German prosecutors filed charges against a Syrian doctor for torturing and abusing inmates in the Assad regime’s military hospitals, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced on Wednesday.

Alaa M., who was arrested in Germany last year, was officially charged with committing crimes against humanity in his homeland, torturing more than a dozen people and murdering at least one of the detainees from April 2011 until the end of 2012.

The prosecutors said their investigation has revealed that the accused worked as a doctor in several military hospitals and prisons in Homs and Damascus, where cruel methods of torture were used to extract confessions or punish opposition members.

The indictment listed at least 18 cases of torture and mistreatment of inmates by Alaa M., including vicious beatings of prisoners, burning parts of their bodies with fire, sexual violence and forced sterilization on a 14-year-old boy.

He was also accused of murdering a prisoner by injecting a deadly substance.

Germany’s unique legislation the “Code of Crimes against International Law” gives courts universal jurisdiction over war crimes and crimes against humanity, and they can open full investigation into such crimes, even when they were not committed within its territory.

Alaa M. was arrested last year in the central German state of Hesse. He fled to Germany in 2015, and was practicing medicine here.

Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) has welcomed the legal initiative by federal prosecutors.

"Grave crimes against Syria's civil society are not only taking place in the detention centers of the intelligence services: Syria's torture and extermination system is complex and only exists thanks to the support of a wide variety of actors," ECCHR’s Secretary General Wolfgang Kaleck said in a statement.

"With the trial of Alaa M., the role of military hospitals and medical staff in this system could be addressed for the very first time. It is an important step for the German judiciary to carry on what has been started with the proceedings against Anwar R. in Koblenz," he added.

Anwar R., a former intelligence officer of the Assad regime, was arrested in Germany in 2019, and his trial continues in the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz. He is accused of systematic torture of at least 4,000 people at the Al-Khatib detention facility in Damascus.

Alaa M.’s trial is expected to begin later this year at the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt./aa

Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday published law in the country's official gazette, stipulating punishment for denial of genocide during the Bosnian War of 1992-1995.

The law will come into force a day after publication in the official gazette.

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, Friday amended the country’s criminal code to ban the denial of genocide and the glorification of war criminals.

Inzko used his "Bonn Powers" to introduce the amendment to outlaw the public denial, condoning, trivialization or justification of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes when it is done in a way that is “likely to incite to violence or hatred.”

According to the law, anyone trying to deny, glorify, trivialize or justify genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes will be sentenced to six months to five years.

Those inciting hatred and violence against race, color, religion, national or social origin, nation, or ethnic group will be sentenced to three months to three years and anyone who distributes posters, flyers, and brochures related to those crimes will be sentenced to at least three years in prison.

The law also stipulates that those who reward, glorify, give privileges, and name streets, squares, bridges, institutions, cities, or neighborhoods after those convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, shall be sentenced to a minimum of three years.

Bosnian Serbs protest decision

Bosnian Serb politicians said they will boycott the country's institutions in protest.

A Serb member of Bosnia’s joint Presidency, Milorad Dodik, denounced the amendments, saying: “We will not live in a country where someone can impose a law by simply publishing it on his website.”

Dodik repeatedly said over the weekend that Inzko’s decision should serve as a final push for the secession of Bosnian Serb lands from the rest of the country.

Other Bosnian Serb political representatives said they considered Inzko’s decision "unacceptable and void", adding they will boycott the work of the country’s multi-ethnic presidency, parliament, and government.

The Office of the High Representative, established with the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, oversees the implementation of the peace agreement on behalf of the international community. Inzko, an Austrian diplomat, has been holding office since 2009./aa

Major indexes in the US stock market closed Wednesday mixed after the Federal Reserve affirmed American economy has improved but it is short of full recovery.

The Dow Jones plummeted 127 points, or 0.36%, to 34,930, while the S&P 500 was almost flat by losing less than one point to 4,400 to end the day at negative territory. Both indexes posted losses for the second day in a row.

The Nasdaq, on the other hand, jumped 102 points, or 0.7%, to 14,762 driven by tech companies such as Twitter and Google's parent Alphabet soaring 2.3% and 3.2%, respectively.

Investors got mixed results from the Federal Reserve statement that said sectors most adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic have shown improvement, but they have not fully recovered.

The Fed Chair Jerome Powell later said in a press conference that inflation has increased notably in the US and it will likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating.

The markets will now await signals from the Fed officials at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium that will be held in late August, and the Fed's next meeting on Sept. 21-22 where it will release projections on economic growth, inflation and interest rates./aa

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that inflation has increased notably in the US and it will likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating.

"As the economy continues to reopen and spending rebounds, we are seeing upward pressure on prices," he said at a news conference after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged between the 0.00% - 0.25% range.

Powell said upward pressure on prices is a result of supply bottlenecks that limit how quickly production can respond to increasing demand from consumers as the economy rapidly reopens from the coronavirus pandemic.

"These bottleneck effects have been larger than anticipated. But as these transitory supply effects abate, inflation is expected to drop back to our longer-run goal," he said.

The chair noted that increasing oil and energy prices have also contributed to the rise in inflation.

Powell has repeatedly said in recent months that the Fed will allow inflation to climb above its 2% target for some time until labor market conditions improve and maximum employment is achieved.

Inflation, however, has soared much higher than the Fed anticipated since the central bank injected trillions of dollars of liquidity into the markets during the pandemic to support the American economy and people.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the change in the prices of goods sold by manufacturers, soared 7.3% in June, from the same month last year, which was the largest 12-month increase since November 2010.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) that measures changes in the price of goods and services from a consumer perspective, jumped 5.4% in June year-over-year -- the largest 12-month increase since August 2008./aa

Kenya’s Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe warned on Wednesday that the nation is at the beginning of a fourth coronavirus wave, citing increased infections.

Kagwe told county governments to ensure that they have sufficient intensive care unit (ICU) beds and oxygen to deal with the new cases.

“I would like to appeal to the county governments to start ensuring that there is sufficient oxygen in each county. Of particular importance is ensuring that not only is there oxygen but the oxygen has been properly piped. We can already see an increase in demand of ICU beds [and] we can see an increase in demand of oxygen requirements,” he said.

The Health Ministry said the Delta variant is now dominant in Kenya.

This comes as the UK donated 817,000 COVID-19 vaccines to Kenya.

More vaccines are set to arrive in Kenya next week and Kagwe said: ”Kenya will receive 1,760,000 doses of Pfizer from the US government, 410,000 doses of AstraZeneca from the UK government, 235,000 doses of AstraZeneca from Greece and 55,000 doses of AstraZeneca from Latvia as part of bilateral donations.”

A total of 1,006 people tested positive on Wednesday for the virus in Kenya from a sample size of 5,584 tested in the last 24 hours.

The positivity rate is now 18.0%. Confirmed cases are at 199,941 and cumulative tests conducted stand at 2,109,581.

Thirteen people have also died, all being late deaths reported after conducting facility record audits./aa

The US sanctioned on Wednesday a slew of Syrian entities, including eight Syrian regime prisons and five senior officials in charge of the facilities.

The Treasury Department said the prisons “have been sites of human rights abuses against political prisoners and other detainees.”

“The Assad regime has waged a ruthless war against the Syrian people, imprisoning hundreds of thousands of Syrians calling for reform and change, of whom at least 14,000 have been tortured to death,” the department said in a statement.

“More than 130,000 people reportedly remain missing or arbitrarily detained to this day — the vast majority of whom are either presumed dead or are detained without communication with family or legal representation,” it added.

Among the entities being sanctioned are the Saydnaya Military Prison, Syrian Military Intelligence head Kifah Moulhem, and Syrian Military Intelligence Branch 290 Commander Wafiq Nasser.

The Treasury Department also announced the designations of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, an armed group that operates in northern Syria with “a record of human rights abuse,” as well as its leader, Ahmad Ihsan Fayyad al-Hayes./aa

Data released on Wednesday by Spain’s Interior Ministry showed that hate crimes are on the rise in Spain, increasing by 9.3% during the first half of this year compared to 2019.

“The data confirms what we’ve been seeing for years -- an objective and constant increase in hate crimes,” said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska during a presentation of the findings.

With a backdrop of the pandemic, hate crimes decreased in 2020, but they have re-emerged with force this year.

During the first half of 2021, there were at least 610 reported hate crimes, although the government found that just one out of every 10 are reported to the police.

Last year, racism was the leading motivator of the attacks, followed by ideology and sexual orientation.

In recent months, Spain has been shaken by the racist murder of Moroccan national Younes Bilal for being a Muslim, and the fatal beating of Samuel Luiz Muniz, 24, allegedly for being gay.

According to the statistics, young men are most likely to be both the victims and perpetrators of these attacks.

“Of those arrested for racist, xenophobic or gender crimes, 81% were male,” said Javier Lopez Gutierrez, the head of the statistics and victim attention department in the Spanish government.

Of those arrested, the majority were between 26 and 40 years old./aa

India Wednesday said full statehood will be granted to Jammu and Kashmir at an "appropriate time" after normalcy is restored.

In a written statement, Home Minister Nityanand Rai informed the Indian parliament Wednesday that the decision about full statehood to be given to Jammu and Kashmir will be taken at an appropriate time.

On Aug. 5, 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its constitution, scrapping the autonomy of the country’s only Muslim-majority state. It was also split into two federally administered territories.

In a separate reply, the minister said ''terrorism'' incidents in Jammu and Kashmir were reduced during 2020 by 59% as compared to 2019, and by 32% up to June this year.

Rai also said: “The government has adopted a policy of zero-tolerance towards terrorism and has taken various measures such as strengthening the security apparatus, strict enforcement of law against anti-national elements, and intensified cordon and search operations to effectively deal with the challenges posed by terrorist organizations.”/aa

Citing satellite images, US scientists have claimed that China is building a second nuclear missile silo field with a capacity of approximately 110 silos, in what they call “the most significant expansion of the Chinese nuclear arsenal ever.”

Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists said in a report on Monday that the second missile silo field is located 380 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of the Yumen field, near the prefecture-level city of Hami in northwestern China's Xinjiang autonomous region, home to around 10 million Turkic Uyghur people.

Satellite images show that construction of the nuclear missile field is underway, the report said.

"The Hami missile silo field is in a much earlier stage of development than the Yumen site. Construction began at the start of March 2021 in the southeastern corner of the complex and continues at a rapid pace," it read.

The report added: "Since then, dome shelters have been erected over at least 14 silos and soil cleared in preparation for construction of another 19 silos. The grid-like outline of the entire complex indicates that it may eventually include approximately 110 silos."

Korda and Kristensen stressed the impact of the construction for the Chinese nuclear arsenal, saying, "The silo construction at Yumen and Hami constitutes the most significant expansion of the Chinese nuclear arsenal ever," calling the overall silo missile program “the most extensive silo construction since the US and Soviet missile silo construction during the Cold War."

Earlier this month, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price voiced concern over the speedy expansion of China’s nuclear capabilities.

Reports suggest that China’s “nuclear arsenal will grow more quickly, and to a higher level than perhaps previously anticipated," Price told reporters on June 1./aa