World
Nigeria says it is still holding talks with Boko Haram, two weeks after the government said it had agreed a truce with the Islamist militant group. The BBC reports:
A presidential spokesman said he was optimistic that something "concrete and positive" would come out of the talks.
There has been no comment from Boko Haram, and violence in northern Nigeria has continued.
More than 200 schoolgirls are still being held by the group, which has been fighting an insurgency since 2009.
The military had said they were expecting the schoolgirls' release by 24 October.
At least 2,000 civilians have been killed by Boko Haram this year.
The group has taken more than 500 women and girls hostage since it began its insurgency in 2009, according to Human Rights Watch.
Hopes soared recently when the Nigerian government said it had reached a deal with the terrorist group Boko Haram to free more than 200 girls and young women still missing after a mass abduction in April. CNN writes:
But with each passing day, it looks less and less likely that the girls will be freed. In fact, Boko Haram has kidnapped numerous other young people in at least two incidents that have happened since the Nigerian government reported a deal.
Nigerian officials said on October 16 that President Goodluck Jonathan's government had reached a ceasefire agreement with Boko Haram after a month of negotiations. But officials provided few details about the release.
Doyin Okupe, a government spokesman, did not specify when the girls would be freed. He said not all would be let go at once, but a "significant number" would be released soon.
The Nigerian government had also consented to some demands by Boko Haram, but Okupe declined to provide details. Boko Haram has remained silent on the deal the government said it signed with the group in neighboring Chad last week.
Nigerian officials have emphasized there is no set time line for release of the girls, which likely would happen on a piecemeal basis instead of all at once.
