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Embassy and consulate closure status

Internally displaced people in Central African Republic in an earlier outbreak of fighting.

On International Youth Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (at podium) speaks to young people. To his right is Ahmad Alhendawi, Envoy on Youth

The United States says 19 of its diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa will remain closed for the rest of the week, even as it reopened some of its embassies.

The Nigerian military says 35 people, most of them militants, have been killed in two clashes between security forces and the radical group Boko Haram.

Recent violence near the town of Kamango in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, has forced more than 66,000 Congolese, approximately 55 per cent of whom are children, to seek refuge in neighbouring Uganda. Refugees began streaming into Uganda’s Bubanbdi sub-county following an 11 July attack on Kamango town by rebel forces.

The situation of women and children in the Syrian city of Homs is rapidly deteriorating, with some 400,000 civilians now displaced in the district of Al Waer, living in partially constructed buildings, schools and other public buildings.

Electoral staff in Afghanistan busy laying the groundwork for the polls, which will be critical for the country’s stability.

Thailand is facing new political tensions as the government is preparing to submit an amnesty bill to parliament, along with key finance and infrastructure spending measures. Both anti-government and pro-government groups are preparing for political battle, but some analysts say there could be compromise on the amnesty measure.