<p>The Indonesian government has denied its military used white phosphorus in West Papua, following a report published in an Australian paper detailing the unverified use of the chemical weapon against civilians this month.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to the paper the attack occurred in the region of Nduga in West Papua. Photographic evidence published shows a villager with severe burns and a wounded leg, which has been attributed to use of white phosphorus.&nbsp;</p> <p>Reporters, John Martinkus and Mark Davis assert that they had solid evidence of the attack and accuse the government of dissembling and avoiding accountability.</p>

<p>The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called on Bahrain to release the family members of prominent exiled activist, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, an outspoken critic of the Bahraini government who now lives in Britain.&nbsp;</p> <p>A report released by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that the three relatives were being held because of their kinship to Alwadaei. Alwadaei’s brother in law, Sayed Nizar Alwadaei, his mother in law, Hajar Mansoor Hassan and a cousin, Mahmood Marzooq were convicted on charges of planting a fake bomb in October 2017 and were sentenced to three years in prison.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Working Group’s ruling says that they were arrested without legal basis and arbitrarily detained without the use of an arrest warrant or legal representation. The Group has also suggested evidence showed that the trio had been victims of torture and false confessions.</p>

<p>Five Israeli teenagers have been accused of stoning to death a Palestinian mother.&nbsp;</p> <p>Aisha Rabi, a Palestinian mother of nine, was travelling by car with her husband and two daughters when she was struck on the head by a stone. She died near the settlement of Rehelim, in the occupied West Bank, on October 12.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nigeria’s security forces conducted a raid on the headquarters and three offices of the country’s Daily Trust newspaper in Maiduguri on Sunday, arresting two journalists, and seizing their laptops and mobile phones.&nbsp;</p> <p>Uthman Abubakar, the north east regional editor and Ibrahim Sawab were both arrested during the raid. The Daily Trust is one of Nigeria’s largest newspapers. Sawab was released later that day, but Abubakhar remains in military custody with his location unknown.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Myanmar’s authorities have ordered their army to launch operations to crack down on an ethnic Rakhine insurgent group after deadly attacks last week in the Rakhine state.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Arakan Army (AA), an armed ethnic group fighting for more autonomy, carried out raids on four police posts in the town Buthidaung, North Rakhine. The attack took place on Myanmar’s Independence Day, leaving 13 police officers dead and nine injured.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The United States House of Reprasentatives on Friday passed a bill separating Western Sahara’s aid from its programme in&nbsp;Morocco on Friday.</p> <p>The new bill outlines language on Western Sahara in a separate section to Morocco. Previously text on aid for the&nbsp;region&nbsp;was covered under the remit of Moroccan aid.</p> <p>Responding to the new US legislation on aid to the Western Sahara and Morocco, the Polisario Front envoy to Washington, said,</p>

<p>Soldiers have attempted to take control in Gabon in an attempted coup, as the ruling president, Ali Bongo, remains abroad receiving medical treatment for a reported stroke.&nbsp;</p> <p>Seizing control of national state radio, Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang, urged people to "rise up", with the message being carried on state television and social media.&nbsp;</p> <p>AFP reported shots were heard close to the radio station, situated in the centre of Libreville.</p>

A US Navy Special Operations Chief is accused of breaking international law by indiscriminating killing Iraqi civilians and nearly a dozen other crimes, including stabbing to death a 15-year-old prisoner.

Edward Gallagher has pleaded not guilty when appearing at a hearing in San Diego’s naval base on Friday, with his official trial set to begin on February 19.

Gallagher served the Navy for 19 years and faces life imprisonment if found guilty. The prosecution alleges that Gallagher committed several crimes while in Mosul from February to September 2017, including stabbing to death a teenage prisoner who was fighting for the Islamic State (IS).

<p>More than three million women formed a 385-mile human chain in the state of Kerala in southern India this week, as they protested against a temple policy that banned admission for women.</p> <p>The chain stretched from the northern tip of the state in Kasaragod to the southern end in Thiruvanthapuram. The protest was organised by Kerala’s left-wing coalition government on Thursday however the disputes on this issue have been going on for three months.</p>

<p>Demonstrations have been taking place in different regions of Sudan over the last month, including the capital Khartoum, calling on Omar al Bashir to resign as the country’s president.</p> <p>The deadliest of the protests took place on Monday 31st December, as Sudanese security forces fired tear gas and bullets at demonstrators in Khartoum, who marched towards the President’s palace. Schools and universities across Sudan have been shut and state of emergency has been declared in some regions.</p>