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Middle East
Yemen government and Houthi rebels establish joint observation posts in Hodeidah
Yemen's government and the Houthi rebels established joint observation posts in the key port city of Hodeidah as part of a UN-brokered deal
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Asia Pacific
China offers to host Afghanistan peace talks
China has invited the Taliban to an "intra-Afghan" conference after a prospective deal between the US and the insurgents collapsed last month
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Middle East
Russian military police convoy heads for Syria-Turkey border
Russian forces crossed the Euphrates river in Syria and headed for the border with Turkey under a deal for the withdrawal of the SDF
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Middle East
FULL TEXT: Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and Russia on northern Syria
Memorandum of Understanding Between Turkey and the Russian Federation (Sochi, October 22, 2019)
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Middle East
Assad says Idlib is key to ending Syrian war in rare visit
Defeating terrorists in Idlib is the key to ending Syria's civil war, President Bashar al-Assad said in a visit to the embattled northwestern region
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Politics
German coalition government divided over call for international Syria border security mission
Germany's coalition government was divided after defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's surprise call for international troops to secure northeast Syria
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Middle East
Bahrain hosts Gulf maritime security conference with Israel in attendance
Representatives from more than 60 countries including met in Bahrain to discuss maritime security following attacks on tankers in the Gulf and Saudi oil installations
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Middle East
Iran slams Turkish plan for northeast Syria military bases
Iran denounced as "unacceptable" any move by Turkey to establish military bases in northeast Syria, saying such a step would face opposition
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Asia Pacific
UN report documents highest Afghan civilian casualties in a single month since records began
An “unprecedented” number of civilians were killed or injured in Afghanistan between July and September this year, the United Nations said in a new report released on Thursday, October 17, calling the violence “totally unacceptable.” The quarterly report, which also charts violence throughout 2019 so far, underscores how “Afghans have been exposed to extreme levels of violence for many years” despite promises by all sides to “prevent and mitigate harm to civilians.” The figures – 1,174 deaths and 3,139 injured from July 1 until September 30 – represent the largest number of civilian casualties the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has recorded in a single quarter since it began systematically documenting civilian casualties in 2009, and a 42% increase over the same period last year. July also saw the most civilians killed and injured in a single month since UNAMA records began in 2009. “Civilian casualties are totally unacceptable,” said the U.N.’s special representative in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, adding they demonstrate the importance of talks leading to a ceasefire and a permanent political settlement. “The impact of Afghanistan’s conflict on civilians is appalling,” said Fiona Frazer, UNAMA’s Human Rights Chief. Afghanistan violence surges in Q3 2019 The U.N. laid …
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