BBC News with Marion Marshall.
China's governing Communist Party said it will launch a series of major reforms, including the relaxiation of its one-child policy. The plans agreed by senior leaders at a four-day closed-door meeting in accompany social, economic and judicial spears. Families will now be allowed two children if one parent is an only child. Martin Patince reports.
The so-called one-child policy was introduced more than 30 years ago. Because of the policy, China's birth rate has dropped dramatically. The country now faces a rapidly aging population with a shrinking number of workers to pay for a growing socila security bill. Among economic reforms unveiled, a plan to open state-dominated industries to more private competition. As been seen as an attempt to rejuvenate the country's slowing economy.
Among other reforms, labor camps are to ba abolished, and the application of the death penalth will become more restricted.
Albania has rejected a US request to host the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenal. The announcement was made by the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who'd face strong criticism from the opposition for considering the request in the first place. Despite Albania's decision, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said it had adopted a plan for ridding Syria of its chemical arsenal hours before the deadline on how to proceed. The plan says the weapons will be taken outside Syria.
There have been violent clashes in Libyan capital Tripoli outside the headquarters of a powerful militia group. At least 13 people are reported to have been killed in fighting between the militia, and armed protesters who have been demonstrating against its continued presence in the capital. The militia opened fire on the demonstration, killing a number of people. Rana Jaward is in Tripoli.
Some of them went home, and grabbed their weapons, and they were also joined by various armed groups from the other side of the Tripoli, and they all headed towards militian headquarters, and others opposite them, are all from the city of Misrate,they have bases there, and attack them.
Councillors in Canadian city of Toronto have passed two measures, weakening the official power of the embattled mayor Rob Ford. Most councillors are confused by Mr.Ford's refusal to step aside, since he admitted last week to smoking crack cocaine, and they voted overwhelmingly to restrict his abilities to govern in an emergency, make appointments and control key committees. Mr. Ford says he will challenge the decision in court, but also understood the reasons for the councillors' actions.
“I wanna move on and I'm not mad at anybody, we mean, this grand policy obviously, after this meeting, we're going back to the agenda, you konw, the yelling scream, a glory back, you know what, I repect what the council's done, and it's just the taxpayers are just gonna to pay a fortune for this.”
World News from the BBC.
The British Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa to protect the rights of its minority Tamil Community. The two leaders met during the Commonwealth Summit in Colombo. Mr.Cameron's office said the Prime Minister had a robust exchange of views with Mr. Rajapaksa about Sri Lanka's human rights record.
More than a hundred UN member states have agreed to open formal discussions next year on controlling lethal autonomous weapons or killer robots. The United States, Russia and China are thought among those countries now devoloping the technology for use on the battle field. Human Rights groups say this is only a start, they are calling for a complete ban. From Geneva, Imogen Foulkes.
The UN process to limit some conventional weapons does not have a record of acting swiftly, such slow progress was made over banning landmines, that eventually some countries negociated a separated agreement outside the UN system. It became the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty. The same happened with cluster munitions, a separated convention was agreed in Oslo. But some of the world's biggest military powers, the United States, Russia and China have signed neither.
The United Nations Security Council has rejected an African bid to postpone a trial on the International Crime Court of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. They've been charged with committing crimes against humanity during post-election violence in 2008. The African Union wanted to delay the trial by a year, said the two men coud deal with the aftermath of the attack on the westgate mall in Nairobi in September.
A former Cyprus president Glafcos Clerides has died, he was 94. Mr. Clerides serves as president for 10 years, leaving office in 2003. He guided Cyprus into the European Union, but failed in his attempts to unify the divided island.