<p>Myanmar’s authorities have ordered their army to launch operations to crack down on an ethnic Rakhine insurgent group after deadly attacks last week in the Rakhine state.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Arakan Army (AA), an armed ethnic group fighting for more autonomy, carried out raids on four police posts in the town Buthidaung, North Rakhine. The attack took place on Myanmar’s Independence Day, leaving 13 police officers dead and nine injured.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The United States House of Reprasentatives on Friday passed a bill separating Western Sahara’s aid from its programme in&nbsp;Morocco on Friday.</p> <p>The new bill outlines language on Western Sahara in a separate section to Morocco. Previously text on aid for the&nbsp;region&nbsp;was covered under the remit of Moroccan aid.</p>

<p>Soldiers have attempted to take control in Gabon in an attempted coup, as the ruling president, Ali Bongo, remains abroad receiving medical treatment for a reported stroke.&nbsp;</p> <p>Seizing control of national state radio, Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang, urged people to "rise up", with the message being carried on state television and social media.&nbsp;</p>

A US Navy Special Operations Chief is accused of breaking international law by indiscriminating killing Iraqi civilians and nearly a dozen other crimes, including stabbing to death a 15-year-old prisoner.

Edward Gallagher has pleaded not guilty when appearing at a hearing in San Diego’s naval base on Friday, with his official trial set to begin on February 19.

<p>More than three million women formed a 385-mile human chain in the state of Kerala in southern India this week, as they protested against a temple policy that banned admission for women.</p> <p>The chain stretched from the northern tip of the state in Kasaragod to the southern end in Thiruvanthapuram. The protest was organised by Kerala’s left-wing coalition government on Thursday however the disputes on this issue have been going on for three months.</p>

<p>Demonstrations have been taking place in different regions of Sudan over the last month, including the capital Khartoum, calling on Omar al Bashir to resign as the country’s president.</p>

<p>An independence movement in southern Yemen has led growing calls for a referendum on secession in the south of the country, as conflict continues in what has been termed a modern “humanitarian disaster”.</p> <p>The call for&nbsp;Yemen&nbsp;to separate from the north and western provinces has gained popularity in the South with groups stating that they will defend their land but has not be addressed by the international community.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Southern Transitional Council (STC), a group which was established last year and has been advocating for the secession of Southern Yemen, expressed disappointment in the fact that they were excluded from the recent UN-held peace talks in Sweden. The discussion was held between Houthi rebels supported by Iran and the recognised government of&nbsp;Yemen&nbsp;supported by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and its Gulf allies. The issue of secession was not raised, added the STC.</p>

<p>The United Nations reports that 85 former FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) rebels have been killed since the signing of the peace agreement with the Columbian government in 2016.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Taliban has orchestrated a series of attacks killing at least 27 security officers and wounding dozens in northern Afghanistan.</p>

The Nigerian military has responded to charges of unjustifiably killing Shiite protesters on the outskirts of the capital Abuja, with senior officials defending the military's actions. 

In their response they cite US President Donald Trump’s remarks regarding migrants heading towards the American border, stating, “they want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back”.

Footage released by the New York Times however reveals that the soldiers were unprovoked and fired indiscriminately at unarmed demonstrators, many of whom were trying to flee. This contradicts the military’s claims they had employed violence justly.

<p>A suicide bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan, has killed a separatist commander who was wanted for organising a suicide bombing attack against the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.&nbsp;</p> <p>No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing that took his life.</p>

<p>Chinese police has detained a number of students protesting over the take over of their Marxist society by university officials and members of the student association, following the&nbsp;detention of the leader of their society on the birthday of Chairman Mao.</p>

<p>Syria’s state agencies reported that its army entered the Kurdish-held city of Manbij, on the invitation of the Kurdish YPG to protect it from a threatened Turkish offensive.</p> <p>However US military officials and some locals have refuted the claim.</p>

<p>French investigators have dropped charges against nine Rwandan officials, including former defense minister James Kabarebe, who were suspected of playing a role in the 1994 plane crash which killed President Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane alongside the French crew.&nbsp;</p> <p>The crash preceded the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi minority which saw an estimated 800,000 people killed.&nbsp;</p>