• Nigeria agrees truce with Boko Haram

    Oct 16

    The Nigerian military has agreed a truce with militant group Boko Haram, under which terms the kidnapped school girls will be released.

    Nigeria's chief of defence staff, Alex Badeh announced the deal on Friday afternoon.

    Boko Haram captured vast swathes of land in Nigeria’s northeast in an offensive earlier this year, declaring a caliphate in the region, and was widely condemned for the kidnapping of over 200 school girls in April.

  • Khmer Rouge genocide trial begins
    The trial of two Khmer Rouge leaders, accused of committing genocide began on Friday, at the UN backed court in Cambodia.

    Nuon Chea, known as Brother Number Two and the former head of state Khleu Samphan were sentenced to life in prison in August by the court, after being found guilty of crimes against humanity. Both men are in their 80s.
  • UK to deploy drones to fight IS, analysts suggest ground troops may be necessary
    Britain will deploy a fleet of armed drones to help efforts against Islamic State militants in Iraq outlined the British foreign secretary.

    Speaking to the House of Commons on Thursday, Philip Hammond said,

    “We are in the process of redeploying some of our Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from Afghanistan to the Middle East to add to our surveillance capabilities.”
  • Palestinian boy killed by Israeli soldiers

    A 13-year-old boy was shot dead by Israeli troops in a village near Ramallah.

    Bahaa Badr was shot on Thursday after Israeli soldiers conducted a raid in the village of Beit Liqya.

  • Turkey denied UN Security Council seat as Venezuela wins unopposed

    Turkey failed to win a seat at the United Nations Security Council, after member states voted for countries to fill the organisation’s non-permanent seats on Thursday.

    The five non-permanent seats were awarded to Venezuela, Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand and Spain.

    Turkey, which had been reportedly lobbying heavily amongst member states, lost to Spain in the third round run-off of voting.

    The state-run Anadolu Agency reported Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying,

    “There may be some countries disturbed by our principled stance, and there have always been those, who, after some time, confess that Turkey’s position was right. So, we could not abandon our principles for the sake of getting more votes.”

  • Some progress made in difficult Iran-US nuclear talks
    The United States and Iran said some progress was made in nuclear talks between both sides in Vienna on Thursday.

    "It was very difficult, serious and intensive ... but instead of focusing on problems, we discussed solutions as well," Javid Zarif, Iran's foreign minister told journalists, following his meeting with the US Secretary of State John Kerry.

    Both parties said there was no intention at present to extend the deadline set as November 2.

    Whilst Kerry left, Zarif stayed for talks with officials from the US, as well as the UK, Russia and China.

  • Hong Kong Chief Executive open for talks with protestors
    The Chief Executive of Hong Kong Leung Chun-ying has said that he welcomed the prospect of new talks with pro-democracy protestors, who have occupied parts of the city for almost 3 weeks.

    Leung told reporters,
    "Over the last few days, including this morning through third parties, we expressed a wish to the students that we would like to start a dialogue to discuss universal suffrage as soon as we can and hopefully within the following week."
    However, he added that he was not in a position to offer any new concessions, saying, “we can’t make something unconstitutional constitutional.”

  • Mombasa separatist leader arrested

    The leader of the Mombasa Republican Council, a separatist group based in southern Kenya, has been charged with holding an illegal gathering and planning to breach the peace.

    Omar Mwamnuadzi was arrested with 11 other members of the MRC during a police raid on his home and denied the charges in a court appearance on Wednesday.

  • New mass graves found as search continues for missing Mexican students

    Groups searching for 43 missing students in Mexico say they have discovered 6 new mass graves.

    At least two of the graves have human remains in them, according to civilians, who joined the search around Iguala, after bodies discovered previously were found not be those of the students.

    If the discovery is confirmed, it would bring the number of mass graves found in the area since the students' disappearance to 19.

    The students disappeared after clashes with local police, during which six people died. Eyewitnesses say the students were bundled into police vehicles.

  • IS retreat amidst US airstrikes, coalition pledges further support to forces fighting militants
    Islamic State militants retreated from parts of the Syrian border town of Kobane today for the first time, reports the BBC.

    US officials said that hundreds of IS militants were killed in a barrage of intensified airstrikes today.

    Leaders from the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy agreed to increase support to local forces in Iraq and Syria to aid efforts against IS militants, the British Prime Minister’s office said on Wednesday.

    Infographic: BBC

  • Rwandan president accuses BBC of 'genocide denial'
    Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has accused the BBC of “genocide denial” following the airing of a documentary regarding the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

    Speaking to the Rwandan parliament on Tuesday, Kagame stated that the BBC had chosen to "tarnish Rwandans, dehumanise them", reports AFP.

    He went on to state that whilst other genocides such as the Holocaust were never challenged, "but to Africans and Rwandans they do it and then claim freedom of speech".

    The documentary, “Rwanda's Untold Story”, contained allegations that Kagame and his then RPF armed organisation had shot down the Hutu president Juvenal Habyarimana, sparking the genocide which killed some 800,000 people.

    Kagame's comments come after a group of 38 experts on Rwanda had written to the BBC, stating that they had been “recklessly irresponsible” in promoting “genocide denial”.

  • UK recognition of Palestine criticised by Israel

    The Israeli government has expressed concerns after the recent parliamentary vote in the UK, which saw the recognition of the Palestinian state.

    Israel said the vote could undermine possibilities for a peaceful solution, by letting Palestinian leaders think they could evade "tough choices".

  • North, South Korea talks end in stalemate
    Rare high level talks held between military generals from North and South Korea ended in stalemate on Wednesday with both sides failing to reach a breakthrough.

    The two countries agreed to resume talks, after a high-level military delegation from North Korea visited South Korea for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games.

    Kim Min-seok, spokesperson for the South’s Ministry of National Defense, said,
    "The mood of the meeting was sincere as both sides were serious about improving ties, but this was the first meeting (in a while) and there was a difference in view that we were not able to narrow.”
  • Catalan president announces non-binding independence ballot
    The Catalan president Artur Mas announced plans for a non-binding ballot on independence for the region, hours after calling off the proposed referendum on independence, after it was deemed illegal by a constitutional court last month.

    "The vote on 9 November can be considered the preparatory vote before the definitive one," Mas told a press conference on Tuesday.

    “There will be ballots and ballot boxes. We can’t apply the decree [to hold a referendum] but it will be possible to vote,” he said.

    "The Catalan government has jurisdiction over consulting popular opinion," Mas said, adding, "the real adversary is the Spanish state, which has done everything to stop us voting."

  • Prominent Shia cleric sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia

    A Saudi court has sentenced prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr to death.

    The cleric was accused by prosecutors of "sowing discord" and "undermining national unity", due to his support for anti-government protests that erupted in the country’s Shia-majority Eastern Province in 2011.

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