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Police, pro-Kurdish protesters clash in Turkey’s Batman

Sunday, 13 December 2015 11:15 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 13 December 2015 11:16 AM ]

1. Top Nigerian Shia cleric Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky says his residence remains under the army's siege after many of his followers were killed by government forces. Nigerian troops attacked the Shia-dominated residential area in the city of Zaria on Saturday. At least 15 people have been killed in the violence.

2. Police and pro-Kurdish protesters clash in Turkey’s southeastern city of Batman. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of Kurds who were calling for self-governance and the freedom of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. Several politicians attended the rally, including a few from the opposition People's Democratic Party.

3. Iran’s first vice-president calls for more cooperation with Turkey against terrorism and extremism. Es’haq Jahangiri said respecting other countries’ national sovereignty and territorial integrity is key to regional peace and stability. He made the comments during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkmenistan.

4. An Israeli officer has been briefly arrested after entering the UK over involvement in last year’s war on the Gaza Strip. The reserve soldier was arrested due to a complaint by pro-Palestinian organizations a couple of weeks ago, but was released thanks to intervention from the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

5. Polls open in the second round of regional elections in France, where far-right groups are seeking to consolidate their gains in the first round. The anti-migration National Front isn't expected to repeat the win, but it's expecting to gain at least one region in its first-ever such victory.

6. Thousands of Montenegrins have staged a massive rally against their country’s possible membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The protesters marched on the streets of the capital Podgorica, demanding a referendum over the likely accession. Prime Minister Milo Dukanovic has rejected all calls to put the issue to vote.

7. A fire has engulfed a neurological hospital in Russia’s central Voronezh region. At least 23 people have been killed, and two dozen others wounded. Some seventy patients were inside the building when the fire started, many of them bedridden. Two people are still missing.

8. About 20 people, half of them armed with rifles, have rallied in the US state of Texas against refugees and Muslims. They included members of a group called THREE PERCENTERS who consider themselves patriots protecting the US from Muslims. The march was met by a counter rally against Islamophobia.

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