• Al Shabab overrun African Union base

    Militants form the Al Shabab group have attacked an African Union base in the south of Somalia, the BBC reports.

    The AU mission in Somalia said they made a tactical withdrawal from the Janale base, but are now back in control.

  • Wall Street and oil prices drop as data reveals contraction in China manufacturing market
    Wall Street opened with a sharp downturn on Tuesday after newly released official data revealed that China’s manufacturing sector had shrank at its fastest pace in three years, reports Reuters.
  • UN says satellite imagery confirms Palmyra temple destruction
    Satellite imagery released today of the Syrian city of Palmyra confirms the destruction of the ancient Temple of Bel by Islamic State fighters, said the UN.

    "We can confirm the destruction of the main building of the Temple of Bel as well as a row of columns in its immediate vicinity," UNESCO said in an email, reported Reuters.

    See images and video footage here.

    At the weekend locals had reported a large explosion near the temple site, however such reports had been initially contested by Syria's head of antiquities who had suggested that the Temple of the Bel remained intact.

  • Bashir should not be welcome to travel until he faces justice - US
    The United States criticised China's decision to welcome the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir into the country, whilst he remains accused of alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur.

    The US State Department spokesperson, Mark Toner, said on Monday that Bashir should not be welcome to travel until he faces justice, reports AFP.  

    "As you know, he's been charged by the ICC with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide," the spokesperson said.

  • Colombian president says talks with Farc advancing significantly
    The Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos said the talks with Farc, which have been ongoing since 2012, had advanced significantly than in the past.

    "In these last two or three weeks, we have advanced much more than we had advanced in nearly the last six months, in the last year," President Santos was quoted by Reuters as saying.

  • UN to investigate human rights abuse under British welfare reform

    The UN will visit the UK to investigate whether recent welfare reforms by the British government have caused “grave or systematic violations” of disabled people’s human rights, “ reports The Independent.

  • Myanmar passes controversial race tension aggravating bill

    Myanmar’s president signed of four bills that had been championed by radical Buddhist organisations and criticised by several rights groups as discriminatory to the Islamic community.

  • Ukraine parliament passes 'special status' bill for eastern regions
    Ukraine’s parliament on Monday voted for constitution al changes that decentralised powers to its eastern regions through a ‘special status’ in hopes of dampening separatist sentiment in Russian speaking parts of the country.
  • Dozens of civilians killed in air strike in Yemen

    As many as 36 people have been killed after a Saudi-led coalition air strike in the Hajjah province in Yemen, according to the latest reports.

    The strike hit a bottling plant in the province, with witnesses reporting corpses were left “burnt or in pieces”. Most of the dead are civilians.

  • Egypt summons British ambassador over Al-Jazeera journalist comments

    Britain’s ambassador to Egypt John Casson has been summoned by the Egyptian foreign ministry, after accusing him of interference due to comments made on the sentencing three Al-Jazeera journalists.

    An Egyptian court had found the three journalists, Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste, guilty of “spreading false news” and sentenced to three years imprisonment – a ruling that has been widely criticised by human rights and press freedom groups.

    Speaking in Arabic outside the court, Mr Casson said the court's decision would "undermine confidence in Egypt's stability".

    Egypt's foreign ministry said his words were "unacceptable intervention in Egyptian judicial rulings” and had summoned him “to express its strong objection” to his comments.

    “Egypt does not need lessons from anyone,” the foreign ministry statement added.

  • Egypt jails Al Jazeera journalists for three years

    An Egyptian court has jailed three journalists with Al Jazeera for three years, for "spreading false news".
    The three men were initially sentenced in July 2014 but their convictions were overturned and they were released in February this year.

  • Wanted Sudanese president to visit China
    Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who has international arrest warrants for crimes against humanity and genocide, is set to visit China to mark World War II commemorations next week.

    The reported visit has sparked outrage from human rights groups who have repeatedly called for Mr Bashir’s arrest.

    “It is outrageous that anyone would welcome him into their border without arresting him,” said Tom Andrews, president of the Save Darfur Coalition.

    His comments were echoed by Elise Keppler, acting director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, who said “Omar al-Bashir should be in The Hague facing justice, not in China celebrating at their World War II event”.

    “Experience has shown that fugitives may be able to evade justice for a time, but not indefinitely,” she added.
  • Bosnian Muslim commander charged with war crimes

    A former Bosnian Muslim commander was charged with war crimes during the 1992-1995 ethnic conflict.

  • US sanctions European funders of FARC militants
    The US Treasury said it would place financial sanctions on four Colombians accused of laundering money for the FARC militants in Colombia through an outfit in Switzerland.

    Four individuals were sanctioned for serving as a front for FARC militants by running a store that specialised in rare Latin delicacies, reports

  • China and US look to strengthen ties as Rice meets Xi Jinping
    The United States and China said they looked to strengthen and building on ties between the two countries, as the US' national security advisor, Susan Rice, met with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday.

    "We have seen our bilateral relationship evolve and strengthen in recent months. And we have found areas of broadened and deepened cooperation that we are certainly looking forward to building upon," Ms Rice was quoted by Reuters as saying.

    "At the same time, we have been able to discuss frankly our differences, which we both acknowledge need to be addressed effectively," she added.

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