19 August 2014 Last updated at 08:18
Figures released for World Humanitarian Day show 2013 was most dangerous yet, with 155 deaths and 134 kidnappings
Ferguson unrest: New clashes as Obama urges calm
US police say they have arrested 31 people during another night of angry protests in the town of Ferguson in the state of Missouri.
Unrest flared hours after President Obama called for calm following the fatal police shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown on 9 August.
The US attorney general is due to visit Ferguson on Wednesday to meet federal officials investigating the killing.
The National Guard has been deployed to support police operations.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced the deployment on Monday, in addition to lifting a night-time curfew imposed on the weekend.
Deaths of humanitarian aid workers reach record high
Figures released for World Humanitarian Day show 2013 was most dangerous yet, with 155 deaths and 134 kidnappings
Last year was the most dangerous on record for humanitarian workers, with 155 killed, 171 seriously wounded and 134 kidnapped as they attempted to help others in some of the world’s most dangerous places, new research has shown.
The study, released to mark World Humanitarian Day, also reveals that 79 aid workers have died so far this year, making the first eight months of 2014 deadlier for the humanitarian community than the whole of 2012.
The 2013 statistics, compiled by the Humanitarian Outcomes partnership, show a 66% rise in fatal attacks on the previous year, with Afghanistan – where 81 aid workers were killed – remaining the most dangerous place to operate.
India calls off talks with Pakistan over meeting with Kashmiri separatists
Australia to release 'a large number' of children from detention centers
The Australian government has announced plans to release some of its of child asylum seekers from detention centers. The new policy, however, only affects those who entered the country before July of last year.
In response to stark criticism over the government's tough stance on asylum seekers, Australia's interior minister, Scott Morrison, confirmed on Tuesday that it would be authorizing the release of roughly 150 immigrant children and their families from mainland detention centers, where around 500 children are currently housed.
They will join the some 1,547 minors already living in community detention. Those already there are currently being considered for Australian visas on a "case-by-case" basis, whereas the new 150 cases are to receive bridge visas by the end of the year.
"We are confident that we can move a large number of them off community detention into the bridging visa program," Morrison told reporters on Tuesday.
China's warmaking ability eroded by graft, warn generals
August 19, 2014 - 1:03PMBen Blanchard and Megha Rajagopalan
Beijing: As tensions spike between China and other countries in Asia's disputed waters, serving and retired Chinese military officers as well as state media are questioning whether China's armed forces are too corrupt to fight and win a war.
A slew of articles in official media in recent months have drawn parallels with the rampant graft in the People's Liberation Army and how a corrupt military contributed to China's defeat in the Sino-Japan War 120 years ago.
The concerns are striking given the rapid modernisation of the PLA, from the development of stealth fighter jets to the launch in 2012 of China's sole aircraft carrier. Backed by a budget that is second only to the United States, China's military is projecting power deep into the South and East China Seas, unsettling the region as well as Washington.
Israel's 'refusers': Why we too feel 'occupied'
August 19, 2014 -- Updated 0749 GMT (1549 HKT)
(CNN) -- His long hair has been shaved off, he has to wear a Marine's uniform and is given orders like a soldier, but Udi Segal is not in the military -- he has in fact refused to join the Israel Defense Forces. He may have refused to join then, but he's still forced to look like a soldier in prison.
The 19-year-old has been in prison for 20 days. He's a "refuser" -- the name given to conscientious objectors who refuse to join the Israeli military on political and ethical grounds.
We drove from Jerusalem to Carmel Prison, near Altit, at 6 a.m. -- Udi was due to be released for the weekend and we were meeting his parents at the gates as they were expecting his release anytime between 8 and 9:30 a.m. As we wait, I witness an impatient mother anxious to see her son, pacing. He is her "baby," the youngest of three boys.
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