Members of the UN have expressed dismay over Syria becoming president of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva. The move comes just weeks after the latest reported chemical weapons attack, in which the Syrian authorities are widely believed to have used chemical agents against civilians. Syria takes over from Switzerland simply because it follows Switzerland in the alphabetical list of member states.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s parliament has agreed to reject the votes of the Iraqi diaspora and those of internally displaced people (IDPs). It has also called for a manual recount of 10 percent of the votes in response to allegations of fraud. MPs are calling for election commission members to resign. If there is 25 percent difference between   the results of the manual and electronic count, then all Iraqi provinces are to undergo a full manual recount.

Lastly, are Nicki Minaj and Eminem dating? Apparently not but it doesn’t stop the two from teasing fans. Tongues started wagging that Nicki Minaj was dating fellow rap star Eminem after the song “Big Bank,” which features a guest appearance with Minaj, dropped Friday. When a follower asked her in the comments if she was dating the rapper, Minaj responded “Yes” and on Sunday, Eminem gave Minaj a shout out.