The Chief Minister of the Indian capital Delhi Arvind Kejriwal has resigned after after only 49 days in power because his attempts to introduce a new anti-corruption bill were blocked in the city's legislative assembly. From Delhi, here's Sanjoy Majumder.
India has national elections due in about 2 months from now. And Mr. Kejriwal was definitely planning to launch his party's campaign for those national elections. But there are many critics, of course, who are questioning his move to run away from government as it were. Reporters believe that it's a move that would probably increase the support base. Mr. Kejriwal, for some time now, has been the country's leading anti-corruption crusader, and something which a lot of Indians identify with because something many of them are up against almost on a daily basis. So, Mr. Kejriwal is able to trap in to normal,everyday grievances, and use that to increase and enhance his political appeal.
A United Nations' report has warned of systematic abuses by Somalia's federal government which have allowed weapons intended for government forces to be diverted to clan militia and the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. The UN monitoring group said the weapons were bought after the Security Council eased an arms embargo in Somalia last year. Nick Bryant reports.
They claim to have evidence that a key adviser to Somali's president has been involved in planning weapons deliveries to al-Shabab. And it's expressed concerns over the management of weapons and ammunition stockpiles by the Somali government. Their report describes how parts of shipments from Uganda and Djibouti, including rocket launchers, grenades and ammunition could not be accounted for. The experts complained, too, that they had difficulty in gaining access to weapon stockpiles in the country and also in getting information about its growing arsenal. They recommend the restoration of the full arms embargo or at least, stricter rules.
The United Nations has warned against another humanitarian crisis in Syria as thousands of people fleeing intense government assault on Yabroud, a rebel-held town near the border with Lebanon. Lyse Doucet reports.
For the past few days, there have been growing signs that a major ground assault is imminent on the rebel-held town of Yabroud. It lies on a key supply route for both sides in this war. The area has already come under heavy arial bombardment by Syrian war planes. Many have been injured and the UN is warning that hospitals are running short of supplies. Thousands of civilians are now fleeing Yabroud. Many are crossing the nearby border into Lebanon.
Syrian government and opposition negotiators have said the United-Nations-sponsored peace talks in Geneva have reached an impasse. Both sides have different interpretations of an international agreement endorsed by the major powers which calls for the creation of a transitional governing body.
World News from the BBC.
An opposition group in Ukraine says all activists who were arrested during 3 months of anti-government protests have been released. A spokesman said the last of more than 230 detainees have been freed under an amnesty law passed last month.
Protest leaders said they would partially remove road blocks which they directed in the center of Kiev.
The US government is issuing guidelines to banks on how to do business with licensed marijuana sellers without breaking thelaw. The guidance from the Justice and Treasury department is intended to make banking services such as savings and current accounts available to marijuana shops that typically dealing cash. Rajini Vaidyanathan reports from Washington.
The recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 2 American states: Washington and Colorado. Licensed stores selling the drugs here will now be able to open accounts. Until now, banks have been reluctant to process this kind of transactions for fear of drug racketeering charges. So most business is done as cash only. The guideline still require banks to report any criminal activity, but a step towards allowing marijuana related industries in states where it's legal to come out of the shadows and operate openly.
The French President Francois Hollande has announced that France will send an additional 400 troops to the Central African Republic. There are already 1,600 French troops in the country that has been beset by violence between Christians and Muslims since a coup in March last year.
A moonlit image of African migrants trying to get mobile phone signals has won the World Press Photo of the Year award. The jury awarded the prize to the American photographer John Stanmeyer for his hunting photo of men holding phones up to the sky from a beach in Djibouti. A jury member said the photo portrayed the migrants as dignified instead of, in her words,bedraggled and pathetic.
