Africa
Mali crisis: Tuareg rebels in talks with government
Government officials in Mali have held the first direct talks with rebel groups that seized the north of the country after a coup earlier this year. The Burkina Faso meeting paves the way for more talks with Tuareg and Islamist rebels, as both have pledged to respect national unity and reject terrorism. The West African regional group Ecowas had said it was ready to deploy 3,300 troops to reclaim rebel-held territory. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon backed a one-year deployment last week, but he did not offer any financial support, and said African nations needed to answer basic questions about how the force would be run.
Morsi opponents vow to continue protests in Egypt
Opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi say they will continue their protest outside the presidential palace in Cairo. Some have erected tents around the perimeter wall after Tuesday saw tens of thousands of demonstrators besiege the palace and clash with police. Eighteen people were injured in the brief burst of violence but none seriously, according to the official Mena news agency.
Asia
Typhoon Bopha death toll rises to 200
The death toll from a powerful storm battering the southern Philippines has risen to about 200, as rescue teams arrive in affected areas. At least 156 people are known to have died in Compostela Valley province alone when Typhoon Bopha struck eastern Mindanao, according to local officials. Rescuers have reached most areas, but have had difficulty getting to some isolated communities. Many were evacuated ahead of the storm, now over the western island of Palawan. The typhoon is expected to move out into the South China Sea tomorrow.
South Korea jails North spy in ‘Kim Jong-nam attack plot’
A South Korean court has jailed a North Korean spy reportedly ordered to attack the eldest son of late leader Kim Jong-il, officials say. The unidentified man, charged with falsely defecting so as to gather information, was jailed for four years. He had spent a decade in China tracking down North Korean defectors before coming to the south, the court said. South Korean media also said he had admitted trying to organise a hit-and-run accident targeting Kim Jong-nam. The South Korean court said that the 50-year-old man – who has a son who still lives in the North – became a spy after he was threatened by North Korea’s spy agency. Kim Jong-nam is thought to have fallen out of favour with Kim Jong-il in 2001 after he was caught trying to enter Japan with a false passport. He told officials he was planning to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He was passed over in favour of his youngest half-brother for succession.
Middle East
Jailed Iran lawyer ‘ends hunger strike’
Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is reported to have ended her 49-day hunger strike. Ms Sotoudeh’s decision came after the authorities lifted a travel ban on her 12-year-old daughter, a lawyer told the opposition Kaleme website on Tuesday. Hours earlier, the UN had urged Iran to end the sanctions on Ms Sotoudeh’s family and exspressed extreme concern about her deteriorating health. Her family said she had lost weight and her blood pressure was very low – the Iranian authorities had insisted she was in good health.
Europe
No miracle cure for British economy
The UK is facing a longer-than-expected battle to reduce its debts, Chancellor George Osborne is expected to tell MPs in his Autumn Statement to Parliament later today. He will say there is no “miracle cure” for Britain’s economic woes – and that the coalition government will not duck its commitment to deficit reduction. He is being tipped by pundits to freeze fuel duty and is expected to announce a spending squeeze to fund new schools. The opposition Labour Party has called the government’s economic policy “a terrible failure”.
North America
US Senate rejects UN disability rights treaty
A UN treaty on disability rights has been rejected by the US Senate. The 61-38 vote on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities meant the treaty failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed. Disabled former senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, who uses a wheelchair, appeared on the floor of the Senate in support. The treaty was signed by 155 nations and ratified by 126, including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia.
Latin America
Dozens of Rio de Janeiro policemen held over drug lords’ bribes
The authorities in Brazil have arrested 60 policemen accused of receiving regular payments from drug dealers to overlook their activities in several shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro. Eleven suspected drug dealers from Rio’s main criminal gang – the Red Command – were also arrested. Investigators said they had found policemen also sold weapons to the gangs. Rio authorities have been trying to reduce crime in the city ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olypmics. Rio Military Police commander, Erir Ribeiro Costa Filho, said all officers involved would be expelled from the force. The operation, dubbed Purification, began in the early hours of the day in Duque de Caxias, in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.
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