The Indonesian government has released five Papuan political prisoners, as President Joko Widodo promised reforms.

The president told media on Saturday, restrictions on foreign journalists in the restive province of West Papua, which have been in place for decades, will be lifted.

The five political prisoners – convicted over a 2003 raid on an Indonesian military weapons arsenal – were granted clemency by Widodo in a ceremony at Abepura prison, in the provincial capital Jayapura.

Dozens of Papuan activists remain in prison, many for protesting against the government and raising the banned Morning Star flag of Papua, both considered acts of treason by the government.

Russian prosecutors are seeking the extradition of suspected Nazi collaborator, 93-year old Vladimir Katriuk, from Canada.

Jared Genser is an associate of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. This article was first published in the Washington Post on April 24, 2015.

Three years ago, President Obama created the Atrocities Prevention Board to help fulfill his important recognition that the prevention of mass atrocities is a “core national security interest and core moral responsibility.” With ethnic conflict boiling in Burma, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among other places, such a mechanism has never been more important. Although the board’s operations have been classified, there have been some visible successes. But much remains to be done.

Houthi militants have moved towards accepting a proposed 5-day ceasefire in Yemen, as the United Nations representative in the country criticised airstrikes being carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition.

The ceasefire could begin on Tuesday if both sides agree, however the Houthis warned that "any military violation of the ceasefire from al Qaeda and those who stand with it and support it and fund it will be responded to by the army and security and the popular committees".

A Houthi statement also pledged to deal “positively” with the ceasefire and any humanitarian efforts in the country.

The latest development comes as the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Yemen, Johannes Van Der Klauuw, said he was "deeply concerned" by Saudi Arabia led airstrikes against the Houthis, saying the conflict “is taking a dreadful toll on civilians”.

International inspectors in Syria have found undeclared traces of sarin and VX nerve agent at a military research site, reports Reuters.

The UN says nearly 100,000 people have fled clashes in South Sudan, between supporters of President Salva Kiir and those of his opponent, former deputy president Riek Machar.

Clashes with an armed group have left at least five police officers dead in Kumanovo, northern Macedonia.

The armed group, from an unidentified neighbouring state, was armed with bombs and automatic rifles, interior ministry spokesperson Ivo Kotevski said, adding that members of the group were sheltered by some residents in the Diva Naselba neighbourhood.

The US has launched an investigation into Baltimore’s police department, in order to determine whether it engages in routine bias or uses excessive force, the BBC reports.