Colombia, FARC making progress in peace talks

Here is a round-up of global news developments:

• Iraqi forces have made fresh gains in their push to liberate Fallujah from Daesh, recapturing al-Ma'ameer area, south of the strategic city. Government forces have also retaken several villages on the banks of the Tigris River, which the terrorists have been using as crossing points.
   
• A court in Bahrain has suspended the activities of the main opposition bloc, Al Wefaq, amid a widening crackdown on dissent. The Justice Ministry has also frozen the movement's assets. This comes a day after authorities arrested prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab.
   
• Arab and Muslim countries have expressed outrage over the election of Israel as the chair of the UN the legal affairs committee. Israel's candidacy was backed by the US and European countries. Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour has called Israel's envoy Danny Danon, divisive and unworthy of the task.
   
• A senior Turkish opposition leader warns against an ethnic civil war over growing divisions between Kurds and Turks. The Peoples Democratic Party's co-leader Selahattin Demirtas says the conflicts in Turkey and Syria are intertwined, adding it’s impossible to have peace in the Arab state without peace in southeastern Turkey.
   
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reportedly ready to give in to Turkey’s pressure over a visa-free deal, despite its failure in fulfilling EU demands. According to British media, leaked documents from Britain’s ambassador in Berlin suggest that German officials are trying to compromise formulation with Turkey on its anti-terror laws.
   
• Tens of thousands of French demonstrators have converged on Paris to protest against the government's planned labor law changes. Police have clashed with the protesters, rallying amid the EUFA 2016 football games. The CGT Labor Union described the Paris march as the biggest show of strength over the past three months.
   
• Norway says the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are now close to a peace deal. If an agreement is reached, it would put an end to the five-decade conflict that has claimed at least 220,000 lives. Norway and Cuba are meditating the talks.
   
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court to block the opposition’s efforts to hold a recall referendum. Maduro’s office has asked the court to protect Venezuelans’ constitutional rights, accusing the opposition of fraud in gathering signatures for a recall vote against the president.

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