The Afghan Taliban has called for direct talks with the United States and recognition of its political office in Qatar, as part of a series of proposals put forward this to work towards a political solution.

Voice of America reported Qatar-based Taliban spokesman, Sohail Shaheen, as stating “there is need for America and its allies to come to the table for direct talks with the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban) for negotiating an end to the occupation”.

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for an immediate end to the hostilities in Syria and access for humanitarian aid, as fighting continues to rage in Aleppo between the Syrian government and opposition forces.

The resolution was passed 122 votes to 13 as the Syrian army grew closer to recapturing east Aleppo, in a massive offensive that has Russian backing.

Malawian police arrested a resident who had been previously convicted of committing genocide in Rwanda but had been living in the country for the past 13 years. 

"Yes, we effected the arrest of Vincent Murekezi today on instructions from the director of public prosecutions," the police chief spokesperson James Kadazera told AFP.

Justin Lynch, an Associated Press freelancer, says that he had been deported from South Sudan for being too critical of the government.

He recently reported on the alleged abuses of ethnic violence committed by government troops. The spokesperson for the president said that they were unaware of the incident.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has downplayed allegations that a genocide is taking place against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and instead called on the international community to give the government "a bit of time, space and patience".

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Annan said that the international community must be “very, very careful” in using the word genocide. He instead went on to say that:

The former Lords Resistance Army commander, Dominic Ongwen, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Uganda pleaded 'not guilty' as his trial opened at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday. 

Mr Ongwen who was reportedly abducted by the LRA as a child said he too was a victim. 

Malaysia's prime minister, Najib Razak this weekend urged action over the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. 

“UN please do something. The world cannot sit by and watch genocide taking place,” he told thousands who had attended a rally in Kuala Lumpur condemning Myanmar's military's attack on Rohingya villages

Colombia’s Congress approved a revised peace deal with the FARC on Wednesday. 

By seeking approval through Congress, the government avoided another national referendum, which in October turned down the initial deal by a narrow margin.

UN human rights experts have warned of an impending genocide in South Sudan, after a commission found that ethnic cleansing is already underway in the country as violence continues.

Sunni tribes helping in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq, have called for a federal state structure once the Islamic state is defeated, reports Reuters.

Fighters and community leaders from the Sunni community in Shayyalah al-Imam, a village near Mosul, expressed deep distrust in Iraq’s Shia-dominated governance, calling for deep changes once the war is over.

The former President of Cuba Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90.

Cuba’s incumbent president Raul Castro, announcing the news on television on Friday night, said,

“With profound sadness I am appearing to inform our people and our friends across [Latin] America and the world, that today, 25 November 2016, at 10.29pm, Fidel Castro, the commander in chief of the Cuban revolution, died. In accordance with his wishes, his remains will be cremated.”

A United Nations official has accused Myanmar’s government of carrying out “ethnic cleansing” with military operations in the Rakhine state, which has caused tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to be displaced, following a UN Security Council closed door meeting on the crisis last week.

 The US Ambassador to the United Nations in New York Samantha Power named 13 Syrian military commanders that had been involved in killing and injuring civilians since 2011 through air and ground assaults, and detaining and torturing civilians reports Reuters.

“The United States will not let those who have commanded units involved in these actions hide anonymously behind the façade of the Assad regime, said MS Power.

The US Ambassador added,

All hospitals in Aleppo have been deemed out of action following days of heavy airstrikes said the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday.

The White House national security adviser Susan Riche said the United States condemned “ in the strongest terms” the latest series of air-strikes against hospitals.