BBC News with Sue Montgomery.
One of the leaders of the Sunni tribe in Iraq says more than 500 people have now been killed in massacres by Islamic State militants that had been taking place for the past five days in Anbar Province. The number of death can't be independently verified. Our Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher reports.
The latest figures given by Sheikh Naima Gaud to the BBC show the scale of the revenge by the IS undertaken against the Albu Nimr Tribe for its resistance against the movement. Mass killings of members of the tribe have been taking place everyday since Thursday. The Sheikh said that 36 more people were lined up in public and shot dead in the village of Brazonna. Again, women and children were among the victims. IS carried out similar massacres against the Sunni tribe that fought against them in Syria. The movement hopes to terrorize Sunnis who might want to join the coalition against them into accepting their dominance.
The Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko says his government is rethinking its truce with pro-Russia rebels in the east after Sunday's elections in Donetsk and Luhansk. In a televised address, President Poroshenko said he would now consider withdrawing special rights which were granted to the self-declared republics as part of the peace agreement in September.
Tomorrow I will hold a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council where we will analyze the situation. One of the issues that I will propose to discuss at the meeting is the abolition of the law on special self-government in some districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The army in Burkina Faso which took power following the resignation on Friday of President Blaise Compaore says that a planned transitional government will be led by a civilian. The man chosen by the military to be interim head of state, Lieutenant-Colonel Isaac Zida, told diplomats that a consensus takeover would be chosen by all sides. Immanuel Egunza reports.
The AU Peace and Security Council says the transitional period should be led by a civilian and the current military takeover is an unconstitutional change of government. A communiqué issued at the end of a special sitting of the council also expressed doubts the people of Burkina Faso and condemned acts of violence against peaceful demonstrators. Together with the UN the African Union has already deployed agenda mission to Burkina Faso to assess the current situation.
A large ship was hit and set on fire in the Libyan city of Benghazi amidst renewed fighting between the army and Islamists in the port area of the contested city. The army had warned residents to leave the district by midday local time saying that its soldiers would then move in. The area is a stronghold of the militant group Ansar al-Sharia. More than 200 people have been killed in the fighting so far.
World News from the BBC.
The organizers of the Africa Cup of Nations say the football tournament will go ahead on schedule in January despite the host country Morocco requesting a postponement because of the fears of Ebola. The Confederation of African Football has given Morocco until Saturday to make a final decision on whether it wants to host the competition.
A suicide bomber attack on a Shiah Muslin ceremony in northeastern Nigeria has killed at least 15 people. Thousands of worshippers were gathered in the town of P. when the bomber struck. Will Ross has more details.
One eyewitness said he turned around and saw many bodies lying on the road. Boko Haram jihadists have attacked the area before, but it is not clear which group has carried out this attack. A representative of the Shiah community said several more people were killed when soldiers arrived at the scene and opened fire. In a separate incident in central Nigeria's K. State 132 inmates were on the loose after dynamite was used in a prison break. Two years ago Boko Haram freed dozens of people from the same facility. This event underlined the massive security challenges Nigeria faces.
Pakistan’s military spokesman says the country has shown resolve and unity in to eliminate terrorism by going ahead with the regular ceremony at a border crossing with India a day after the same event was targeted by suicide bombing which killed at least 60 Pakistanis. Many were ordinary families which came to watch the ritual which has continued uninterrupted for decades. There were plans to suspend it.
Thirty years after the destruction of the Twin Tower of the World Trade’s Centre in the September 11th terrorists’ attacks, the centre piece which was redeveloped in New York has opened for business. The first tenant to occupy One World Trade Centre has moved in. The 104-storey building, the America’s tallest, dominates the Manhattan’s skylines as its predecessor once did.