Russia to host talks on Syrian conflict in April

Russia says it plans to host fresh negotiations between the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups in April. "Representatives from a larger section of the Syrian opposition," are expected to attend the planned talks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said.

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500,000 displaced in Sudan's Darfur in 2014

The United Nations says the deadly conflict in Sudan's highly volatile western region of Darfur resulted in the displacement of nearly half a million people last year. According to the UN's latest update on Darfur, which was released on Thursday, more than 450,000 people were forced to flee their homes in 2014, registering the highest number in a decade for crisis-hit Darfur.

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Higher food prices, typhoon worsen Philippines poverty

Officials in the Philippines say poverty has worsened in the first half of 2014 due to a rapid rise in food prices and the lingering effects of a deadly typhoon, pushing the number of Filipinos living in poverty to 25.8 percent, up 1.2 percent year-on-year.The worsening poverty in Asia's second fastest growing economy was announced by the Philippine Statistics Authority in a statement .

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