U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommends in a report reducing the number of peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of the Congo by nearly 10 percent while making it more effective when it comes to protecting civilians from armed groups.
The new head of Syria's Western-backed political opposition cast doubt on Monday on whether members of his group would attend talks in Russia this month aimed at finding a solution to the nearly four-year Syrian conflict.
Guatemala's Supreme Court on Monday began a retrial of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt for genocide, but in a fresh twist to a bizarre legal saga suspended it as the defense sought the removal of one of the judges hearing the case.
For someone nearing 80, President Mahmoud Abbas still knows how to shake things up. But his decision last week to join the International Criminal Court is a high-risk move that may set back the ultimate goal: an independent Palestinian state.
