Syrian War: Rebels threaten to boycott peace talks - BBC

Syrian rebel groups say they are suspending participation in the preparations for peace talks planned by Russia and Turkey for later this month. A statement, signed by a number of groups, cited "many and large violations" of the ceasefire by the Syrian government as the reason.

Turkey and Russia brokered the ceasefire deal last Thursday, and it has mostly held since then.

The peace talks are due to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan.

"The regime and its allies have continued firing and committed many and large violations," the statement issued on Monday said.

Russian Envoy to UN Says Ceasefire in Syria 'Holding Adequately'

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin

The ceasefire in Syria that entered in force on Friday has been kept according to initial reports, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin told reporters.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups reached an agreement on a ceasefire on Syrian territory, taking effect at 00:00 on Friday. Russia and Turkey took the role of the ceasefire guarantors, but other countries may also be invited, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"The initial indications ceasefire is holding adequately," Churkin said on Friday.

Naira slumps 23 percent after currency peg ends

(Reuters) - Nigeria's naira slumped 23 percent against the U.S. dollar on Monday in tentative interbank trading after central bank removed its currency peg, Thomson Reuters data showed.

The naira traded just twice at 255 against the dollar, and less than $1 million had changed hands by 11:00 a.m. (1000 GMT), as dealers said they were nervous about foreign exchange liquidity under the new system.

Monday's rate was sharply weaker than the 197 peg the central bank had been maintaining for the past 16 months, then abandoned last week in a bid to alleviate chronic forex shortages.

Malaysia Missing Jet Was Diverted, Open Criminal Inquiry - Officials

The search for Malaysia Flight 370 turned into a criminal investigation on Saturday, after the country declared that the plane had been deliberately diverted and then flown for as long as seven hours toward an unknown point far from its scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Malaysian PM Najib Razak said on Saturday afternoon that he would seek the help of governments across a large swath of Asia in the search for the plane, which has been missing for a week and had 239 people on board.

Malaysian authorities has released a map showing that the last satellite signal received from the plane, sent from a point somewhere along one of two arcs spanning large distances across Asia.