Tuareg rebels in northern Mali said Sunday they were pulling out of an international committee set up to monitor a peace accord between them and pro-government forces in the restive region, after deadly clashes between the rival groups sent tensions soaring. … A U.N. security source confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the CMA, which represents several rebel groups, had announced to international mediators that it was boycotting the monitoring group. The rebels have agreed to attend a meeting of the monitoring group on Monday, but only to announce the suspension of their participation, said Ould Sidati. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1U8CsSH)
- Africa
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Nigeria on Sunday to commemorate the Boko Haram bombing of his organization’s headquarters and focus new attention on 219 schoolgirls held by the extremists. (AP http://yhoo.it/1JtN0Ky)
An ex-prime minister and several ministers were among 22 candidates who registered for Burkina Faso’s October election, a court said on Saturday, meaning the West African country’s next president would likely come from the old political guard. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1hTTSXn)
Campaigning for presidential elections in Tanzania began on Sunday, with the race seen as the tightest in the east African nation’s history. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1JtNeRX)
Military chiefs from the Lake Chad region have finalized details of the deployment of a joint force to fight Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, designating three command posts in Nigeria and Cameroon, military sources said on Saturday. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1Lr7NxM)
- MENA
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The Italian navy organized the rescue of around 4,400 migrants in waters off the Libyan coast on Saturday, prompted by requests for help received from nearly two dozen boats, in one of the biggest multinational operations so far. (Reuters http://bit.ly/1U16LjJ)
Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran on Sunday in a sign of newly thawed relations in the wake of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. (NYT http://nyti.ms/1NuKnuM)
- Asia
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Representatives from North and South Korea held a second day of marathon talks Sunday – stretching more than 16 hours – as they tried to find a way to resolve escalating tensions that had both sides threatening military action. (WaPo http://wapo.st/1U8CoCs)
A suicide car bomber attacked a NATO convoy traveling through a crowded neighborhood in Afghanistan’s capital Saturday, killing at least 12 people, including three American civilian contractors for the international military force, authorities said. (Seattle PI http://bit.ly/1NuKsyr)
Myanmar President Thein Sein had tried and failed at least twice before to topple his archrival Shwe Mann, but when armed police burst into the headquarters of the country’s ruling party late on Aug. 12 he finally succeeded. (Reuters http://yhoo.it/1JtMWdV)
Malaysian police said Sunday that they have found 24 more bodies of suspected human trafficking victims in jungles bordering Thailand. (AP http://yhoo.it/1EOWydK)
- The Americas
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Thousands of Guatemalans waved flags, chanted and demanded that President Otto Perez resign, in a graft scandal that has already seen his vice president step down. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1KFmjPL)
At least 14 inmates were killed in an El Salvador jail when violence erupted between two factions of a notorious gang, an official said. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1JtMWur)
- ...and the rest
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Thousands of beleaguered migrants – mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans fleeing bloody conflicts – crammed into trains and buses in Macedonia that brought them one step closer to the European Union on Sunday, a day after they stormed past police trying to block them from entering the country from Greece. (AP http://yhoo.it/1JtN0dy)
The French and German leaders will meet in Berlin on Monday to give a new push to European efforts to tackle the biggest migrant crisis in 50 years, a source in the French presidency said. (AFP http://yhoo.it/1JtNctg)
- Opinion/Blogs
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Children of the World – We are Standing Watch for You (IPS http://bit.ly/1LtDQAb)
Posters, Bullhorns And Skirts Help Spread The Word About Vaccines (Goats and Soda http://n.pr/1U16InV)
Muslim leaders are trying to change the way Kenya fights terrorism (GlobalPost http://bit.ly/1KFmgDn)
Is the game up for China’s much emulated growth model? (Guardian http://bit.ly/1JtNiRE)
Aid, abortion and fairy tales (DevPolicy http://bit.ly/1EOYaEi)
Going the last mile in ending extreme poverty (Rachel Strohm http://bit.ly/1U18uW0)
Violence Against Women is the Dark Underbelly of The USA’s Migrant Detention System (UN Dispatch http://bit.ly/1JemR1d)
Have you heard of the African Growth and Opportunities Act? (Development Truths http://bit.ly/1MMI46j)
“Prostitution is a human right,” said nobody ever (WhyDev http://bit.ly/1LtKwhC)
