China has entered a "new era" where it should "take centre stage in the world", President Xi Jinping says. The country's rapid progress under "socialism with Chinese characteristics" shows there is "a new choice for other countries", he told the Communist Party congress. The closed-door summit determines who rules China and the country's direction for the next term. Mr Xi has been consolidating power and is expected to remain as party chief. The congress, which takes place once every five years, will finish on Tuesday. More than 2,000 delegates are attending the event, which is taking place under tight security. Shortly after the congress ends, the party is expected to unveil the new members of China's top decision-making body, the Politburo Standing Committee, who will steer the country. Listing China's recent achievements in his three-hour speech, Mr Xi said that "socialism with Chinese characteristics in this new era" meant China had now "become a great power in the world", and had played "an important role in the history of humankind". The Chinese model of growth under Communist rule was "flourishing", he said, and had given "a new choice" to other developing countries. "It is time for us to take centre stage in the world."

A senior member of Kenya's electoral commission (IEBC) has resigned, saying the country is unable to hold credible elections next week. Roselyn Akombe said the IEBC was under political "siege", unable to reach consensus or take any decisions. Now in the US, she told the BBC she had feared for her safety while in Kenya after receiving numerous threats. Last week, opposition leader Raila Odinga pulled out of the 26 October presidential re-run. The Supreme Court annulled the result of the original 8 August poll, which saw current President Uhuru Kenyatta declared winner, after finding irregularities and illegalities. In a BBC Newsday interview from New York, Ms Akombe said the election commission's IT head, Chris Msando, was "brutally murdered" before the August poll, and "you'll be suicidal to think that nothing will happen to you". "I have never felt the kind of fear that I felt in my own country," Ms Akombe told the BBC. In a statement, Ms Akombe said she had "agonised over the decision to leave the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission). "I have tried the best I could do given the circumstances. Sometimes, you walk away, especially when potentially lives are at stake. The commission has become a party to the current crisis. The commission is under siege.

Iraq's military says it has completed an operation to retake disputed areas held by Kurdish forces since 2014. On Monday and Tuesday troops retook the multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk and its oilfields, as well as parts of Nineveh and Diyala provinces. Peshmerga fighters had seized the areas while battling so-called Islamic State. The military operation came three weeks after the Kurds held an independence referendum, which Iraq's prime minister said was now a "thing of the past". Mr Abadi called for dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government on Tuesday night, saying he wanted a "national partnership" based on Iraq's constitution. People living in the Kurdistan Region and the disputed areas overwhelmingly backed secession in the referendum, but Mr Abadi declared it illegal and rejected calls from Kurdish leaders for negotiations. A statement issued by the Iraqi military on Wednesday announced that security had been "restored" in previously Kurdish-held sectors of Kirkuk province, including Dibis, Multaqa, and the Khabbaz and Bai Hassan North and South oil fields. "Forces have been redeployed and have retaken control of Khanaqin and Jalawla in Diyala province, as well as Makhmur, Bashiqa, Mosul dam, Sinjar and other areas in the Nineveh plains," it added.