David Shadrach

UN: Syrian government agrees to Eastern Ghouta truce NEWS / SYRIA'S CIVIL WAR FAST FACTS Damascus shelling kills three before truce agreed Syrians frustrated with failing Geneva peace talks Middle East Syria's Civil War Staffan de Mistura, UN envoy to Syria, said that Syria's government had agreed to a truce in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta [Denis Balibouse/ Reuters] Shelling killed at least three people in Eastern Ghouta, a monitoring group said on Tuesday, hours before the United Nations announced that Syria's government had agreed to a ceasefire in the rebel-held area after days of intense bombardment. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported the death toll a day after air raids in the besieged district on the outskirts of Syria's capital, Damascus, killed at least 19 people. The report came as opposition delegates gathered in Geneva for a new round of UN-sponsored talks. Government representatives are expected to arrive in the Swiss city on ...

Pro-refugee mayor of Germany's Altena stabbed NEWS / EUROPE What Germany's refugees think about the elections Germany elections: Far- right AfD party makes big gains Germany Europe Refugee Crisis Mayor Andreas Hollstein arrives to a press conference with an injury at his neck at the town hall in Altena, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. The mayor was stabbed at a kebab restaurant Monday night . The attack was likely political motivated. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) [The Associated Press] The mayor of the German town of Altena has been stabbed in what appears to be a political attack. Andreas Hollstein, 57, was struck in the neck while in a kebab shop. Witnesses said the attacker criticised the mayor's pro-refugee policy during the stabbing. The attack was stopped by Demir Abdullah, the shop owner, and his son. Hollstein was lightly injured on his neck after the assailant put a large knife on his throat. "You let me die of thirst but you bring 200 refugees to Altena",...

Pope meets Suu Kyi, fails to mention Rohingya in speech NEWS / MYANMAR WATCH: Aung San Suu Kyi stripped of Freedom of Oxford award (2:32) Rohingya Myanmar Pope Francis Aung San Suu Kyi More than 600,000 Muslim-majority Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in fear of abuses by Myanmarese soldiers. [Phyo Hein Kyaw/Reuters] Pope Francis has met Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi but avoided directly addressing the ongoing Rohingya crisis . At the meeting in Yangon on Tuesday, the pontiff stressed the importance of Myanmar respecting the "identity" of all of its ethnic groups, without using the term "Rohingya". More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in fear of abuses by Myanmarese soldiers. The ethnic group is subject to a raft of discriminatory measures by Myanmar's government, such as being deprived of citizenship. Having previously spoken against the "persecution of our Rohingya brothers and sisters," the l...