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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called the downing of a Russian military plane by Syria "a chain of tragic, accidental circumstances," tamping down what could have turned into a tense situation with Israel.

The head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency has been transferred from his job just weeks after he made remarks that appeared to downplay anti-migrant violence.

South Africa's top court has legalized the use of cannabis for private, personal use.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, condemns the killing of the aid worker and midwife Saifura Hussaini Ahmed Khorsa in north-east Nigeria. Ms. Hussaini, 25 years old, was abducted on 1 March 2018 in Rann town, Borno State, where she was working with the International Committee of the Red Cross, following a deadly attack by a Non-State Armed Group in which three aid workers were killed. Two other female aid workers were also kidnapped during that incident.

Newly arrived refugees from South Sudan travel to the Numanzi Transit Centre in the Adjumani district of northern Uganda.

An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017, or 1 every 5 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, according to new mortality estimates released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group.

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres (l), meets Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the signing of a peace accord between Eritrea and Ethiopia in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 16 September 2018.

Save the Children is deeply worried for the welfare of 4.2 million children in Yemen on the brink of starvation following reports that the Yemeni Army, backed by the Saudi- and Emirati-led Coalition, has launched airstrikes outside the port city of Hodeidah, effectively shutting down the main artery linking the port city to the rest of the country. The charity is calling on parties to the conflict to ensure the road linking Hodeidah to the rest of the country remains open and safe to use.

“Hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance in Hodeidah,” said Ms. Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen. “The situation has deteriorated dramatically in the past few days. Families are absolutely terrified by the bombardment, shelling and airstrikes.”

The United States has imposed sanctions on two North Korean-controlled information technology companies based in China and Russia, accusing them of moving illicit funds to North Korea.