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The Russians have committed war crimes since the beginning of the invasion in Ukraine. Murders, mass executions, torture, looting and sexual assault of women and children are just some of the heinous activities that the invaders have inflicted upon the Ukrainian civilians.  In this post, we look at how war crimes can be defined according to the international law of armed conflict and look at some evidence of these in Ukraine. WHAT IS A WAR CRIME? A '' code of conduct' ' for defining behaviour in a war zone can be traced back for centuries. However, the current laws of armed conflict and international humanitarian law were created around the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Over the years, it has evolved to the Hague Conventions adopted in 1899 and 1907. These focus on the methods of warfare that can be used and what warring parties are allowed and prohibited to do. A few other treaties have been developed since then. A woman and child evacua...

Abductions by North Korea were never a mystery to the world. Since the 1950s, scientists, politicians and skilled workers from South Korea were often kidnapped and forced to put their knowledge to the benefit of the regime. However in 2002, under the rule of Kim Jong-Il, North Korea admitted to also being responsible for snatching unsuspecting victims from Japan, Italy, and other countries. Their disappearances and treatment shocked the world, it was something like the plot from an action movie!  In this post, we will cover the disappearance of Doina Bumbea, a Romanian painter taken from Italy, and the man who she was forced to marry, James Dresnok, a US soldier and deserter to North Korea.  JAMES JOSEPH DRESNOK  From a young age, James' life was in turmoil. He was born in Richmond, Virgina in USA on November 24, 1941. His parents were Joseph and Margaret Dresnok. They were quite poor and often fought over money. When James was younger, his mother left their fathe...