Syrian rebels inside Aleppo Part One

Syrian rebels¹ inside Aleppo², who have been reduced³ to holding just a sliver⁴ of the city, were reported to have surrendered⁵. But a deal⁶ under which they would be allowed to leave for the province of Idlib promptly⁷ ran into difficulties, and fighting resumed⁸. Anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 civilians⁹ are still trapped¹⁰ inside the tiny remaining enclave¹¹. See here and here.
A bomb at a Coptic Christian church in Cairo killed at least 25 worshippers¹², two days after two bomb attacks targeted police in the Egyptian capital. See article.
America said it would limit its arms sales to Saudi Arabia, following concerns¹³ about the high number of civilians being killed by Saudi air strikes in Yemen aimed at Houthi rebels.

The president of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, retracted¹⁴ his earlier concession¹⁵ of defeat and challenged the result of an election¹⁶ on December 1st, which he lost. Leaders of neighbouring states have been pressing him to stand down with threats¹⁷ of sanctions¹⁸ and the use of force against him. See article.
Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, proposed¹⁹ a budget²⁰ that will increase government spending by 20% in a bid²¹ to restart growth in an economy that has slumped²² into recession²³.
Nana Akufo-Addo, the leader of Ghana’s opposition New Patriotic²⁴ Party, won the presidency²⁵. It was the country’s seventh more-or-less peaceful poll²⁶ since the return of multiparty²⁷ democracy²⁸ in 1992.
António Guterres was sworn²⁹ in as UN secretary-general³⁰. The former Portuguese prime minister and head of the UN refugee agency is taking over from Ban Ki-moon.

1. Someone who tries to remove a government or leader using force
2. A city in the north west of Syrian
3. To make something smaller or less in size, amount, importance etc
4. A small pointed or thin piece that has been cut or broken off something
5. To say officially that you have been defeated and will stop fighting
6. An agreement or arrangement, especially in business or politics, that helps both sides involved
7. At the right time without being late, immediately
8. To start doing something again after stopping or being interrupted
9. Anyone who is not a member of the military forces or the police
10. In a dangerous place, to prevent someone from escaping from somewhere, especially a dangerous place
11. A small area that is within a larger area where people of a different kind or nationality live
12. The ones who show respect and love for a god, especially by praying in a religious building
13. A feeling of worry about something important
14. If you retract something that you said or agreed, you say that you did not mean it
15. something you allow somebody something that you allow someone to have in order to end an argument or a disagreement
16. When people vote to choose someone for an official position
17. A statement in which you tell someone that you will cause them harm or trouble if they do not do what you want
18. Official orders or laws stopping trade, communication etc with another country, as a way of forcing its leaders to make political changes
19. To suggest something as a plan or course of action
20. The money that is available to an organization or person, or a plan of how it will be spent
21. An offer to pay a particular price for something, especially at an auction ( a public meeting where land, buildings, paintings etc are sold to the person who offers the most money for them )
22. To fall or lean against something because you are not strong enough to stand
23. A difficult time when there is less trade, business activity etc in a country than usual
24. Having or expressing a great love of your country
25. The position of being the president of a country or organization, or the period of time during which someone is president
26. The process of voting in an election, or the number of votes recorded
27. Involving or including more than one political party
28. A system of government in which every citizen in the country can vote to elect its government officials
29. To promise that you will do something
30. The most important official in charge of a large organization, especially an international organization