The United Nations is postponing the Syrian talks in Geneva until the end of February.
U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura calls the delay a "temporary pause." He had been alternating between discussions with representatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and with representatives of opposition groups.
"I've already fixed a date for the next talks, 25th of February, for I find that this stage very important to give an opportunity to those who have been insisting that the talks need to take place that they also address the issues which have been pending and unresolved.”
Meanwhile, Syrian state television says the army and militias known as Popular Defense Committees have broken the rebels' three-year blockade around Nubul and Zahraa, part of the government's advance in Aleppo province in recent days.
Kurdistan's President Masoud Barzani has announced that it is time for the territory to hold a referendum on whether to declare independence from Iraq.
He said while the result of the referendum would not lead to an immediate break with Iraq, it would prepare for a future declaration of independence at what he called "an appropriate time and circumstance.”
Somali authorities have found the body of a passenger missing from a plane that made an emergency landing at Mogadishu airport Tuesday. An explosion ripped a hole in the plane shortly after takeoff.
A government official says the body of the missing passenger was found in the nearby town of Bal'ad.
Officials say it will take days to determine what caused the explosion.
Latin American health ministers agreed on a public information campaign and an increase in the number of medical workers all to fight the Zika virus.