counties. Mandera county was already under a curfew following earlier al-Shabaab attacks. All are close to the Somali border.

The president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has not issued any statement on the recent surge in al-Shabaab attacks.

Kenya is among five countries contributing troops to an African Union force that is bolstering Somalia’s fragile central government against al-Shabaab’s insurgency. Of those countries, Kenya has borne the brunt of retaliatory attacks.

–

Source: Guardian UK

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, keen to show off her skills as a mediator two months before a German election, achieved her primary goal at the meeting in Hamburg, convincing her fellow leaders to support a single communique with pledges on trade, finance, energy and Africa.

But the divide between Trump, elected on a pledge to put “America First”, and the 19 other members of the club, including countries as diverse as Japan, Saudi Arabia and Argentina, was stark.

Last month Trump announced he was pulling the United States out of a landmark international climate accord clinched two years ago in Paris.

“In the end, the negotiations on climate reflect dissent – all against the United States of America,” Merkel told reporters at the end of the meeting.

“And the fact that negotiations on trade were extraordinarily difficult is due to specific positions that the United States has taken.”

The summit, marred by violent protests that left the streets of Hamburg littered with burning cars and broken shop windows, brought together a volatile mix of leaders at a time of major change in the global geo-political landscape.

Trump’s shift to a more unilateral, transactional diplomacy has left a void in global leadership, unsettling traditional allies in Europe and opening the door to rising powers like China to assume a bigger role.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing dominated the run-up to the meeting, with the Trump administration ratcheting up pressure on President Xi Jinping to rein in North Korea and threatening punitive trade measures on steel.

TRUMP-PUTIN

Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in Hamburg, a hotly anticipated encounter after the former real estate mogul promised a rapprochement with Moscow during his campaign, only to be thwarted by accusations of Russian meddling in the vote and investigations into the Russia ties of Trump associates.

Putin said at the conclusion of the summit on Saturday that Trump had quizzed him on the alleged meddling in a meeting that lasted over two hours but seemed to have been satisfied with the Kremlin leader’s denials of interference.

Trump had accused Russia of destabilizing behavior in Ukraine and Syria before the summit. But in Hamburg he struck a conciliatory tone, describing it as an honor to meet Putin and signaling, through Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, that he preferred to focus on future ties and not dwell on the past.

“It was an extraordinarily important meeting,” Tillerson said, describing a “very clear positive chemistry” between Trump and the former KGB agent.

In the final communique, the 19 other leaders took note of the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and declared it “irreversible”.

For its part, the United States injected a contentious line saying that it would “endeavor to work closely with other countries to help them access and use fossil fuels more cleanly and efficiently.”

French President Emmanuel Macron led a push to soften the U.S. language.

“There is a clear consensus absent the United States,” said Thomas Bernes, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. “But that is a problem. Without the largest economy in the world how far can you go?”

Jennifer Morgan, executive director at Greenpeace, said the G19 had “held the line” against Trump’s “backward decision” to withdraw from Paris.

On trade, another sticking point, the leaders agreed they would “fight protectionism including all unfair trade practices and recognize the role of legitimate trade defense instruments in this regard.”

The leaders also pledged to work together to foster economic development in Africa, a priority project for Merkel.

VIOLENT PROTESTS

Merkel chose to host the summit in Hamburg, the port city where she was born, to send a signal about Germany’s openness to the world, including its tolerance of peaceful protests.

It was held only a few hundred meters from one of Germany’s most potent symbols of left-wing resistance, a former theater called the “Rote Flora” which was taken over by anti-capitalist squatters nearly three decades ago.

Over the three days of the summit, radicals looted shops, torched cars and lorries. More than 200 police were injured and some 143 people have been arrested and 122 taken into custody.

Some of the worst damage was done as Merkel hosted other leaders at for a concert and lavish dinner at the Elbphilharmonie, a modernist glass concert hall overlooking the Elbe River.

Merkel met police and security force after the summit to thank them, and condemned the “unbridled brutality” of some of the protestors, but she was forced to answer tough questions about hosting the summit in Hamburg during her closing press conference.

–

Source: Reuters

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The treaty was endorsed by 122 countries at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday after months of talks in the face of strong opposition from nuclear-armed states and their allies. Only the Netherlands, which took part in the discussion, despite having US nuclear weapons on its territory, voted against the treaty.

All of the countries that bear nuclear arms and many others that either come under their protection or host weapons on their soil boycotted the negotiations. The most vocal critic of the discussions, the US, pointed to the escalation of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme as one reason to retain its nuclear capability. The UK did not attend the talks despite government claims to support multilateral disarmament.

“It’s been seven decades since the world knew the power of destruction of nuclear weapons and since day one there was a call to prohibit nuclear weapons,” Elayne Whyte Gómez, president of the UN conference, told the Guardian. “This is a very clear statement that the international community wants to move to a completely different security paradigm that does not include nuclear weapons.”

The 10-page treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons will be open for signatures from any UN member state on 20 September during the annual general assembly. While countries that possess nuclear weapons are not expected to sign up any time soon, supporters of the treaty believe it marks an important step towards a nuclear-free world by banning the weapons under international law.

“It’s a prohibition in line with other prohibitions on weapons of mass destruction,” said Beatrice Fihn at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons in Geneva. “We banned biological weapons 45 years ago, we banned chemical weapons 25 years ago, and today we are banning nuclear weapons.” Within two years the treaty could have the 50-state ratifications that it needs to enter into international law, she said.

Previous UN treaties have been effective even when key nations have failed to sign up to them. The US did not sign up to the landmines treaty, but has completely aligned its landmines policy to comply nonetheless. “These kinds of treaties have an impact that forces countries to change their behaviour. It is not going to happen fast, but it does affect them,” Fihn said. “We have seen on all other weapons that prohibition comes first, and then elimination. This is taking the first step towards elimination.”

Under the new treaty, signatory states must agree not to develop, test, manufacture or possess nuclear weapons, or threaten to use them, or allow any nuclear arms to be stationed on their territory.

Richard Moyes, managing director of Article 36, a UK organisation that works to prevent harm from nuclear and other weapons, said the negotiations had made clear that “a substantial number of states think that killing hundreds and thousands of people and poisoning their environment is morally wrong and that this should be reflected in law”.

He added: “The UK, along with other states that possess nuclear weapons, has chosen to boycott these talks, but the process has shown that any group of committed and concerned states can and should take collective responsibility to reject these horrific weapons.”

Instead of scrapping their nuclear stocks, the UK and other nuclear powers want to strengthen the 1968 nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT), a pact that aims to prevent the spread of the weapons outside the original five nuclear powers: the US, Russia, Britain, France and China. It requires countries to hold back from nuclear weapons programmes in exchange for a commitment from the nuclear powers to move towards nuclear disarmament and to provide access to peaceful nuclear energy technology. The new treaty reflects a frustration among non-nuclear states that the NPT has not worked as hoped.

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Source: Guardian UK

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Authorities warned of more downpours over the weekend, compounding the misery that the summer storms have brought to southwest Japan since Wednesday.

Some neighborhoods have been devastated by flooding and landslides, and rescue workers and residents have been picking their way through expanses of broken, water-logged trees, branches and mud.

“All the mud and debris is making the clean-up effort difficult,” said Susumu Higuchi, a resident of Asakura.

The city was pounded by more than 600 mm (24 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to 5 a.m. (2000 GMT) on Saturday, according to Japan’s weather agency.

Heavy machinery was working to clear almost knee-deep mud from streets while nearby, an uprooted tree was tangled in cables from an electricity power pole.

A police dog was hunting for victims in flooded homes, many now clogged with debris.

The weather agency said 150 mm of rain was forecast to fall in industrialized Northern Kyushu in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. on Sunday. Some places have seen more rain in a matter of hours than they usually get in the whole month of July.

The rain has been caused by a low pressure over the Pacific that has been feeding into moist air into Japan’s seasonal rainy front.

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Source: Reuters

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Both countries also called for a simultaneous suspension of US-South Korea large-scale military exercises.

North Korea said its missile could hit anywhere in the world.

But while Pyongyang appears to have made progress, experts believe the device cannot accurately hit a target.

Despite the North Korean claim, both the US and Russia said the missile presented no threat to either country.

Calling the launch “unacceptable”, Russia and China also urged the US to not deploy the Thaad missile system, aimed at intercepting attacks from North Korea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Moscow, where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

What did North Korea say?

The announcement on North Korea state television said the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un.

It said the projectile had reached an altitude of 2,802km (1,731 miles) and flew 933km for 39 minutes before hitting a target in the sea.

Image copyrightREUTERS

North Korea, it said, was now “a full-fledged nuclear power that has been possessed of the most powerful inter-continental ballistic rocket capable of hitting any part of the world”.

But experts also believe that Pyongyang does not have the capacity to miniaturise a nuclear warhead that can fit onto such a missile.

How far could this missile travel?

The big question is what range it has, says the BBC’s Steven Evans in Seoul. Could it hit the United States?

David Wright, a physicist with the US-based Union of Concerned Scientists, says that if the reports are correct, this missile could “reach a maximum range of roughly 6,700km on a standard trajectory”.

That range would allow it to reach Alaska, but not the large islands of Hawaii or the other 48 US states, he says.

It is not just a missile that North Korea would need, our correspondent adds. It must also have the ability to protect a warhead as it re-enters the atmosphere, and it is not clear if North Korea can do that.

What does this test tell us? By defence expert Melissa Hanham

Once again North Korea has defied the odds and thumbed its nose at the world in a single missile launch. With the test of the Hwasong-14, it has shown that it can likely reach intercontinental ballistic missile ranges, including putting Alaska at risk.

Kim Jong-un has long expressed his desire for such a test, and to have it on the 4 July holiday in the US is just the icing on his very large cake.

Despite this technical achievement, however, it is likely many outside North Korea will continue to be sceptical. They will ask for proof of working guidance, re-entry vehicle, and even a nuclear warhead.

From a technical perspective, though, their engines have demonstrated ICBM ranges, and this would be the first of several paths North Korea has to an ICBM with even greater range.

Are neighbours and nuclear powers concerned?

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has called on the United Nations Security Council to take steps against North Korea.

Japan described “repeated provocations like this are absolutely unacceptable” and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his country would “unite strongly” with the US and South Korea to put pressure on Pyongyang.

US President Donald Trump also responded swiftly on Tuesday.

On his Twitter account he made apparent reference to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying: “Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?

“Hard to believe that South Korea and Japan will put up with this much longer. Perhaps China will put a heavy move on North Korea and end this nonsense once and for all!”

Image copyrightREUTERS

President Trump has repeatedly called on China, Pyongyang’s closest economic ally, to pressure North Korea to end its nuclear and missile programmes.

On the prospect of North Korea being able to strike the US, he tweeted in January: “It won’t happen.” However experts say it might – within five years or less.

Beijing called for “restraint” following the latest test on Tuesday.

Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China was opposed to North Korea going against clear UN Security Council resolutions on its missile launches.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK “stood alongside the US and our allies to confront the threat North Korea poses to international security”.

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