BBC News with Sue Montgomery.
The US attorney-general Eric Holder has said the Department of Justice will conduct a swift investigation into the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died during an arrest in New York. Mr. Holder said federal charges would be brought if appropriate. On Wednesday, thousands took to the streets of New York following the decision of a grand jury not to prosecute a white police officer who applied a stranglehold on Mr. Garner. President Obama said many Americans feel deep unfairness with the US criminal justice system.
“When it comes as we've seen unfortunately in recent days toward our criminal justice system, too many Americans feel deep unfairness when it comes to the gap between our professed ideals and how our laws are applied on the day-to-day basis.”
President Putin has accused the west of seeking to dismember Russia and using the crisis in Ukraine as an excuse for imposing sanctions on Moscow. In his annual state-of-the-nation speech, Mr. Putin also strongly defended Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its actions in eastern Ukraine. The US Secretary of State John Kerry said the outside world wasn't seeking confrontation, and that Moscow could rebuild trust by stopping its support to the pro-Russian fighters in eastern Ukraine.
The governing body of European football has banned Crimean teams from playing games organized by Russia. The UEFA ruling will come into effect in January. Three teams from Crimea have been playing in a lower-level Russian league this season following Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. The rules of international football say clubs may only become affiliated to associations outside their original country if all sides consent to it.
The Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has accused elements of the ruling Zanu-PF Party of plotting to oust him. He told his party's conference that an attempt had been made to bribe delegates to depose him as leader. Here's Noth Motheco.
“It's been a brutal two weeks for many Zanu-PF members. Some have been expelled, others sidelined. But the one man who remains at the helm and still very much in control is Robert Mugabe. He arrived at Congress with his wife Grace by his side to stamp his authority on the delegates. On Saturday, President Mugabe is expected to make an announcement on who will take over as vice president. There is a speculation that he may want to keep Zimbabwe's leadership in the family by appointing his wife.”
The Pentagon has published a preliminary report into sex abuse in the armed forces which indicates there are signs of improvement over the past three years. But the findings review that more than 60% of sex assault victims, especially women, feel they have been subjected to retaliation after reporting the crime.
World news from the BBC.
The US Navy is stripping the comedian Bill Cosby of his honorary rank of Chief Petty Officer, saying allegations of sexual abuse conflict with its values. Bill Cosby served in the Navy for four years, before being honorably discharged. Mr. Cosby's lawyers have dismissed numerous allegations that he abused women.
The International Commission of missing persons, which is based in XX of XX, says it will be granted permanent international legal status this month to help to track down millions of missing people around the world. Gide Alonnie has more.
“The Commission has established the world's largest DNA testing facility. It's helped to identify 70% of the 40,000 people who went missing during the Bosnian conflicts of the 1990s. Over the past decade, that work has spreaded around the world. The Commission was involved in Thailand following the 2004 tsunami and more recently, in Iraq, Libya and Mexico. But until now, it hasn't had a formal international role. That will change in a fortnight when five European countries led by Britain and the Netherlands sign an international treaty.”
As the majority of foreign combat troops leave Afghanistan, President Ashraf Ghani has expressed confidence that the country can remain secure, thanks to its own security forces who he said had taken on the duty of defending it. He told a major conference of donors in London that if there was any sense the state was about to collapse, that was an illusion.
“Let our friends celebrate. Let our detractors note that history will not be repeated, that we've overcome the past. We face the future with full unity and confidence.”
Mr. Ghani paid tribute to the NATO troops who lost their lives since the invasion that toppled the Taliban.