The Chief Minister of the Indian ca
pital DelhiArvind Kejriwal has resigned after after only49 days in power because his attempts tointroduce a new anti-corruption bill wereblocked in the city's legislative assembly.From Delhi, here's Sanjoy Majumder.
India has national elections due in about 2months from now. And Mr. Kejriwal wasdefinitely planning to launch his party's campaign for those national elections. But there aremany critics, of course, who are questioning his move to run away from government as itwere. Reporters believe that it's a move that would probably increase the support base. Mr.Kejriwal, for some time now, has been the country's leading anti-corruption crusader, andsomething which a lot of Indians identify with because something many of them are up againstalmost on a daily basis. So, Mr. Kejriwal is able to trap in to normal,everyday grievances, anduse that to increase and enhance his political appeal.
A United Nations' report has warned of systematic abuses by Somalia's federal governmentwhich have allowed weapons intended for government forces to be diverted to clan militia andthe Islamist militant group al-Shabab. The UN monitoring group said the weapons were boughtafter the Security Council eased an arms embargo in Somalia last year. Nick Bryant reports.
They claim to have evidence that a key adviser to Somali's president has been involved inplanning weapons deliveries to al-Shabab. And it's expressed concerns over the managementof weapons and ammunition stockpiles by the Somali government. Their report describes howparts of shipments from Uganda and Djibouti, including rocket launchers, grenades andammunition could not be accounted for. The experts complained, too, that they had difficulty ingaining access to weapon stockpiles in the country and also in getting information about itsgrowing arsenal. They recommend the restoration of the full arms embargo or at least,stricter rules.
The United Nations has warned against another humanitarian crisis in Syria as thousands ofpeople fleeing intense government assault on Yabroud, a rebel-held town near the borderwith Lebanon. Lyse Doucet reports.
For the past few days, there have been growing signs that a major ground assault is imminenton the rebel-held town of Yabroud. It lies on a key supply route for both sides in this war.The area has already come under heavy arial bombardment by Syrian war planes. Many havebeen injured and the UN is warning that hospitals are running short of supplies. Thousands ofcivilians are now fleeing Yabroud. Many are crossing the nearby border into Lebanon.
Syrian government and opposition negotiators have said the United-Nations-sponsored peacetalks in Geneva have reached an impasse. Both sides have different interpretations of aninternational agreement endorsed by the major powers which calls for the creation of atransitional governing body.
World News from the BBC.
An opposition group in Ukraine says all activists who were arrested during 3 months ofanti-government protests have been released. A spokesman said the last of more than 230detainees have been freed under an amnesty law passed last month.
Protest leaders said they would partially remove road blocks which they directed in the centerof Kiev.
The US government is issuing guidelines to banks on how to do business with licensedmarijuana sellers without breaking thelaw. The guidance from the Justice and Treasurydepartment is intended to make banking services such as savings and current accountsavailable to marijuana shops that typically dealing cash. Rajini Vaidyanathan reports fromWashington.
The recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 2 American states: Washington and Colorado.Licensed stores selling the drugs here will now be able to open accounts. Until now, banks havebeen reluctant to process this kind of transactions for fear of drug racketeering charges. Somost business is done as cash only. The guideline still require banks to report any criminalactivity, but a step towards allowing marijuana related industries in states where it's legal tocome out of the shadows and operate openly.
The French President Francois Hollande has announced that France will send an additional 400troops to the Central African Republic. There are already 1,600 French troops in the countrythat has been beset by violence between Christians and Muslims since a coup in March lastyear.
A moonlit image of African migrants trying to get mobile phone signals has won the World PressPhoto of the Year award. The jury awarded the prize to the American photographer JohnStanmeyer for his hunting photo of men holding phones up to the sky from a beach in Djibouti.A jury member said the photo portrayed the migrants as dignified instead of, in herwords,bedraggled and pathetic.
BBC News.