JAPAN: The government said today that it would freeze voluntary funding for the United Nations committee on the elimination of discrimination against women (Cedaw) after it called for an end to the country’s male-only imperial succession rule.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Toshihiro Kitamura told Cedaw on Monday that it would be excluded from a list of recipients of Japan’s annual voluntary contributions.

Today, Mr Kitamura claimed that the imperial succession did not violate the basic rights of women or constitute discrimination against women.

WEST BANK: Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers overnight and into today, the occupied territory’s Health Ministry said toay

A 23-year-old man was shot dead in Tulkarem and a 25-year-old man was killed in a strike on Jenin, where Israel launched a large operation earlier this month.

Israeli authorities arrested 12 Palestinian men in east Jerusalem today after videos showed them celebrating the release of prisoners in violation of a ban on “expressions of joy” that Israel has imposed since the Gaza ceasefire took effect.

INDONESIA: A rickety wooden boat carrying more than 100 Rohingya Muslims landed in Aceh today as the northernmost province continues to receive the refugees fleeing persecution and political unrest in Myanmar.

Local police chief Nova Suryandaru said the boat’s engine had broken down and the craft, carrying mostly women and children, ran aground near village of Pereulak in East Aceh district.

He said one refugee had told authorities that the vessel set off from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh with the hope of reaching Malaysia.

WEST AFRICA: The junta-led nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn from the Ecowas regional grouping, the bloc said today.

The previously announced withdrawal, which marks the culmination of a year-long process during which the group tried to avert an unprecedented disintegration, “has become effective today,” Ecowas said in a statement.

The bloc said that it had also decided to “keep [its] doors open” and requested that member states continue to accord the trio their membership privileges, including free movement within the west Africa region.