Ghana dismisses judges guilty of bribery charges
Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas (L), who hides his identity, went undercover to film
Twenty judges and magistrates have been sacked in Ghana after being found guilty of bribery.
The
dismissals followed a thorough investigation into allegations of
corruption in the judiciary, Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood said. In August, a journalist revealed that he had evidence showing judges demanding bribes and sex to influence judgements in court cases.
The revelation shocked Ghanaians who packed cinemas to see his documentary.
Announcing the sackings, the chief justice said she wanted to assure the public that the judicial council, the regulatory body for judges, would take "prompt and resolute" action to "redeem" the image of the judiciary.
Judicial council secretary Justice Alex Poku Acheampong said some of the sacked judges had been stripped of their benefits.
Ghanaian journalist Sammy Darko says many people feel the judges got off lightly, and are demanding that they be prosecuted.
The sacked judges and magistrates were from lower courts, and had been investigated by a committee appointed by the chief justice. One judge was cleared of the charges.
A second inquiry, focusing on similar allegations against 12 High Court judges, has not yet concluded its work.
Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas handed over nearly 500 hours of video evidence on tape to the chief justice in August.
Who is Anas Aremeyaw Anas?
Out of
His fans call him a modern-day folk hero or the "James Bond of journalism" for his work in exposing alleged corruption and malpractice in Ghana and beyond.
In his 15 years of undercover journalism he has among other disguises, posed as a female investor in high heels, sunglasses and lipstick, and a janitor in a brothel. He has also secreted himself inside a fake rock placed at the side of the road with a peep hole for his eyes.
In his work he has exposed a human trafficking racket, corruption in the police and malpractice in a food processing plant. He argues that "there is no point in doing journalism, if it does not lead progress in your society". Mr Anas became a lawyer while working as a journalist.
Source: BBC.com
Donald Trump's Muslim US ban call roundly condemned
Republican presidential hopeful
Donald Trump has provoked condemnation from across the political
spectrum, by saying Muslims should be banned from entering the US.
Republicans, Democrats, Muslim leaders, the UN and foreign leaders criticised the call as dangerous and divisive.Mr Trump said many Muslims nursed a "hatred" towards America.
He said they should be banned "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on".
His campaign manager said that would apply to "everybody" - would-be immigrants and tourists. But Mr Trump told Fox News it would "not apply to people living in the country", adding that Muslims serving in the US military would "come home".
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- California attackers had target practice
Last week a Muslim couple, believed to have been radicalised, opened fire and killed 14 people at a health centre in San Bernardino.
Rival candidate Jeb Bush called Mr Trump "unhinged", while former US Vice-President Dick Cheney said it "goes against everything we stand for and believe in".
"Just foolish," said Republican Arizona Senator John McCain.
Mr Trump's comments were contrary to US values and its national security interests, a statement from the White House said.
The UK's Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron said they were "divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong".
'Mainstreaming of Islamophobia'
"Donald Trump sounds more like a leader of a lynch mob than a great nation like ours,'' said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations."These are not just words... Trump and Carson's mainstreaming of Islamophobia in the election is inciting discrimination, hate crimes, violent attacks against Muslims and mosques."
The pro-Jewish Anti-Defamation League said the plan was "deeply offensive and runs contrary to our nation's deepest values.
"In the Jewish community, we know all too well what can happen when a particular religious group is singled out for stereotyping and scapegoating."
Meanwhile, the Democratic mayor of St Petersburg, Florida, announced to Twitter plaudits that he was "hereby barring Donald Trump from entering St Petersburg until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps".
But in an early-morning interview with CNN on Tuesday, Mr Trump defended the proposal, insisting it would just be temporary but was necessary if there were not to be "many more World Trade Centers", referring to the 9/11 attacks on the US.
Some of his Republican rivals - mindful, perhaps, that Mr Trump's more outlandish proposals only appear to have bolstered his poll ratings - were more nuanced in their criticism.
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Ben Carson said visitors to the US should be monitored, but added: "I do not and would not advocate being selective on one's religion."
Mr Trump's plans were not universally derided.
He garnered loud cheers when he repeated his ban pledge at a South Carolina rally hours after his initial statement.
A handful of supporters backed Mr Trump online, with controversial conservative commentator Ann Coulter tweeting: "GO TRUMP, GO!"
The BBC's Anthony Zurcher, in Washington, says Mr Trump, whose poll ratings have risen after other hardline statements, has set down a marker that will force his fellow candidates to stand with him or risk his ire.
Refugees 'at risk'
The UN refugee agency UNHCR said it was concerned that the rhetoric was putting an "incredibly important" resettlement programme for vulnerable Syrian refugees at risk.Spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said remarks not just by Mr Trump but by a number of US state governors could undermine a programme designed to help the most vulnerable refugees.
The US currently accepts several thousand refugees for resettlement each year, following a rigorous security screening which lasts around two years.
Out on a limb - how other 2016 hopefuls reacted
Republicans:"ridiculous position" - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
"dangerous overreaction" - businesswoman Carly Fiorina
"offensive and outlandish" - Florida Senator Marco Rubio
"unhinged" - ex-Florida Governor Jeb Bush
"outrageous divisiveness" - Ohio Governor John Kasich
"downright dangerous" - S Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
"not my policy" - Texas Senator Ted Cruz
Democrats:
"fascist demagogue" - ex-Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley
"reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive" - Hillary Clinton
"demagogue" - Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders
Mr Trump's statement to reporters on Monday said polling by the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think-tank, suggested that 25% of Muslims in the US believed violence against America was justified.
"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why, we will have to determine.
"Until we [do]... our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad."
On Sunday, President Obama made a rare Oval Office address in response to the San Bernardino attack and warned against the US falling prey to divisiveness.
Source: BBC.com
What Obama and Xi said to Africa
China's President Xi Jinping and US
President Barack Obama have both made major speeches in Africa this
year. President Xi spoke last week to heads of state at a summit in
Johannesburg, South Africa, and in July President Obama spoke at the
African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Their oratory show
some remarkable similarities and some interesting differences.
Partnership of equals?
Both leaders spoke about past relations with the continent.President Xi: "What has made China-Africa friendship durable and vigorous is that our two sides have always been guided by the principle of treating each other as equals... China and Africa will forever remain good friends, good partners and good brothers."
President Obama: "As president, I've worked to transform America's relationship with Africa - so that we're truly listening to our African friends and working together, as equal partners."
Both presidents used the word "partners" but there is still a difference. Africa analyst Aubrey Hruby says that China is able to emphasise the shared development experience with Africa, whereas the US has had to work harder at making the equal partnership a reality.
Speak up or keep quiet?
President Obama: "The bottom line is that when citizens cannot exercise their rights, the world has a responsibility to speak out. And America will, even if it's sometimes uncomfortable, even when it's sometimes directed toward our friends."
President Xi: "We should respect each other's choice of development path... China strongly believes that Africa belongs to the African people and that African affairs should be decided by the African people."
How to do business
President Obama: "Entrepreneurship creates new jobs and new businesses, new ways to deliver basic services, new ways of seeing the world - it's the spark of prosperity."
President Xi: "We should fully leverage the strengths of political mutual trust… and focus on industrial capacity cooperation as well as… industrialisation."
The Mandela quote
President Xi: "President Nelson Mandela... said: 'We stand at the dawn of an African century, a century where Africa will take its rightful place among the nations of the world.' I couldn't agree more with this statement."
President Obama: "Nelson Mandela taught us 'to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others'".
Peace and progress
President Xi: "Poverty is the root cause of chaos while peace is the guarantee for development... China stands ready to take an active part in Africa's efforts in capacity-building for maintaining and strengthening peace and security."
President Obama: "Africa's progress will also depend on security and peace... Now, as Africa stands against terror and conflict, I want you to know that the United States stands with you."
Spot the difference
These word clouds were generated from the two men's speeches:
Source: BBC.com Myanmar election: Military 'will co-operate' with new government
Myanmar's military chief has pledged to work with the country's new government, following landmark elections on Sunday.
Min Aung Hlaing said the military would "do what is best in co-operation with the new government during the post-election period".Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is on track for a majority, taking about 80% of declared seats.
But a quarter of parliamentary seats are allocated to the military, meaning it will remain hugely influential.
Last weekend's vote was Myanmar's first openly contested general election for 25 years.
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President Thein Sein and Min Aung Hlaing have congratulated Ms Suu Kyi on her party's performance in the polls, though have not formally conceded defeat. They have agreed to hold talks on national reconciliation with her after the final results are announced.
More than 47% of results have been declared so far, and on Thursday morning, the NLD were said to be 38 seats short of a majority.
The ruling military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) - which won the last, widely criticised election five years ago - has so far gained about 5% of the seats being contested in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
Myanmar's historic election
What the election means in one sleepy but crucial town:
Aung San Suu Kyi: international symbol of peaceful resistance
Elections explained: Why does this vote matter?
"And second he also wants to congratulate the NLD for their success in the election," U Ye Htut told the BBC.
President Thein Sein has also pledged that his government "will respect the people's decision and choice and will hand over power as scheduled".
Aung San Suu Kyi - 'The Lady'
- 70-year-old daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, Gen Aung San
- Spent 15 years under house arrest between 1989 and 2010, despite the NLD winning a landslide in elections in 1990 which were later nullified
- Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for "her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights"
- Sidelined in 2010 elections but released from house arrest six days later
- Won a parliamentary seat in 2012 by-election, as country adopted liberalising reforms
However, hundreds of thousands of people - including the Muslim Rohingya minority, who are not recognised as citizens - were denied voting rights.
A quarter of the 664 parliamentary seats are set aside for the army and a handful were not contested, leaving 491 seats.
For the NLD to have the winning majority and be able to select the president, it will need at least two-thirds of those seats.
Source:BBC.com
Catalonia vows to continue independence bid despite court ruling
Pro-independence leaders in
Catalonia have vowed to press ahead with plans to break away from Spain,
despite a decision by the Constitutional Court to suspend the secession
process.
Catalan Vice-President Neus Munte said it was the
political will of the regional government to carry on with plans for
independence in 18 months.Spain's government earlier appealed to the Constitutional Court to intervene.
The court warned Catalan leaders they needed to comply with the order.
"If they fail to comply with the suspension, they may commit disobedience," read the ruling by the Madrid-based high court.
Catalonia's regional parliament on Monday passed a motion to start the secession process, stating an aim of independence within 18 months, and giving 30 days to start legislation on a Catalan constitution, treasury and social security system.
More on Catalan independence fight
Catalonia's push for independence Could Spain's wealthy north-eastern region really break away?
- Population 7.5 million
- 32,000 square km
- Makes up 18.82% of Spain's GDP
- Unemployment at 19% compared with 21% nationally
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy earlier on Wednesday announced he had taken the case to the Constitutional Court. He called the motion a "blatant disregard for the state's institutions" and accused the pro-secessionists of "trying to do away with democracy".
"We're talking about the defence of an entire country. They are trying to liquidate the unity of a nation with more than five centuries of history," he said.
In a judgement that had been expected, the court's 11-judge panel agreed to hear the government's lawsuit against the Catalan move, meaning the motion is automatically suspended for a number of months while legal hearings are held.
The panel also agreed to Madrid's request that the judges "personally" notify acting Catalan President Artur Mas, his cabinet and the president of the regional assembly, Carme Forcadell, of the consequences should they decide not to abide by the court's ruling.
The pro-secession parties had fully expected their move to be declared illegal and as part of the motion had argued that the court lacks legitimacy.
Speaking at a news conference after the court ruling, Ms Munte said: "The political will of the government of Catalonia is to go ahead with the content of the resolution."
One of the Catalan independence leaders, Oriol Junqueras, tweeted: "The will of the Catalan people cannot be suspended. We are committed to continue with our democratic mandate."
Catalan nationalist parties secured a majority of seats in September's elections but fell short of winning half the vote. They said before the vote that they considered it a de facto referendum on independence from Spain.
Two big separatist parties make up the "Together for Yes" ("Junts pel Si") coalition but they needed the help of the far-left CUP (Popular Unity) party to secure an absolute majority in the Catalan parliament.
Artur Mas, who has spearheaded the drive for secession, has been trying to win re-election as Catalonia's president but has failed to secure the approval of the far-left party. The CUP has called for another Together for Yes candidate, Raul Romeva, to take over the leadership role.
Several parties oppose secession in Catalonia, including the Catalan Socialists and Citizens (Ciudadanos), a centre-right party which was born in the north-eastern region but has attracted increasing popularity across Spain.
Its leader, Albert Rivera, said earlier this week: "To those Catalans who want independence: the solution is not to break up the country, it is to reform it."
The rise in tensions between Madrid and Catalonia comes just weeks before Spaniards vote in the general election, on 20 December. It is not yet clear who will win the election but every party will want wealthy Catalonia to remain a part of Spain, observers say.
Analysis: BBC's Tom Burridge in Madrid
The stakes have risen. Prime Minister Rajoy's threat to suspend the powers of 21 key political figures in Catalonia, if decisions of the Spanish Constitutional Court are ignored, is the first time Madrid has produced a clear consequence, if the Catalan pro-independence camp continue with their project of trying to break-away from Spain.Long criticised for inaction, and failing to recognise the determination of Catalan pro-independence parties, the Spanish government knows it has to get the balance right.
With an election looming Mr Rajoy knows he needs to be tough to please Spanish voters. But go too far and he risks antagonising Catalans who want to leave Spain.
So for now, the possibility of Spain trying to seize control of Catalonia's autonomous police force, known as the Mossos, or the prospect of Madrid cutting-off funding to the Catalan Government, known as the Generalitat, are just stories in Spanish newspapers.
But normally, implicit threats in newspapers come from somewhere.
The uncertainty speaks of a political crisis in Spain. No-one quite knows where this will end. The general election on 20 December could change everything.
The left-wing Podemos party is in favour of a referendum. However, the polls suggest Mr Rajoy's party could remain in government and therefore the Catalan crisis might continue.
In Britain, David Cameron made a Scottish gamble and held a referendum, which his side won.
But in Spain, there is not even a debate about whether there should be a referendum in Catalonia. There is a government committed to the unity of Spain, and a rebellion amongst a slim majority of Catalan regional parliamentarians, who are committed to breaking away.
This Catalan drama is "to be continued".
Source:BBC.com
Syria conflict: Russia 'peace plan' revealed ahead of key summit
A Russian document circulating at
the United Nations has proposed a constitutional reform process in
Syria, lasting 18 months, to be followed by presidential elections.
The document does not say whether Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should remain in power during that time.It says certain Syrian opposition groups should take part in key talks on the crisis in Vienna on Saturday.
The Syrian army meanwhile has broken a siege in the north.
Army units fought their way to Kuwairis airbase, east of Aleppo, and eliminated large numbers of Islamic State (IS) militants, reports said.
The facility had been under attack by IS jihadists for nearly two years.
It represents a victory for regime forces which have struggled to advance even since Russia added its firepower to the conflict at the end of September, flying hundreds of sorties in that time.
The BBC's Steve Rosenberg is embedded with Russian forces at their air base near Latakia, sending the following tweets among others on Wednesday:
At least 22 people were killed and many more wounded by rebel shellfire in the Mediterranean city of Latakia on Tuesday, state media and activists say.
Latakia, which lies in the heartland of President Assad's minority Alawite sect, has largely escaped the conflict that has devastated most of Syria and killed more than 250,000 people.
A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said that the priority ahead of next Saturday's meeting should be to establish which Syrian opposition groups are to be regarded as partners in the process, and which are "terrorist" and unacceptable.
Analysing Russia's proposal - Jonathan Marcus, BBC diplomatic correspondent
Two fundamental problems are immediately apparent:First, there is the position of President Assad himself. The leaked document makes no mention of Mr Assad standing down during the transitional process, though it does say: "The president of Syria will not chair the constitutional commission".
The second problem is that of inclusivity - who actually will be asked to participate in the eventual peace talks?
The Russian proposal speaks of the launching of a political process between the Syrian government and "a united delegation of opposition groups".
But what exactly does this mean? Will it include many of the rebel groups backed by Turkey, the Gulf Arab states and the West, some of who have taken the brunt of Russian air strikes? How can these diverse and in many cases highly fragmented and localised groups be pulled together into a delegation that can speak with a common voice?
Read more from Jonathan
"[The] popularly elected president of Syria will have the functions of commander-in-chief of the armed forces, control of special services and foreign policy," the leaked document is quoted by news agencies as saying.
It says that the reform process should not be chaired by President Assad, but by a candidate agreed upon by all sides.
"The momentum in Vienna needs to not be missed," he told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council.
About 20 countries and international groups will attend the talks which have as their central objective a ceasefire between President Assad's forces and some opposition groups.
Areas around Aleppo have seen weeks of heavy fighting after Syrian troops, backed by Lebanese and Iranian fighters, launched an offensive to retake surrounding territory from rebels and jihadist fighters.
The regime offensive has so far focused on clearing rebel-held areas south of Aleppo, rather than targeting the city itself.
Source: BBC.com
Donald Trump defends his 'humane' deportation plan
Donald Trump has defended his
hardline stance on immigration, a day after it was attacked by fellow
Republican presidential candidates on national TV
His plan to
deport the estimated 11 million people living illegally in the US was
decried as impractical during an election debate in Wisconsin.But he said on Wednesday it was cheap, "doable" and humane.
Democratic President Barack Obama wants to lift the threat of deportation to millions of undocumented people.
But his plan to allow about four million people to apply for work permits has been hindered by legal challenges.
"You're going to have a deportation force, and you're going to do it humanely," he told MSNBC's Morning Joe.
"You have millions of people that are waiting in line to come into this country and they're waiting to come in legally."
How do you deport 11m people?
Debate exposes Republican divisions
He pointed to the actions of former US President Dwight Eisenhower, who authorised what was probably the largest deportation operations in US history.
What was Operation Wetback?
- Sparked by post-war concerns about "invasion" of illegal labour from Mexico
- Hundreds of immigration agents combed the SW in 1954 and 1955 searching for people without documents
- More than a million people were taken, some transported deep into Mexican interior
- Many died in the process
- The term "wetback" is an offensive epithet for people living illegally in the US
Senator Ted Cruz backed Mr Trump during the debate, condemning any form of "amnesty" because illegal immigration kept wages low for American workers.
But his fellow Republican, Ohio Governor John Kasich, said that mass deportation was a "silly argument" that could never work and would split families.
The issue has exposed the diverging views within the party, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio clarified his stance on Wednesday.
He described his position as a "very long path" to citizenship when people had spent at least 10 years on a work permit.
Source: BBC.com
Guinea to vote in polls despite postponement calls
Several people have died in violence before the election
Guinea is to vote
in a presidential election, with the build-up marred by violent clashes
between opposition and pro-government supporters.
Seven candidates are competing against President Alpha Conde, who is hoping to win a second term. His main challenger, Cellou Dalein Diallo, has urged his supporters to vote despite the country's top court rejecting his plea for a delay.
The 2010 election saw a transition from military to civilian rule.
Since then Guinea has been badly hit by an Ebola outbreak and seen prices of key export bauxite - the raw material in aluminium - slump.
Opposition parties had wanted the vote postponed due to alleged anomalies in the country's electoral roll, but this has been rejected by the election commission.
At least three people have been killed in pre-election violence.
Mr Conde is favourite to win the election but a second round of voting is likely.
Source:BBC.com
Canada PM Harper denies handling Syrian refugee claims
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has denied reports that his office intervened in the processing of Syrian refugee claims.
But the Conservative Party leader has admitted he ordered a security "audit" of those being resettled.The allegations were first reported by the Globe and Mail newspaper on Thursday.
They have refocused attention on Mr Harper's response to the Syrian refugee crisis ahead of 19 October elections.
'Resettlement delayed'
The Globe and Mail reported that the prime minister's office earlier this year ordered a halt to the processing of one class of Syrian refugee claims and asked immigration officials to hand over refugee files for vetting.It said the halt meant UN-approved Syrian refugees had their resettlement in Canada delayed.
Mr Harper admitted Thursday that he had asked for a security "audit" of the refugee resettlement process but denied that his political staff had been directly involved in vetting applications.
"Political staff are never involved in approving refugee applications. Such decisions are made by officials in the department of citizenship and immigration," he said.
A 'political cudgel' for Mr Harper's opponents: Anthony Zurcher, Senior North America Reporter, BBC News
The Syrian refugee crisis and Canadian immigration policy - simmering issues for much of the Canadian general election campaign - have now become front-page news. Revelations that Mr Harper's government intervened to slow down the asylum review process - to ensure Canadian national security, his supporters claim - will undoubtedly be used as a political cudgel by his opponents.NDP leader Tom Mulcair already has accused Mr Harper of callous indifference to migrant tragedy and linked the story to the death of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, whose family reportedly sought Canadian residency before he was found dead on a Turkish beach.
Mr Harper built his governing majority, in part, on the strength of his appeal to recent Canadian immigrants. But if these new stories lead Canadians to believe that Mr Harper is playing politics with the asylum system - by giving preference to applicants who were potential supporters or from particular religious backgrounds - his image as a unifying leader of a diverse nation could be jeopardised.
At the very least, these revelations have put the prime minister on the defensive during the critical final week of a campaign that has his party fighting to hold onto power in the face of a strong challenge from Mr Mulcair's NDP and Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party.
CTV, citing immigration department sources, has reported that Mr Harper's office sought to give priority to religious minorities including Christians over Sunni and Shia Muslims.
'Irresponsible'
Opponents of the ruling Conservative Party have seized on the reports.Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said the government had been "irresponsible", while New Democrats' leader Thomas Mulcair said the revelations were "a shame on Canada".
Mr Harper's government has faced criticism for not doing enough to help migrants and refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East.
His government has pledged to take 10,000 refugees by September next year by speeding up processing.
The Liberals have called for 25,000 refugees to be taken in by the end of the year, while the New Democrats have pledged a target of 46,000 over four years.
Source: BBC.com
Syria conflict: Russia intensifies air strikes
Russia is increasing the number of air strikes against Islamic State in Syria, its defence ministry has said.
It said on Saturday morning that it had hit 55 Islamic State (IS) group targets in Syria in the last 24 hours.Later, US defence officials said progress had been made during talks with their Russian counterparts on avoiding accidents over Syria.
Syrian rebels and Western governments say Russia has mainly been hitting non-IS targets.
The US has accused Russia of running a "fundamentally flawed" campaign in Syria that risks further escalating the conflict there.
Image caption
The Syrian army has tried to advance on the ground as a result of the Russian air strikes
To explain the intensified strikes it cited "a significant increase in the number of ground targets" located by air-based and space-based reconnaissance teams across Syria.
While Raqqa in eastern Syria is an IS stronghold, the militants are not known to be strong in the other provinces.
"In the initial stage of our operation, our aircraft destroyed the principal and largest logistical hubs of the IS terrorist group," a defence ministry statement said.
"This has led to a significant reduction in the fighting potential of armed groups, and a reduction in their mobility and their capacity to launch offensives."
Russia maintains that rebel fighters are running short of arms, ammunition and fuel, leading many rebels to abandon their combat positions and head for the country's east and north-east.
There have been concerns that there could be an accidental clash as the two countries pursue separate bombing campaigns over Syria.
The US and its Nato allies have expressed alarm at violations of Turkish air space by Russian jets last weekend.
On Saturday officials at the US Department of Defense said they had held a conference call of around 90 minutes on air safety during Syria bombing campaigns.
"The discussions were professional and focused narrowly on the implementation of specific safety procedures," a spokeswoman said, adding that another discussion would take place in the near future.
Donald Trump signs Republican pledge not to run as independent
Donald Trump is currently the frontrunner in the Republican race
US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has agreed not to run as an independent candidate if he loses the Republican nomination for the 2016 elections.
"I will be totally pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party and the conservative principles for which it stands," he said on Thursday.He had earlier refused to rule it out.
The billionaire business mogul, who has been soaring in the polls, has come under pressure in recent weeks from the Republican Party to sign the pledge.
His announcement on Thursday will be seen as a victory for the party, who may have seen a split in its support and given the Democrats a boost had Donald Trump pressed ahead as an independent candidate.
He said he had received nothing for signing the loyalty pledge, aside from the assurance that he would be treated fairly in the race.
'Won't tear it up'
Mr Trump was booed by audience members during the Republican presidential debate last month after he refused to rule out a third-party run. He was the only candidate not to commit to back the winner of the party's primaries.The Republican Party National Committee has since sought a loyalty pledge from each of its presidential hopefuls, in what is believed to be a first for the party.
"The best way forward... to win, is if I win the nomination and go direct against whoever (the Democrats) happen to put up. So for that reason, I have signed the pledge," Mr Trump told reporters gathered at his campaign headquarters in New York's Trump Tower.
The Republican Party pledge asks presidential candidates to "endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is".
Donald Trump has come under attack from his rivals in the race who have questioned his conservative credentials and liberal leanings in the past.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said on Thursday Donald Trump's views on illegal immigration were "too pessimistic", despite vowing to support his rival if he won the party race.
Some of the measures Mr Trump has outlined to combat illegal immigration include raising visa fees to pay for a wall along the Mexican border and ending the automatic right to citizenship for US-born children of families living illegally in America.
The latest poll by Monmouth University puts Mr Trump way ahead with support from 30% of Republicans, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson running a distant second with 18%.
The rest of the Republican pack is trailing far behind, with Jeb Bush currently tied with Texas senator Ted Cruz at 8%.
Joe Biden 'cannot say' if he will run for US president
Biden: "The honest to God answer is I just don't know"
US Vice-President Joe Biden says he does not know if he has the "emotional energy" to run for president.
Mr Biden said at a foreign policy lecture in Atlanta: "I can't look you straight in the eye and say now, 'I know I can do it'."The 72-year-old Democrat lost his son, Beau, to cancer earlier this year.
The media have watched and waited for weeks for a hint that Joe Biden will challenge the Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton.
The BBC's Laura Bicker in Washington says he has finally given an insight into his deliberations - telling those gathered in Atlanta that, unless he was able to devote his whole heart and soul to the endeavour, it would not be appropriate.
He said: "The most relevant factor in my decision is whether my family and I have the emotional energy to run. The factor is, can I do it?
"The honest to God answer is I just don't know."
Our correspondent says some Democrats have urged Mr Biden to run as Hillary Clinton's campaign appears to be struggling with questions over her use of emails when she was Secretary of State.
Mr Biden failed in his bids for the White House in 1988 and 2008 before becoming Barack Obama's running mate.
Zimbabwe minister Martin Dinha faces corruption charges
Zimbabwe's government has seized white-owned farms as part of a land reform programme since 2000 (file picture)
A Zimbabwean minister is facing corruption charges over allegations he extorted a white farmer in order to protect him from eviction.
Martin Dinha, the minister of state for Mashonaland Central province, allegedly received US$60,000 (£39,000) from tobacco farmer Guy Frank Dollar.Mr Dinha denies the allegations and was released on a $1,000 bail.
The Zimbabwean government has seized about 4,000 white-owned farms as part of a land reform programme since 2000.
The minister appeared in court on Wednesday. The court ordered him to report each week to the police and surrender his passport as part of his bail conditions.
His lawyer Tapson Dzvetero told Reuters that the charged were politically motivated but that Mr Dinha has not yet made a plea in court.
In 2014 anti-bribery watchdog Transparency International ranked Zimbabwe 156th out of 174 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be.
Greece debt crisis: Interim PM Thanou is first woman leader
Greece's top Supreme Court judge, Vassiliki Thanou, has been appointed caretaker prime minister ahead of early elections next month.
President Prokopis Pavlopoulos named Ms Thanou after efforts to form a coalition failed. Last week, Alex Tsipras resigned as prime minister to seek a new mandate for office.Ms Thanou, 65, becomes Greece's first female prime minister.
Elections are expected to be scheduled for 20 or 27 September.
Ms Thanou's appointment ends a week of fruitless negotiations as opposition party leaders tried unsuccessfully to form a government.
Vassiliki Thanos
- Appointed president of the Supreme Court in June, days before Greece's Yes/No referendum. She is the second woman to have held the role
- Sent a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, in February urging support for the new Syriza government's reform plans
- Wrote an open letter during bailout talks in July expressing her belief that most Greeks wanted to remain in the eurozone
- Criticised the leadership of then Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, in October 2014, condemning his "totalitarian government"
Mr Tsipras stepped down as prime minister and called early elections after 25 of his MPs quit Syriza over the bailout he agreed with European creditors and formed the left-wing Popular Unity party.
Reduced support
In a statement live on television last Thursday, he said it was now up to the Greek people to give their verdict on whether to continue with his government's programme.Mr Tsipras is expected to win the next election although it is unclear whether he will secure a majority government.
However, he has ruled out a coalition with any of the more centrist opposition parties: centre-right New Democracy, the socialist Pasok party or the small centrist The River (To Potami) party.
New Democracy was in second with 22%, while the far-right Golden Dawn ranked third with 6%.
Popular Unity, which split from Syriza, was put on 4.5%.
Panagiotis Lafazanis, who formed Popular Unity, was the last of three party leaders who were given the chance form a government in the past week.
He used the opportunity to air his anti-bailout message before handing back the mandate to the president on Thursday.
Varoufakis 'lost credibility'
Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis decided not to join Popular Unity despite his opposition to the €86bn (£62bn; $96bn) eurozone bailout agreed by his successor Euclid Tsakalotos.Speaking to Australia's ABC News on Wednesday, Mr Varoufakis said he would not be running for the Greek parliament in the September elections, as he no longer believed in what Syriza and Mr Tsipras were doing.
Negotiators in the crucial debt talks with the IMF and European Union lenders "had switched off, they didn't listen to what he was saying", he said.
"He didn't say anything bad but he had lost his credibility among his interlocutors."
Why do some people refer to themselves in the third person?
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump quite often refers to himself as "Trump" - instead of using the words "I" or "me". It's an eccentric habit that delights his critics, though he's just the latest in a long line of politicians to talk this way. What does it say about him?
"Nobody would be tougher on Isis than Donald Trump," the billionaire property mogul said when he announced his 2016 presidential bid."You wouldn't even be hearing about immigration if it weren't for Donald Trump," he told NBC, claiming that other presidential contenders would not have been bold enough to mention the subject if he had not led the way.
"Trump was able to get something. I don't know what the hell it was, but it doesn't matter. Because I'm off that subject," he said in an interview with CNN last month, referring to President Obama's decision to release his birth certificate in 2011. (Trump and other "birthers" had voiced doubts that Obama was born in the US - a precondition for becoming president.)
It's not a new habit. In 2009, Trump said that year's Miss Universe finalists were more beautiful than in previous years, adding: "In the old days, you got what you got. Now, Trump picks them. It makes a big difference."
In fact, he's so renowned for using the third person that collections of Trump quotations often quote him as saying: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." In reality though, these are not his words, but words used by the author Marian Salzman when she listed him in 2005 as a top 10 "ubersexual".
Trump's critics mock him mercilessly for this habit.
"Weird the @realDonaldTrump refers to himself in the third person. Not just voters who see him as an out of body experience. #DonaldTrump," says @SandraEckersley.
"How adorable that Donald Trump continues to refer to himself in the third person. Kinda like Kanye West. And Gollum," says @ChandiB, in a reference to a sinister creature in JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Business Insider's Nicholas Carlson drew attention in 2012 to a tweet in which Trump wrote "congratulations Donald!" as he celebrated the success of the Apprentice - a reality TV show in which he sets contestants competing for a job in his company a range of challenges.
"But then you remember that the answer to both those questions is: a kind of person like Donald Trump."
Curiously, Trump is not the only candidate in this election to use the third person about himself. Bernie Sanders, the 73-year-old left-winger bidding for the Democratic nomination, is another.
His Twitter feed is full of tweets announcing what "Senator Sanders" has been or will be doing. This usually appears to be a case of a press officer using his account, but has provoked some puzzled responses.
"Speaking of self in third person is a bit troubling. Suggests exaggerated sense of self, or English royalty. Which is he?" tweeted @PHLoving.
It's "pretty rare" for Sanders to speak this way, according to Neal Goswami, head of the Vermont Press Bureau.
"I have heard him reply to the odd question from reporters by saying something like 'Bernie Sanders doesn't say that' - but I've never heard it in a speech or when he's talking to voters," he says.
For some this will trigger a sense of deja vu. Twenty years ago Bob Dole was pilloried for the same third-person habit as he ran against Bill Clinton.
"If you had to leave your children with Bob Dole or Bill Clinton, I think you'd probably leave them with Bob Dole," was one example that led to jokes on Saturday Night Live.
The technical term for it is illeism from "ille", the Latin for "he", and history provides many examples, from Julius Caesar - who wrote a history of his Gallic campaigns as if he were an objective observer rather than a protagonist - to Charles de Gaulle and Richard Nixon, basketball megastar Le Bron James and Mikhail Gorbachev. In Gorbachev's case it was one of the linguistic habits that led his rival, Yegor Ligachev, to say he was behaving like an "enlightened monarch".
But why would someone like Trump or Sanders become an illeist?
"Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are both very successful, confident individuals - though in very different ways. Their confidence might explain why they would be comfortable outwardly referring to themselves this way," says Schneiderman.
"Also, people in the public eye are performers and thus develop personas. If Trump and Sanders speak about themselves in the third person, perhaps they are actually speaking about their personas."
In Trump's case, he is also a brand.
"Trump talking about himself in the third person reflects his perception of himself as being a larger-than-life character in the world stage," suggests Schneiderman. "Which, aside from the fact that he has an inflated ego, he happens to be."
Elizabeth Ossoff, an expert in political communication at St Anselm College, also sees Trump as a special case, partly because he is so prolific in his use of the third person.
But her advice to politicians is not to overuse the technique, as in her view people tend to find it "off-putting", and un-presidential.
"The use of the third person creates an unwelcome distance. We Americans want our presidents to be regular people but not too regular. We still put them up on a pedestal but want them to be humble about it since we put them in office. It's an odd contradiction at times," she says.
It can't be all that off-putting though. Trump and Sanders are still doing pretty well in the polls.
US warns South Sudan's Kiir and Machar over peace deal
The US has warned South Sudan's leaders not to violate the peace deal aimed at ending a brutal civil war in the world's youngest state.
The US would "hold to account" leaders who breached the deal, and would support sanctions against them, said state department spokesman John Kirby.The US did not recognise President Salva Kiir's reservations about the deal, he added.
He signed the deal on Wednesday. Rebel leader Riek Machar signed it last week.
Fighting between forces loyal to the two men over the last 20 months has forced more than 2.2 million people from their homes in South Sudan, which broke away from Sudan in 2011.
The deal envisages Mr Machar returning to the government as vice-president.
His dismissal from the post in 2013 was one of the main triggers of the civil war.
Mr Kirby said the US did not "recognise any separate reservations made about the agreement".
"To end the fighting we call on all parties to adhere to the permanent ceasefire within the next 72 hours and begin the process of implementing this agreement," he added.
Mr Kiir listed 16 reservations when he signed the deal in front of regional leaders in South Sudan's capital, Juba.
They included concerns over a power-sharing government, and control of the army.
Key points of peace deal:
- Fighting to stop immediately. Soldiers to be confined to barracks in 30 days, foreign forces to leave within 45 days, and child soldiers and prisoners of war freed
- All military forces to leave the capital, Juba, to be replaced by unspecified "guard forces" and Joint Integrated Police
- Rebels get post of "first vice-president"
- Transitional government of national unity to take office in 90 days and govern for 30 months
- Elections to be held 60 days before end of transitional government's mandate
- Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing to investigate human rights violations
The US had proposed a UN arms embargo and more sanctions from 6 September unless the pact was signed by the 15-day deadline given to Mr Kiir last week.
At least seven ceasefires have previously been agreed and then shattered - sometimes within hours.
Fighting broke out in December 2013 after President Kiir accused his sacked deputy Mr Machar of plotting a coup.
Mr Machar denied the charges, but then mobilised a rebel force to fight the government.
NPP takes calls for voter register replacement international
Joy News is learning that the party is filing petitions and arranging direct meetings with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the presidents of both Togo and Nigeria on the matter.
The NPP is also reaching out to the British and French Prime Ministers as well as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel.
The party is also said to have alerted President Barrack Obama’s government in a determined bid to bring international pressure on government and the electoral commission to replace the voters' register before next year’s general elections.
Former National Chairman of the party, Peter Mac Manu told Joy News Kwakye Afreh Nuamah they are taking the issue seriously.
He said the concerns about the voters' register cannot be left to the EC alone because “we live in an interdependent world and lobbying is a political game so we cannot rely on the EC and say we have sent our petition to them so it should end there, no.
“We are lobbying other countries to assist our democracy to have a firm foundation on its voters’ register which is the anchor on which the elections is run”, he added.
The objective of this according to him is to put more pressure on government and the EC to put together a new register for the 2016 elections.
International Relations Expert, Vladmir Antwi Danso says the NPP’s intention to put pressure on government and the EC through other countries and presidents is the best approach to drum home its demand.
In his view, this strategy is a more acceptable and peaceful way of handling the issues instead of violence.
Citing Zimbabwe and Togo as some of the countries who did same, Dr Antwi Danso said there is absolutely nothing wrong with the NPP’s move.
“I believe it is one of the tools they can use to bring pressure on government for it to do what they want. It is a better choice that going to war”.
Dr Antwi Danso said although the move may be seen as a desperate one, “if that is what is going to keep Ghana peaceful, then it is not farfetched”.
The state could become recalcitrant but if the international community agrees with the concerns of the NPP, pressure will be brought to bear on the government and it will have no choice but to succumb, he said.
“I believe that a jaw-jaw will help in finding an amicable solution to the issue”.
- See more at: http://myjoyonline.com/politics/2015/August-27th/npp-takes-calls-for-voter-register-replacement-international.php#sthash.GrO5Djgy.dpuf
Iraq conflict: Bomb kills two generals near Ramadi
A suicide bombing by so-called Islamic State militants the Iraqi city of Ramadi has killed two army commanders and three other people, officials say.
Gen Abdel Rahman Abu Ragheef was deputy commander of operations in the strategically important province of Anbar, while Brig Safeen Abdel Majeed was a divisional commander.Islamic State (IS) controls Ramadi, 100km (60 miles) west of Baghdad.
An Iraqi offensive to recapture the city has been making slow progress.
The bombing happened in the Jerayshi area.
The bomb went off as the army intercepted an explosives-laden vehicle which they believed was targeting them, Brig Gen Yahya Rasool told state TV.
At least 10 others were wounded in the blast, he said. IS said it had carried out the attack.
IS captured the city in May - one in a series of embarrassing defeats inflicted upon Iraqi forces over the last year - and thousands of civilians fled.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says government forces have made little progress in their efforts to recapture the city, which remains firmly in the militants' hands.
The deaths of the two senior army commanders have caused a stir in Baghdad - where numerous political figures paid tribute to them - and will do nothing to improve the morale of state forces, our correspondent says.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said in May that the rout of Iraqi troops in a matter of days when the city fell showed that they lacked the will to fight.
Mr Carter told CNN the Iraqis had chosen to withdraw despite the fact that they "vastly outnumbered" IS forces.
But Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi responded by saying he was surprised at the US defence secretary's comments and that Ramadi would soon be recaptured.
Mr Abadi has however cleared the way for a court martial of military commanders who abandoned their posts in the city.
Obama: New Orleans is 'moving forward' decade after storm
US President Barack Obama is set to visit New Orleans, saying the city is "moving forward" 10 years after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Residents of the Lower Ninth Ward exemplify people "building a better future" out of tragedy and setting a positive example, Mr Obama said.The mostly African-American neighbourhood is still recovering from the disastrous 2005 storm.
Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 2,000 people and displaced one million.
Mr Obama will deliver remarks at 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Thursday at the Andrew P Sanchez Community Center in the Lower Ninth Ward.
"Not long ago, our gathering here might have seemed unlikely," said Mr Obama in speech excerpts released by the White House.
"But today, this community centre stands as a symbol of the extraordinary resilience of this city and its people, of the entire Gulf Coast, indeed, of the United States of America.
"You are an example of what's possible when, in the face of tragedy and hardship, good people come together and lend a hand, and to building a better future."
He also visited the Louisiana city on the hurricane's fifth anniversary in 2010.
When the storm hit, Mr Obama was serving in the US Senate. The storm broke the levees that were supposed to keep New Orleans from flooding.
When Hurricane Katrina struck, the staff of a New Orleans radio station fought to keep listeners alive through the deadly winds, rain and floods.
"A hurricane, named Katrina, had hit Florida the day before, claiming nine lives there.
By Friday morning it had picked up strength and was predicted to be heading towards the Florida panhandle, the north-west strip of the state.
Dave thought the worst case scenario for his home city had been averted. "We can stand down, and stay off of high alert for now," he told his team.
He had no way of knowing that in little more than 72 hours, New Orleans would be under water and WWL would be the only local radio station left on air."
Read more of "The Hurricane Station" here
Mr Obama said the storm helped reveal inequality in New Orleans. Many people, mostly minority groups, did not have jobs, adequate housing, health care or quality schooling, and grew up in violent neighbourhoods.
He said it is important "not to harp on what happened, but to memorialize it."
"We do this not in order to dwell on the past, but in order to keep moving forward," he said in the prepared remarks. "Because this is a city that slowly, unmistakably, together, is moving forward."
Mr Obama will stress the importance of cities investing in storm preparation for disasters brought on by global warming, said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
Despite massive destruction, the city has risen anew out of the storm.
New Orleans' rebirth has been bolstered by billions of federal dollars, largely spurred by Mr Obama.
The city has recovered much of its population lost during the storm as new businesses emerge and tourists visit the city, famous for its jazz music, unique food and party culture.
Despite those strides, income inequality and crime still plague the city, which Mayor Mitch Landrieu calls "America's Comeback City."
Trump spars with TV reporters Megyn Kelly and Jorge Ramos
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has clashed with two television reporters.
He revived his feud with the Fox News channel host Megyn Kelly - who returned to her show on Monday after a break - saying she must have had a bad holiday because "she's really off her game".Fox News chief Roger Ailes has demanded an apology, describing the business mogul's verbal attack as "disturbing".
Separately, Mr Trump had a journalist ejected from a news conference.
Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos was trying to question Mr Trump about his call to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants from the US and build a wall the length of the Mexican border.
But Mr Trump insisted that he had not been invited to submit a question.
"You haven't been called, go back to Univision," Mr Trump said, before Mr Ramos was ejected from the news conference.
As security officers approached the Mexican-American journalist, he said: "I am a reporter. Don't touch me. I have a right to ask the question."
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Mr Ramos had accused Mr Trump of disseminating hate by calling for mass deportations of families in the US who do not have the right documentation.
Verbal attack
Mr Trump's clash with Ms Kelly comes two weeks after controversy over his remarks about her following the first Republican debate.
He was subsequently dropped as a speaker at a major US conservative forum, and his comment was denounced by rival Republican candidates.
But it did not stop Mr Trump from continuing his verbal attack of Ms Kelly during her show on Monday, tweeting: "Kelly File was much better without Megyn Kelly. Her replacement while she was out on vacation was much better!"
He also retweeted a message that referred to her as a "bimbo".
Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, who had cleared the air with Mr Trump after the debate, reacted strongly to the "surprise and unprovoked attack" on his news host. In a statement read aloud on the channel, he said it was "as unacceptable as it is disturbing".
Kelly "represents the very best of American journalism and all of us at Fox News Channel reject the crude and irresponsible attempts to suggest otherwise," he added, demanding an apology.
Some of Ms Kelly's colleagues also came to her defence, including Bret Baier, her co-host for the debate, who tweeted "this needs to stop".
But Donald Trump seemed unfazed by the criticism, saying he disagreed with Mr Ailes' statement and that he did not consider Ms Kelly "a quality journalist".
Likewise he said that he did not believe he had ever met Mr Ramos except when the reporter "started screaming" at the press conference.
The news anchor was later allowed to return to the press conference and submit questions.
Donald Trump has a big opinion poll lead over the 16 other Republican candidates, despite a string of controversial remarks since launching his campaign.
Source: bbc.com/news
Migrants crisis: Germany's Merkel booed at Heidenau centre
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been booed during a visit to a shelter for asylum seekers which was the focus of clashes at the weekend.
Far-right protesters shouted "traitor" as she arrived at the newly-opened centre in Heidenau.Germany has seen a sharp rise in attacks on asylum centres, as it deals with record numbers of arrivals.
Earlier, police in Hungary used tear gas to disperse migrants protesting at a reception camp on the Serbian border.
Unrest flared at a crowded centre at Roszke. Hungary has said it is considering the use of troops to secure the border.
The chancellor has condemned as "repulsive" the weekend's far-right protests in the eastern town of Heidenau, near Dresden.
Neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists hurled bottles and fireworks during the demonstrations, injuring dozens of police officers.
Mrs Merkel faced activists who shouted "traitor" as she visited the centre in Heidenau on Wednesday. Protesters do not want the former DIY store to be used as an asylum shelter.
They chanted "for the German people" - referring to the sign on the front of the Reichstag - and "We are the mob", repeating the term used by Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel to describe far-right and racist activists in the town.
Motorists also reportedly hooted their car horns as they drove past - something that right-wing groups had called for on social media.
Tracking perilous migrant journey to Germany
Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?
- Police arrested two men who had charged into a shelter wielding knives in the eastern town of Parchim on Wednesday
- A man in the eastern city of Leipzig was seen flinging a Molotov cocktail into a building, which was due to house 56 asylum seekers the same day, police said
- A school sports hall in Nauen, west of Berlin, was burned down on Tuesday
- Another building due to become temporary asylum housing went up in flames in a suspected arson attack in the south-western town of Weissach im Tal on Monday
Cabinet ministers are discussing plans to give German regions €500m (£366m) this year to help with influx of people arriving.
The Berlin government has urged other EU member states, including the UK, to take more migrants in.
Tear gas
Many thousands of people are now following a dangerous route through Greece and the Western Balkans to reach the EU passport-free Schengen zone in search of a better life.Officials say a record number of migrants - more than 2,500 - entered Hungary on Tuesday.
In Roszke, officers used tear gas to quell unrest after migrants at the reception centre refused to be fingerprinted.
The migrants, many of them Syrian, reportedly feared this would mean they would have to claim asylum in Hungary whereas they wanted to travel on to Germany and other EU states.
The authorities in Budapest have announced plans to send more than 2,000 extra police officers to boost border security. Earlier, the government said it was considering deploying troops there too.
The country is already building a 175km (110 mile) fence in a bid to stem the flow of people.
Western Balkans route
181,500
migrants have arrived in Greece by boat so far in 2015
3,000
expected to enter Macedonia daily- 90,000 have passed through Serbia since January
- 80,000 asylum applications expected in Austria in 2015
- 800,000 asylum applications expected in Germany in 2015
South Sudan: President Kiir 'will sign peace deal'
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir will sign a peace deal with rebels despite his "reservations" about it, his spokesman has assured the BBC.
Rebel leader Riek Machar signed the deal last week but Mr Kiir refused. The deal is meant to end months of brutal civil war and would see Mr Machar return as vice-president.
Fighting between forces loyal to the two men has displaced over 2.2 million people and the UN has warned it will "act immediately" unless Mr Kiir signs.
"The scope and level of cruelty that has characterised the attacks against civilians suggests a depth of antipathy that goes beyond political differences," he said.
A US-drafted resolution would impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions, unless Mr Kiir signs.
'In letter and spirit'
Leaders from East African nations including Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda travelled to South Sudan's capital, Juba, where they met President Kiir in the national palace ahead of the anticipated signing of the deal.At least seven ceasefires have been agreed and then shattered - sometimes within hours - in the 20-month civil war. The war began after the president accused Mr Machar of attempting a coup.
South Sudan is the world's youngest state, having broken away from Sudan in 2011.
And once signed, he said, the agreement - known as the Igad Plus proposal - would be implemented.
"If our president signs it today we will have to implement the agreement in letter and in spirit," he said.
Key points of peace deal
- Fighting to stop immediately. Soldiers to be confined to barracks in 30 days, foreign forces to leave within 45 days, and child soldiers and prisoners of war freed
- All military forces to go outside 25km (15-mile) radius of the capital, Juba, to be replaced by unspecified "guard forces" and Joint Integrated Police
- Rebels get post of "first vice-president"
- Transitional government of national unity to take office in 90 days and govern for 30 months
- Elections to be held 60 days before end of transitional government's mandate
- Government gets clear majority of legislative posts at national level and in seven of the 10 states
- But in battleground states - Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile - rebels get almost the same representation as government
- Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing to investigate human rights violations.
The government does not like the idea of a third force controlling an otherwise demilitarised capital, Juba, explains BBC analyst James Copnall.
It also rejects the plan to give the rebels de facto control of the three states most affected by conflict (which contain the lucrative oilfields).
Meanwhile, the rebels want a dominant share in the national government, and a federal system.
Following Tuesday's UN Security Council briefing, the current president of the Security Council, Nigerian Ambassador Joy Ogwu, said the council was united over South Sudan.
"We all agree on measures to be taken that anybody who is found culpable will be held accountable," she said.
That warning was echoed by the African Union, which called on both sides to "commit to genuine reconciliation" and to "put the interests of South Sudan and its people above narrow interests".
A recently published report by UN experts concluded that "since April, the intensity and brutality of the violence aimed at civilians are hitherto unseen, in what has already been, without a doubt, an exceedingly violent conflict".
Source: bbc.com/news/Africa
Syria's Assad 'confident' of Iranian and Russian support
The Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, has said he is confident he has the continuing support of key allies Iran and Russia.But Mr Assad said Russia and Iran did not abandon their friends.
Meanwhile France has said that the "neutralisation" of the Syrian leader was essential to ending the crisis.
French President Francois Hollande said: "We must reduce the terrorist influence without maintaining Assad. The two are bound up together."
The flurry of diplomatic activity on Syria has followed the recent nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers.
But Mr Assad, speaking to Al-Manar, a Lebanese TV station run by his Hezbollah allies, said there was no imminent breakthrough in sight.
He said a solution was only possible if the outside world stopped supporting "terrorism", a term he has used to describe both opposition activists and organised jihadist groups.
The BBC Beirut correspondent, Jim Muir, says the positions spelt out by Mr Assad remain unchanged, despite the dire situation his forces face on the ground.
The UN's envoy to the Syrian crisis, Staffan de Mistura, has proposed a series of consultations between key parties as a means towards formal peace talks.
But in his interview Mr Assad called the UN envoy biased.
Source: bbc.com/news/world/middle-east
Obama Calls Opponents 'Crazies' In Fundraiser Speech
"It's hard for me to express how much I love Harry Reid," Obama said, according to the pool report from the evening. "We were doing a little reminiscing and then figuring out how we're going to deal with the crazies in terms of managing some problems."
Obama was speaking at a fundraiser in Nevada for Catherine Cortez Masto, the former state attorney general who is running to replace Reid in the U.S. Senate. Reid announced his retirement in March.
Obama didn't specify which opponents or problems he was referring to, but Politico speculated he was talking about critics of the Iran nuclear deal. Later in the address, which lasted about 13 minutes according to pool reports, Obama urged Congress not to block the accord.
"The world is counting on us for leadership around the world," Obama said.
Many Republicans, as well as some Democrats, have spoken out against the deal. Reid endorsed the Iran deal on Sunday, a huge boost for the agreement, which needs the support of 34 senators in order to move forward.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure the deal stands,” Reid told the Washington Post.
The Iran deal isn't the only issue where Obama faces major opposition. He's also doubling down on efforts to fight climate change, beginning with Monday's announcement of several new executive actions, including $1 billion in loans for green energy projects. But as The New York Times reported earlier this month, coal lobbyists and Republicans have been plotting for months to oppose his plans.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier this month that “I will do everything I can to stop" Obama's efforts.
Many of the Republican 2016 candidates have also indicated that, if elected, they would roll back his actions.
The Labour Party
Seeing red
Jeremy Corbyn will probably win—but then run into trouble
IT IS hard to exaggerate the chaos of the Labour Party in the 1980s. It once held a press conference to announce that Michael Foot was still party leader. Visitors to Walworth Road, recalls Tom Watson, now a party grandee, were “met at the front door by two striking miners and their table full of Davy lamps and buckets of shrapnel” and treated to harmonica recitals of “The Red Flag”. On Peter Mandelson’s first day as head of communications one colleague tried to kill another with poison.
This was a time when the party strayed far into the electoral wilderness, then succumbed to years of infighting as modernisers like Mr Mandelson, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown wrenched it away from the loony left and led it back to power after 18 years in opposition. Three decades on, however, one of the losers in that battle—Jeremy Corbyn, the hard-left MP for Islington North—is on the verge of winning the party leadership. Once more a period of introspection and infighting looms.
This is unexpected. In May bookmakers put the odds of Mr Corbyn winning at 100/1. He struggled to gather the 35 nominations from MPs needed to get onto the ballot. Yet a combination of support from left-wing unions, lacklustre performances by his three rivals and a change of the electoral system to allow outsiders to vote by signing up as “registered supporters” for just £3 ($4.70)—now puts him way ahead of his rivals. A recent poll by YouGov suggested that a majority of the selectorate will give him their first-preference votes. The result is due on September 12th, but some bookmakers are already paying out to those who bet on his victory.
That outcome would plunge the party into new turmoil. Hostility between Mr Corbyn’s comrades and the Labour establishment would intensify. The Corbynites have already responded with vitriol to anti-Corbyn speeches by Mr Blair and Mr Brown. This week it emerged that Mr Mandelson tried unsuccessfully to persuade the three other candidates to pull out of the contest, making it invalid. Several frontbenchers have ruled out serving in Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet. Two, Tristram Hunt and Chuka Umunna, are launching a group of moderates on September 8th as a focus for opposition.
Recriminations are already flying. Allies of Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, have criticised Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, for refusing to pull out and let their man be the “stop Corbyn” candidate. Ms Cooper’s campaign has attacked Mr Burnham for refusing to tell his supporters to give her their second-preference votes (ensuring that, if he is knocked out before her, his votes transfer to her, not Mr Corbyn). This infighting will only produce more bitterness.
If and when he wins, Mr Corbyn will not face immediate defenestration. After all, a second contest could well produce the same result. But he will inherit a party most of whose MPs are opposed to him, significant parts of whose establishment will want to dump him before the next election and much of which is at war with itself. He will do so with no front-bench experience and having initially thrown his hat into the ring with no expectation of winning. It is almost enough to make one feel sorry for him.
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