05/21/2013 12:36 GMT

GOMA, DR Congo, May 21, 2013 (AFP) - Fighting resumed Tuesday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between M23 rebels and government troops, military sources said, a day before the UN chief was due to visit the region.

Colonel Olivier Hamuli, spokesman for the Congolese army (FARDC) in North Kivu province, said that M23 forces had attacked FARDC positions in the same zone as on Monday, when clashes broke out 12 kilometres (seven miles) north of Goma, the provincial capital.

By Pamela Constable,

KABUL — Amid the scattered but steadily mounting carnage of the Taliban’s annual spring offensive, including a suicide bombing Monday that killed a provincial council head, hopes of stirring life into peace talks with the Islamist insurgents seem to be dying here with each new suicide attack, kidnapping and roadside bombing.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS ISSUE

• HRF Financial Reserve increased to USD 99.78 million with additional USD 32.28 million for budget support (p.2)

• HRF supports private sector development, particularly small and medium businesses (p.3)

• Neighborhood Reconstruction Project relocates more than 10,000 people from « Parc Jean Marie Vincent » and « Pétion Ville club » camps (p.5)

• 16/6 Project has economic and social impact on communities (p.5)

Ayaz Gul May 20, 2013

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif, who is set to become prime minister for a third time after his party won recent parliamentary elections, on Monday called for peace talks with domestic Taliban extremists, saying “this is the best option” to fight militancy.

Addressing newly elected federal and provincial lawmakers of his Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party in Lahore, Sharif described terrorism as “the most serious challenge” facing the country.

20 de mayo, 2013 — Más de 350 víctimas del conflicto en Colombia se reunieron recientemente en Rionegro y el Meta, dos regiones del interior del país, representando a más de 150 organizaciones civiles para participar en consultas que ayudarán al proceso de paz.

El Congreso colombiano convocó a esos grupos para escuchar sus propuestas e incluirlas en la agenda de negociación para la paz entre el gobierno y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), que se lleva a cabo en la Habana, Cuba.

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2013 (AFP) - Myanmar President Thein Sein urged Monday an end to intercommunal violence and discrimination after hearing a call from US President Barack Obama to put a stop to anti-Muslim attacks.

In a speech after his landmark White House meeting, the leader of the former pariah nation said he wanted a "more inclusive national identity" but did not directly mention the plight of the beleaguered Rohingya community.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today voiced its concern about renewed clashes between rebels from the 23 March Movement (M23) and the national armed forces in the eastern city of Goma.

Fighting broke out early this morning in Kibati and Rusayo, some 12 kilometres from Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, according to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC (MONUSCO).

SG/A/1407
AFR/26233
BIO/4474

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz of Brazil as Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

He succeeds Lieutenant General Chander Prakash Wadhwa of India, who completed his assignment on 31 March 2013, and to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated and effective service during his tenure of more than two years.

Journalists belonging to the Afghan Women Journalists’ Association urged UNESCO to play a leading role in supporting Afghanistan’s transformation after 2014, the date when most peacekeeping forces are expected to withdraw and national elections are to be organized.

On 17 May, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova met in Kabul with the Association, founded in 2005 by Ms Shafiqa Habibi and now counting 350 members in five provinces.