Syria
US drops Cuba from terrorism list
The US government formally removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism as a step toward restoring full diplomatic relations. Cuba had been listed since 1982.
Tag: Sudan
Africa
Sudan: mass rape by army in Darfur
Sudanese army forces raped more than 200 women and girls in an organized attack on the north Darfur town of Tabit in October, Human Rights Watch charges.
Africa
China sends combat troops to South Sudan
A 700-strong Chinese battalion is headed for South Sudan as part of a UN "peacekeeping" mission—but the deployment follows China's massive investment in the country's oil sector.
Watching the Shadows
Ex-Gitmo detainee conviction overturned
The convening authority for the Office of Military Commissions overturned the conviction of ex-Gitmo detainee Noor Uthman Muhammed, who has been repatriated to Sudan.
Planet Watch
UN: world refugees break record
War across large swaths of the Middle East and Africa in the first six months of 2014 forcibly displaced some 5.5 million people, signalling yet another record, the UN reports.
Africa
ICC halts Darfur probe; Bashir threatens rebels
The International Criminal Court suspended its Darfur investigation, citing UN inaction in the case, as President Omar al-Bashir accused rebel leaders of being foreign "agents."
North Africa
Sudan arming Libyan Dawn rebels?
The Libyan government—now exiled to the eastern city of Tobruk—formally accused Sudan of smuggling weapons to the Islamist-led rebel alliance that controls Tripoli.
Palestine
Palestinians end hunger strike; migrants start one
As Palestinian prisoners announced an end to their two-month hunger strike, some 1,000 African migrants at an Israeli detention center in the Negev desert started one.
Iran
Nobel Peace laureate slams Iran over Syria role
Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi spoke out against her own government and Russia for their "intervention in Syria" on the side of Bashar Assad's regime.
Africa
African Union: stand against ICC trials of presidents
The African Union called for African countries to "speak with one voice" against the trials of sitting heads of state in the International Criminal Court.
Africa
South Sudan: Yes, another war for oil
South Sudan may be developing into proxy war, pitting US client states Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia against Khartoum in a struggle for control of pipeline routes.
Palestine
Sudanese refugees march on Jerusalem
Some 150 Sudanese migrants abanoned a desert prison camp to march cross-country on Jerusalem in protest of Israel's draconian new anti-immigration law.