More than 1,300 refugees have been rescued and 16 bodies recovered from the Mediterranean Sea over the past three days, the Italian coastguard says. Italy’s coastal service said 285 of the refugees were rescued on Saturday, 791 on Sunday and 231 on Monday, making up 1,307 the total number of refugees saved from the sea. Reports said all the refugees were packed on board nine different vessels, small wooden boats and inflatable dinghies.

Coastguard officials said efforts to resuscitate two women found on a dinghy had failed. “Two women died of hypothermia in spite of the colossal efforts of the team. We are heartbroken, again,” they said. Among those pulled to safety were a number of Syrian families traveling with young children from Libya. Thousands of people have died over the past months crossing the perilous sea route from the Libyan coast to Europe in search of a better life.

The coasts of Libya have become a launch pad for asylum seekers heading for Europe. A large number of them are Sub-Saharan Africans attempting to reach Italy. In response to the widening crisis, the European Union launched Operation Sophia in 2015. The naval mission was meant to reduce the flow of people smuggled across the Mediterranean, and to train the Libyan coastguard to fight smugglers’ boats. Yet, the operation is largely viewed as a failure. At least 4,700 people have been killed this year trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The figure has already exceeded the toll in the entire 2015, which was more than 3,600.

The International Organization for Migration has recorded a high number of refugee arrivals in Italy from North Africa in 2016. It says 173,000 have reached the Italian shores since the start of this year, nearly 14,000 more than the figure in 2015 and breaking a 170,000 record registered in 2014. The surge in Mediterranean journeys from the south into Italy came after the European Union reached a deal with Turkey in March to curb the arrivals in Greece from the east.

The European Union has been dealing with an excessive influx of refugees in recent years, driven by war, famine, poverty and persecution. The crisis has largely divided the continent over how to deal with the situation. A number of European countries have adopted harsh measures, including toughening border controls, shutting refugees out, and even erecting razor-wire fences. But the problem remains far from resolved.

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US Secretary of State John Kerry says his department’s recommendations have no “value” in the eyes of President-elect Donald Trump, who has been making phone calls to world leaders since his election on November 8, a policy which the State Department considers as controversial. Speaking at the Saban Forum in Washington on Sunday, Kerry said neither Trump nor his transition team had contacted the State Department before speaking to leaders of other countries. “We have not been contacted before any of these conversations. We have not been requested to provide talking points,” Kerry said, in an attempt to distance President Barack Obama’s administration from some of Trump’s phone calls that may anger longtime allies. Trump risked China’s wrath on Friday, when he talked to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a move that made him the first US president or president-elect to hold a conversation with Taiwan’s leader since severing ties with the territory in 1979.

The Republican president-elect also called Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an “amazing” leader during a phone conversation on Wednesday, a praise that was looked unfavorably by India, Pakistan’s arch-rival. “I do think there’s a value, obviously, on having at least the recommendations, whether you choose to follow them or not is a different issue, but I think it’s valuable to ask people, who’ve worked the desk and have worked it for a long period of time, their input on what’s the current state, is there some particular issue at the moment,” Kerry said. “I think that’s valuable and I would certainly recommend it, but obviously that hasn’t happened in a few cases.” Unlike Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence has been using the State Department’s recommendations regularly, Kerry said.

The outgoing secretary of state noted that he was trying to stay “a thousand miles away from the Trump transition process” and hoped that communications with the team would improve once Trump picked his secretary of state. “I think it’s important for me to be able to brief whoever the final nominee is going to be for secretary of state and I don’t want to come at it with any engagements, with any of the choices they are making publicly,” he added. According to Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway, the New York billionaire was considering at least four candidates for the job. Kerry’s comments underscore Trump’s reluctance to receive advice from the Obama administration.

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Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has denounced a recent US Senate vote on a piece of anti-Iran legislation as a blatant infringement of last year’s nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, saying the Islamic Republic will give a firm response to the move.

President Rouhani made the remarks in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) on Sunday as he submitted the government’s proposed budget bill for the next Iranian fiscal year, which begins on March 21, to the legislative body.

The Iranian chief executive further said the Islamic Republic would never violate last July’s nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which he described as “a signed and sealed international document.”

Iran “will not tolerate the JCPOA’s violation by any of the P5+1 group of countries,” adding that the US Senate’s vote to extend the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA) for a decade is “in blatant contravention of the JCPOA, and will be followed by Iran’s decisive response.”

The US Senate approved the ISA renewal 99-0 on Thursday after it easily cleared the House of Representatives last month. The sanctions law, which would authorize the US president to impose sanctions on Iran, was first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program.

The ISA now needs President Barack Obama’s signature to be turned into law. Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany started to implement the JCPOA on January 16.

Under the deal, Iran undertook to put limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related bans imposed against Tehran. Since January, when the JCPOA took effect, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors the deal’s implementation process, has in numerous reports confirmed Iran’s commitment.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in April that Iran had even gone beyond its obligations under the JCPOA. Reacting to the Senate vote on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the ISA’s extension would have no “executive effect” and would merely be a sign of the US government’s unreliability.

Last month, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned that Iran would consider the extension of the ISA a breach of the JCPOA and would respond accordingly.

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Rwanda has opened a formal investigation into the alleged role of 20 French officials in the 1994 genocide. The Rwandan government accuses France of complicity in the genocide. The French officials are accused of supporting the Hutu nationalist government, which carried out the mass killing of an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Rwandans, mainly from the Tutsi ethnic group. Paris denies the allegation.

“The inquiry, for now, is focused on 20 individuals whom, according to information gathered so far, are required by the prosecution authority to explain or provide clarity on allegations against them,” said Rwanda’s prosecutor general Richard Muhumuza.

He added that the probe would enable prosecutors to decide “whether the concerned individuals should be formally charged or not.” Muhumuza said that he had contacted the French government and that full cooperation was expected.

The Rwandan genocide began following the shooting down of a plane carrying former Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994. Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira was also killed in the plane crash. They were both ethnic Hutus.

After the crash, Hutus who were in majority, were incited to commit acts of ethnic violence against Tutsis. France’s Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on November 16 that it was “a disgraceful lie” to say that the French army took park in genocide.

Relations between the two countries have gone through ups and downs since the genocide. In 2014, Rwandan President Paul Kagame repeated accusations that French troops were both accomplices and “actors” in the massacre.

In October, Paris re-launched an inquiry into the shooting down of Habyarimana’s plane to hear testimony from a former general who accuses Kagame of being behind the attack. The Rwandan government has rejected the claims, saying it is an attempt by France to cover up its role in the genocide.

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UN chief Ban Ki-moon has denounced recent bloodshed in the Central African Republic (CAR) where clashes between members of the former Seleka rebellion killed scores of people. The clashes between rival armed groups from ex-Seleka in Bria northeast of the capital Bangui killed 85 people and displaced nearly 11,000 people, according to the UN.

In a statement on Monday, the UN chief urged the armed groups to “immediately stop the violence and genuinely commit to ongoing efforts to address the root causes of the conflict.” The fighting was said to have broken out between the Popular Front for the Renaissance of the Central African Republic (FPRC) and the Union for Peace in Central Africa (UPC). The two factions have been engaged in sporadic fighting over control of taxes levied on nomadic Fulani herdsman during the current seasonal migration. In March 2013, the Central African Republic plunged into chaos when then-president Francois Bozize was toppled and replaced by Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia, the first Muslim to hold the presidency in the country.

Djotodia’s opponents then formed “anti-Balaka” vigilante units, drawn from the Christian majority, which began to target Muslims and commit widespread atrocities. The UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) and the national police are seen conducting a joint operation in the capital Bangui. (Photo by UN) In 2014, some 11,000 peacekeepers were deployed by the UN to the country as part of MINUSCA or the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. Seleka and anti-Balaka representatives signed a ceasefire agreement later that year but the country has not yet fully emerged from its bloody past.

The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Central African Republic, Fabrizio Hochschild, said in a statement on Monday that almost half of the country’s population of over four million people is in dire need of humanitarian aid. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), hundreds of people have been killed and many more displaced since a deadly series of clashes broke out in the country in September.

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“Today I mourn the loss of a friend, the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Securing the welfare of the Cuban people and ensuring the independence of his nation shaped much of Fidel Castro’s thinking and many of his actions. Whether one shared his political views or disagreed with them, Fidel Castro was one of Latin America’s most remarkable leaders.

In the course of his long life he overcame countless adversities and rarely chose the easy and comfortable path. I met Fidel Castro many times over the years and came to appreciate his extraordinary intellect, sharp mind, and his ability to engage in constructive dialogue. Farewell Fidel.”

The legendary leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, has died, Cuban state television has announced. He was 90.

The United Nations says the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorists are hindering relief operations meant for tens of thousands of Nigerian refugees living in dire conditions in northern Cameroon. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday that one of its teams had earlier this month been able to visit previously inaccessible border areas of Cameroon’s Far North Region. Leo Dobbs, a UN spokesman, said the team had managed to help pre-register more than 21,000 refugees who had fled acts of terror by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria in a span of two years and had been living for months with mainly impoverished host families.

“It was the first time we have been able to visit these people and there are believed to be many more,” he said. Dobbs said the refugees in northern Cameroon “urgently need assistance.” UN figures show about 27,000 refugees are living outside of camps in areas such as Fotokol, Makary and Mogode districts in the Far North Region. Dobbs said the UNHCR “would like to help and have helped in a little way, but the continuing Boko Haram threat is a hindrance to regular access.”

The UN official said that while some of the refugees in northern Cameroon were staying with poor host families, most were sleeping outdoors in the open, in makeshift shelters or on dirt floors in classrooms. “Others were in abandoned villages whose residents had fled Boko Haram attacks earlier,” he said. The UNHCR is encouraging people to relocate to Minawao camp further from the border, which is home to nearly 60,000 refugees, Dobbs said.

Cameroon has been fighting Boko Haram since 2014. A joint regional force from Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon has helped retake swathes of territory from the militants, who come from northeastern Nigeria. However, the terrorist group still poses a security threat to civilians in the four littoral countries surrounding Lake Chad.

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Turkey claims a Syrian airstrike killed three Turkish soldiers and wounded 10 others overnight, raising the ante in its military invasion of the Arab country.   A military statement on Thursday said the attack occurred at around 3:30 am (0030 GMT) in the course of a Turkish operation in northern Syria.

It is the first time Turkey accuses Syrian government forces of killing its soldiers since Ankara launched its incursion, dubbed Euphrates Shield, into the Syrian territory on Aug. 24.

In its invasion of Syria, the Turkish military is supporting militants, including the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA), and Takfiri terrorists who are fighting to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Hundreds of Turkish troops are taking part in the operation, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week was pushing forward with its aim of capturing the Syrian city of al-Bab.

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has hailed Russia’s stance on the crisis in the Arab country, saying Moscow’s support for Damascus in different fields has helped alleviate the suffering of the nation. Assad made the remarks in a meeting with a Russian delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, in Damascus on Tuesday.

Regarding global matters and the ongoing conflict in Syria, Russia has adopted policies based on commitment to the international law and respect for the sovereignty of states, consolidating its position as a great power, the Syrian leader said. Russia’s backing for Syria in various fields has tangibly contributed to soothe the suffering of the Syrian people caused by to the foreign-sponsored war on their country and economic sanctions in place for years.

Rogozin, for his part, emphasized that Moscow’s military, economic and political support for the Syrian government and people is aimed at boosting their resilience against terrorism that has affected not only Syria, but elsewhere across the world. The two sides further discussed historical bilateral relations between the two nations as well as cooperation in the fields of fighting terrorism, economy and trade.  They also agreed to bolster ties in the economic, commercial, oil, investment, gas and transport sectors.

Syria has been hit by deadly militancy it blames on some Western countries and their regional allies since March 2011. Russia has been conducting an aerial campaign against Daesh and other terror outfits in the Middle Eastern country at the Damascus government’s request since last September.

Separately on Tuesday, Syrian Prime Minister Imad Khamis sat down with Rogozin and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, Khamis appreciated the support of Russian nation and leadership for the Syrians, while expressing his country’s interest in developing economic relations with Moscow and stressing that Syria will spare no efforts to remove obstacles that hinder bilateral ties.

Rogozin, for his part, referred to the Russia’s anti-terror camping in Syria, saying, “The success of the military operation in Syria will not be completed without supporting the economic life of the citizens in order to continue the work and achieve victory.”

Additionally, the Syrian-Russian Joint Committee, co-chaired by Rogozin and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, held a session on bilateral economic relations. Muallem hailed the role of Russia in empowering his country to counter terrorism, noting that the repercussions of the war were the main cause of the Syrians’ need for economic support. Elsewhere in his comments, the top Syrian diplomat said that Damascus will give priority to its friends, including the Russian companies, in reconstruction projects.

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