Myanmar swears in first elected civilian president in 50 years
Myanmar's new president has been sworn in, the first elected civilian leader in more than 50 years.
Htin Kyaw from the National League for Democracy (NLD) takes over from Thein Sein, who introduced wide-ranging reforms during his five years in power.
Although NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency, she has said she will rule by proxy.
The handover completes the transition that began after the NLD won a landslide win in elections in November.
Htin Kyaw, 69, said he would be "faithful" to the people of Myanmar, as he took the oath of office in a joint session of parliament in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
Sherpa: Norbu Tenzing on the Everest 'circus' and the inevitability of another disaster
Film-maker Jennifer Peedom and the son of history’s most famous Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, on how his people are stuck between a rock and a hard place
It was a little before 7am on 18 April 2014 when Jennifer Peedom was woken up by the sounds of an avalanche.
The Australian film-maker was in her tent on Base Camp at Mount Everest, on location with a camera crew to make a documentary exploring the lives and working conditions of Sherpa people. They are the Nepalese climbers who for decades have escorted tourists up and down the mountain: incredibly risky work for a very small share of the reward.
Peedom, 40, was told there had been an accident but only learned the extent of it later. Sixteen Sherpas had been killed, at the time the worst tragedy in Everest history (a year later 18 people perished in another avalanche). The director and her team, specialists in high altitude photography, picked up their cameras and continued filming.
Police watch as locals attack migrants in Algeria
Dozens of migrants were injured last Friday when they were attacked by locals in the town of Béchar, some 1,000 kilometres south of the Algerian capital, Algiers. Our Observer says that despite the presence of police officers, it was several hours before they did anything to stop the violence.
Towards midday on Friday, March 25, dozens of people from Béchar began throwing rocks at an abandoned shopping centre where a group of migrants were living. The violence kicked off after a local resident accused one of the migrants of trying to rape a little girl. But no crime was ever reported to police officers, and according to a local journalist covering the story, no one has pressed charges for attempted rape in any of the town's police stations.
Most of the sub-Saharan migrants living in Béchar arrived in the city fairly recently from Mali, Gabon, Senegal and Cameroon.
Venezuela's congress approves amnesty bill for political prisoners
The landmark bill takes a "major step forward in rescuing democracy," said the wife of a detained opposition leader. But scores of political prisoners may not see the light of day after the president vowed to veto it.
Venezuela's opposition-dominated legislature late Tuesday local time passed an amnesty bill to release scores of political prisoners in a landmark move that President Nicolas Maduro has vowed to strike down.
"With this amnesty law, we are taking a major step forward in rescuing democracy and liberty," said Lilian Tintori, the wife of imprisoned opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.
"I cannot wait to arrive home and tell my children that only a few days remain until their daddy returns," Tintori said in a tweet following the bill's approval.
Leopoldo Lopez, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for alleged involvement in anti-government riots, and several other opposition figures have been arbitrarily detained for voicing criticism of the government, according to UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.
Somalia's Sufi revival
After years of war and devastation, Somalia's Sufi community regroups to begin recovery process.
Hamza Mohamed | | Africa
Mogadishu, Somalia - As the last rays of the afternoon sun bounced off the coloured tin roofs of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, a group of Sufis came out of a gated house, singing hymns while holding hands, black prayer beads dangling from their hands and necks.
They were making a short but a symbolic slow walk to a nearby mosque in the Bakara area of the seaside city to continue their afternoon prayer programme.
Crowds stopped to look and take photos with their phones; the odd person opened a window to see what was happening. These scenes - Sufis walking down the streets and chanting - are rarely seen in Somalia these days.
GROWING INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT SEEKS TO PLACE ARMS EMBARGO ON SAUDI ARABIA
A LAWSUIT FILED last week in Canada is seeking to halt a major $15 billion sale of light-armored vehicles to the government of Saudi Arabia, part of a growing international movement to stop arms sales to the Saudi government over its alleged war crimes in Yemen.
The suit, filed by University of Montreal constitutional law professor Daniel Turp, argues the vehicle sales to Saudi Arabia violate a number of Canadian laws, including regulations on the export of military equipment, which prohibit arms sales to countries where human rights are “subject to serious and repeated violations” and there is a reasonable risk exported equipment “will be used against the civilian population.” Saudi Arabia, which has adeplorable human rights record at home, has inflicted considerable civilian casualties in Yemen as part of its yearlong bombing campaign in support of the contested government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
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