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The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican).
Berit Reiss-Andersen, the Nobel committee chair, said it was due to the group's "groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty prohibition" on nuclear weapons. "We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time," she continued. She cited the North Korea issue. In July, after pressure from Ican, 122 nations backed a UN treaty designed to ban and eventually eliminate all nuclear weapons. But none of the nine known nuclear powers in the world - including the UK and the US - endorsed it. Ms Reiss-Andersen called on nuclear-armed states to initiate negotiations to gradually eliminate the weapons. Ican, a coalition of hundreds of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), is 10 years old and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The group will receive nine million Swedish kronor ($1.1 million, £846,000) along with a medal and a diploma at a ceremony in December. Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the group, told reporters that the prize had come as a surprise but that it was "a huge signal" that the group's work was "needed and appreciated". "The laws of war say that we can't target civilians. Nuclear weapons are meant to target civilians; they're meant to wipe out entire cities," she said, adding: "That's unacceptable and nuclear weapons no longer get an excuse. "It's a giant radioactive bomb, it just causes chaos and havoc and civilian casualties. It is not a weapon that you can use in line with the laws of war. "Every state matters here. The more states that sign and ratify this treaty the stronger the norm is going to get. They're not moving towards disarmament fast enough." The Nobel prize citation read: "Some states are modernising their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea." North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has launched a series of rockets and a nuclear test this year, leading to an escalating war of words with US President Donald Trump. Mr Trump, who commands one of the world's most powerful nuclear arsenals, threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if his country is forced to defend itself or its allies. Last year's winner, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, said the peace prize was "like a gift from heaven" as his government tried to negotiate a deal with the main rebel group, the Farc.
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Iraq's prime minister says its military has retaken Hawija, the main town in one of the last two enclaves of so-called Islamic State in the country.
Haider al-Abadi told reporters that Hawija had been "liberated" as part of an operation launched two weeks ago. A few villages east of the town are believed to still be under IS control. Once they fall, IS will be left with only a stretch of the Euphrates river valley around al-Qaim, in the western desert near the border with Syria. The jihadist group still controls large parts of the valley in the neighbouring Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, but it is under pressure there from Syrian pro-government forces and a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters. Hawija, which lies 215km (135 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has been a bastion of Sunni Arab insurgents since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The town fell to IS in June 2014, when the jihadist group seized control of much of northern and western Iraq and proclaimed the creation of a "caliphate". But it was surrounded and cut off from other IS-held territory more than a year ago, when government forces advanced north towards the second city of Mosul. The offensive on Hawija began on 21 September and has involved army, police and special forces units, as well as the Shia-led paramilitary Popular Mobilisation. With the help of US-led coalition air strikes and military advisers, they recaptured the town of Shirqat on the second day and then moved steadily south-eastwards. On Wednesday, the operation's commander announced that troops had begun a major operation to "liberate" Hawija itself. They quickly breached jihadist defences in the north-western outskirts and stormed the town centre as night fell. Speaking at a press conference in Paris on Thursday morning after holding talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Abadi called the recapture of Hawija a "victory not just of Iraq, but of the whole world". But he said the victory had been achieved "despite the crises that some people have tried to drag us into" - an apparent reference to the referendum on independence held by the autonomous Kurdistan Region last week despite opposition from the government in Baghdad and the international community. Mr Abadi wants the Kurdistan Regional Government to annul the result - more than 90% voted in favour of secession - or face punitive sanctions, international isolation and possible military intervention. He banned direct international flights to the region last week and on Tuesday called for a "joint administration" in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas that have been controlled by the Kurds since 2014 but claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government. "We do not want an armed confrontation, we don't want clashes, but the federal authority must prevail and nobody can infringe on the federal authority," Mr Abadi said on Thursday. "I call on the Peshmerga to remain an integral part of the Iraqi forces under the authority of the federal authorities, to guarantee the security of citizens so that we can rebuild these zones." Mr Macron said France wanted "stability in Iraq" and called for Kurdish rights to be recognised "in the framework of the constitution". A plaque has been removed from Canada's Holocaust memorial because it neglected to mention Jewish people.
PM Justin Trudeau opened the National Holocaust Monument last week in the capital Ottawa. The plaque commemorated the "millions of men, women and children murdered" but did not specifically mention Jewish people or anti-Semitism. About six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, the largest group to be persecuted by the Nazis. The omission was seized upon by MPs and senators of the opposition Conservative Party on Tuesday. "If we are going to stamp out hatred toward Jews, it is important to get history right," said MP David Sweet. Heritage Minister Melanie Joly assured parliament that the plaque had been removed, and would be replaced with one that reflects "the horrors experienced by the Jewish people". The omission on the plaque appears to have been an oversight - during the opening on 27 September both anti-Semitism and the effects of the Holocaust on the Jewish people were mentioned. "Today we reaffirm our unshakeable commitment to fight anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination in all its forms, and we pay tribute to those who experienced the worst of humanity. We can honour them by fighting hatred with love, and seeking always to see ourselves in each other," Mr Trudeau said at the unveiling. Until then, Canada had been the only Allied power to not have a national Holocaust memorial. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump was admonished for failing to use the word Jew on Holocaust Remembrance Day. President Donald Trump has described the gunman who killed 59 people and injured 527 in Las Vegas on Sunday as "a sick man, a demented man".
Holding a speech at the white house, he told the press he would look at gun laws as time goes by. The police haven't found a motive of Stephen Paddock, 64, who opened fire at a concert from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. He had 32 guns in his room, and more firearms and explosives were found in his home, police reports. Paddock had no criminal record and a stranger to the police forces over the world. No motive for the killing has been found as of yet. No link between paddock and international terrorism has been made yet. Some have even suggested mental illness as a reason for the killing, but his medical history currently unconfirmed. Boarding a helicopter, the president of USA, Donald Trump, told the reporters that PAddock was "a sick man, a demented man. Lots of problems, I guess, and we're looking into him very, very seriously." When asked about gun laws, he said that he will "look into it as time goes by.", and gave no further comment. |