When Myanmar announced a cease-fire last month with one of the country’s most prominent rebel groups, images of longstanding enemies shaking hands across a table were beamed around the globe and touted as evidence of further reconciliation in a country emerging from decades of military dictatorship and interethnic strife.

Now, three weeks after the deal was announced, the leadership of the rebel group is denying that a cease-fire was signed.

“We can’t say there’s a cease-fire yet,” Naw Zipporah Sein, the general secretary of the Karen National Union, said in an interview. “We still need to discuss the conditions.”

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At least 47 people were killed across Syria on Monday as regime troops attacked the flashpoint city of Homs and opened fire in Damascus, Aleppo and Zabadani, activists said.

“It is the most intensive shelling on Baba Amro since the start of the protests,” one witness told Al Arabiya by phone.

Military helicopters are taking part in the shelling of Baba Amro, which caused a number of residential buildings to collapse, Syrian activists said.

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Afghan and NaTO-led International Coalition security forces captured a Haqqani Network leader in eastern Khost province.

The operation was conducted by Afghan and NATO and International Security Assistance Force in Mangso district of eastern Khost province two nights back.

According to provincial ISAF officials, a number of militant suspects were also detained during the operation.

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Terrorists across “Somalia” are gathering at the Buhoodle town of far south-east Somaliland, to establish safe-haven for their illegal armed operations across Somaliland and Ethiopia. Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), Al-Etihad Al-Islamiya, al-Shabaab and tribal militia loyal to Warlord Ali Khalif Galaydh are building illegal army in the town to destabilize the region.

Al-Etihad Al-Islamiya and al-Shabaab are internationally known terrorist organizations. ONLF is leading illegal and fruitless struggle against Ethiopia and violates the human rights. Mainly, religion is the victim of such extremism where it is been used as a tool to recruit the uneducated and young Somali boys in the terrorism business. These terrorist groups want to enforce Sharia Law in eastern parts of Ethiopia – mainly dominated by ethnic Somalis.

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The Baloch freedom fighters attacked Pakistani security forces on Tuesday morning and claimed to have killed 35 soldiers.

According to details the fighters of Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), in an apparently pre-planned and co-ordinated attack, have simultaneously attacked six check posts of Pakistan’s Para-Military troop in Margat and Babar Kach areas of Balochistan on Tuesday Morning. In the day-long fierce battle 35 Pakistani soldiers were killed, over two dozen injured and at least eight taken hostage. The Baloch fighters also took away the weapons of the killed soldiers and set all the check posts on fire.

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At least 100 fighters including eight top Al-Shabaab commanders have been killed in the latest battle in a town northeast of Badhade, Somalia, officials said on Friday.

Military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir said the Kenyan helicopter gunships on Friday hit at al-Shabaab positions, which included 200 Al-Shabaab fighters, one of the largest concentrations of the al-Shabaab fighters, killing at least 100 fighters and destroying nine technicals and nine trucks used by the fighters.

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At least 337 people were killed in shelling by Syrian forces in the city of Homs, activists said on Saturday. Over 1300 were wounded. Homs attack is the deadliest so far in the Syrian regime’s crackdown on protests which erupted 11 months ago.

Locals said Syrian forces started shelling the Khalidiya neighborhood at around 8 p.m. on Friday using artillery and mortars. They said at least 36 houses were completely destroyed with families inside.

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