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Broader situation map of Kobane, showing operational presence of YPG. 

Larger

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Two ISIS militants have been assassinated in a city-market of their de facto capital al-Raqqa. The two fighters were sniped from a nearby building and ISIS have set up a number of checkpoints around the city.

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IED blast in Mamond area of Bajaur Agency, Fata. Pro Govt Tribal elder Haji Salam and his two sons Injured.

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ISIS video highlights the extent of the destruction in Kobane

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Local activists have reported the execution of four journalists in the Iraqi city of Mosul by ISIS militants. 

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After recent rebel infighting in the Idlib province US officials have reportedly begun considering the extension of the coalition bombing campaign to target the al-Qaeda group Jabhat al-Nusra. The local support which the group carries may swing public opinion towards the US.

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Nine suspects have been arrested after a shooting attack in the Saudi-Arabian city of Al-Ahsa, a predominantly shiite district of the country, which killed five people and wounded an additional nine.

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Alexander Zakharchenko sworn in as the Prime Minister of the DNR today.

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Breakaway states such as Abkhazia and Transnistria, along with other states such as Venuzuala and Cuba to recognise and support the Donetsk People's Republic, according to incumbent Prime Minister Zakharchenko 

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Jabhat al-Nusra take control of the village of Khurba in Suwaydaa province after regime forces leave the town.

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Cautious optimism in the fight against Ebola with Liberia recently reporting 20-30 cases a day, down from around 80 last month.

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Syrian Army orders town of Tfail in Lebanon to evacuate.

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My grandfather was fighting for this, I shouldn't have to fight for this too.

Protester on VICE News Live,

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Police in Ferguson Approaching Protesters.

Police lines have been slowly advancing on the main areas of protesters in Ferguson after several shop-fronts have been looted. There are burnouts in the street and police helicopters above right now. The situation has deteriorated hugely in the last hour or so. 

"People yelling and pushing at photographers taking photos of looters, "get the fuck out of here you're putting people in danger""

Live Stream

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The Ebola epidemic is fast creating a humanitarian crisis in Liberia. Functioning health facilities are limited throughout the country, government services have drawn-down and prices, especially of food, are rising. Liberia is officially in a State of Emergency.

Lofa County is now quarantined with movement in and out for essential services only. Additional movement restrictions are being considered in various areas.

The infection trend is still upward. This week saw the largest number of cases in one week – 232 new suspected, probable and confirmed cases of Ebola were reported in Liberia.

The epidemic is spreading across the country. Two more counties have suspected cases. Seventysix (76) per cent of the new cases were reported in Lofa and Montserrado Counties.

With these additional cases, as of 13 August, the cumulative number of suspected, probable and confirmed Ebola cases reported during Outbreak #2 stood at 778.

As part of the epidemic and also associated with the health system collapse is the high number of infected health workers – currently there is a cumulative total of 88 suspected, probable and confirmed cases.

In the past week, the number of Ebola patients in the Ebola Treatment Units nearly tripled, rising from 61 on 6 August, to 175 on 13 August. Expansions are underway of the Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) at Foya Borma Hospital in Lofa County and ELWA Hospital in Monsterrado County. The latter will be the largest Ebola Treatment Unit in history. However, the rate of admissions in the last few days strongly indicates that even the expanded units will be overwhelmed.

Plans are under way to establish a third ETU in Bong County, as well as a number of community based mid-level isolation centres in Monrovia.

UNICEF has significantly scaled up its Ebola response plan, which now covers the period from July to December. The total budget for this plan is US$ 6 million, and the current funding gap is US$ 5 million. Support is urgently needed to implement and sustain the plan in the medium- to long-term.

A UN Appeal was launched on Thursday 14 August, with UNICEF’s contributions amounting to the US$ 6 million referred to above.

Over the past week, UNICEF assisted the MoHSW and partners with two stakeholder meetings for community leaders in Montserrado County; conducted refresher trainings for 100 UNICEF-supported “animators” engaged in Ebola outreach in Montserrado County; and led an Ebola awareness training for a group of influential Liberians seeking to assist in the Ebola response. The agency also donated additional chlorine, medical cots and tarpaulins for use in ETUs; and laptops and office equipment to support the MoHSW in the Ebola response.

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Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

Iraq.

Zakho now hosts over 100,000 displaced people. 

Close to 80,000 people have arrived at a border crossing into Syria

Duhok - 2 million meals.

UNICEF has delivered aid to 73,000 peoples.

Ebola

WFP plans to provide food assistance to over 1 million people

The number of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimate the scope of the outbreak.

WHO has coordinated a massive scale up of the global response.

WHO has reiterated the need for travel bans in endemic countries. 

South Sudan. 

Clashes this morning in Bentiu, Unity State. Approximately 340 people have fled from the town. 

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Attack on Mutarule, where a man was killed and three children were abducted, the attack is presumed to be by Lord's Resistance Army

Yemen

650 Families have fled in Northern Yemen according to OCHA

Local media is reporting up to 17,000 displaced people. 

Security Council

Security Council has passed a resolution condemning extremists and sectarian groups. 

Some Questions

In Somalia Journalists have been arrested and a radio station has been closed by a group armed by the UN Mission to Somalia. - No comment from the UN currently.

11 years after the Baghdad Bombings the UN is back in Iraq, what are your thoughts? - Over the past 11 years both the UN and the Iraqi people have faced a hard road. Since then the UN has introduced many safety measures in the UN and hopefully that has allowed us to help more people, by allowing us to stay in areas of conflict.The people of Iraq have united against the Islamic State and that can be seen as a sign of the progression to democracy in Iraq. 

ONHWA has announced that it plans to open schools as early as next week if the situation holds. - The UN is hopeful that the current 5-day ceasefire will be extended and let's see what the coming talks in Cairo will bring. 

Is there any statement about Tibet, after recent clashes and the secretary-general's visit to China? - Any relevant discussions will be released by the UN. 

Ukraine's attack on a Russian Convoy - No comment at this stage, any aid should be negotiated between all parties, we don;t have any first hand-details on the incident that happened earlier today, so no comment. 

After Nigerian boys were abducted earlier this week are there any plans for the UN to have a stronger presence in the country? - There are no plans to announce as of yet, however a major UN staff-member has planned to visit in the beginning of September, There are no dates pencilled in so far, however. We are trying to get further details about the abductions, however we do condemn based on preliminary reports.

What would be the protocol for the IFRC to inspect the Russian aid? - That would be a question for the IFRC and I am not in a position where I can articulate their policies.

Has any world leader challenged the UN Secretary General to dump a bucket of Ice Water over his head to raise money for ALS, as everyone in the world seems to be doing? - I haven't heard of this but this is exactly how rumours get started; so who knows?

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The 2015 Presidential election is approaching, but Nigeria is at war with itself. Insecurity, unlimited to ethno-religious factors, is mounting and concerns will persist about government’s inability to deliver a peaceful environment and ensure human security. The fact is that the prevailing violence presents an operational hurdle for peacebuilding which also could undermine Nigeria’s growth and development. As the deteriorating security situation continues, concerns will persist about the government’s ability to deliver a climate that would make some regions less dangerous before the 2015 Presidential election gathers steam. The rising tide of domestic extremism, kidnapping and militancy are a threat to the nation. The factual assertion is that the prevailing violence will hinder large public rallies during campaign due to security concerns. The country’s leaders need to take stock of the conflict resolution mechanisms in place to deal with the political divide between north and south, Muslim and Christian, and to prevent electoral violence in 2015.