The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Masoud Barzani met with the United States Defense Secretary James Mattis in Erbil this week, where he reiterated that an independence referendum due to be held later this year will still take place.

The Pacific Conference of Churches expressed its public support for West Papuan self-determination, endorsing plans for a referendum to be held. 

The churches also backed the call for a UN investigation into human rights abuses by Indonesian authorities in West Papua, RadioNZ reported this month. 

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In his first address since receiving medical treatment in London, Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari reiterated his stance that unity was "not negotiable", reiterating his determination to defeat separatist fighters. 

“I was distressed to notice that some of the comments, especially in the social media, have crossed our national red lines by daring to question our collective existence as a nation,” Mr Buhari said in a televised address on Saturday. 

Rwanda’s Justice Minister claimed the Britain is denying justice for victims of the 1994 genocide by hesitating to take action against fugitives sheltering in the UK.

“For the last 10 years, we’ve been trying to get 3 alleged perpetrators of the Genocide living in UK to stand trial in vain,” said Johnston Busingye, Rwanda’s Minister of Justice.

A Rwandan genocide suspect was extradited from Germany to face charges for his involvement in the massacre of over 800,000 Tutsis in 1994. 

The suspect, identified as Jean Twagiramungu was handed over to Rwandan authorities on Friday at Kigali International airport, AP reported.  

Catalan leaders said on Friday they would not be deterred by the attack at Barcelona, but would press on with plans for an independence referendum. 

Catalan's regional head, Carles Puigdemont dismissed calls for Catalan parties to 'return to reality', stating, the "roadmap" to independence would "not be derailed". 

The United Nations Secretary General is facing strong calls to include the Saudi-led coalitionon its annual black list report that names nations and armed groups for killing and maiming children during war.

A petition, with over 370,00 singatures, has been submitted to the UN Secretary General’s office calling for the blacklisting of the Saudi led coaltion for its indiscriminate bombing of Yemen.

At least 13 people have died and dozens are injured from a terror attack in which a van was ploughed into crowds in a busy tourist area of Barcelona.

The vehicle sped along the pedestrian area of the famous Las Ramblas area, a touristic and commercial hotspot in the Catalan capital.

Two people have been arrested, but police say neither was the driver.

The Iraqi Prime Minister’s office said a unit of its security forces had committed abuses against civilians during an offensive to oust Islamic State insurgents from the City of Mosul reports Reuters.

The United Nations hopes to restart peace talks on Syria in September said the UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura on Thursday.

The Special Envoy said he and planned a brief round of UN diplomacy with opposition forces for mid-September.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for a Libyan military commander who is accused of being responsible for summary executions.

In a statement, the ICC said it "issued a warrant of arrest for Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al-Werfalli, allegedly responsible for murder as a war crime in the context of the non-international armed conflict in Libya."

The International Criminal Court ruled on Thursday that the Malian man responsible for destroying the Timbuktu shrine was liable for 2.7 million euroes in reparations for the damage caused.

Amad al-Faqi al-Mahdi was sentenced last year for 9 years after being found guilty of war crimes over destruction of 10 shrines and holy sites in Timbuktu.

The judges ordered that the victims be paid "individual, collective and symbolic" reparations. 

Iraq is working with the United Kingdom to pass a resolution calling for an international investigation into crimes against humanity committed by Islamic State at the Untied Nations Security Council reports Reuters.

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, threatened to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal within hours if the United States continued to impose new sanctions.

Speaking in a televised address Mr Rouhani, said US President Donald Trump’s actions showed that he was an unreliable partner not just for Iran but US allies as well.

Accusing the US of breaking the nuclear agreement (JCPOA), he said,