The Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, set to take place later this month, has once again faced intense criticism, after anti-government protests saw a brutal crackdown by the government two years ago.

The 2011 Grand Prix was cancelled with the race taking place the following year amid intense criticism and widespread anti-government protests continuing. More protests are set to commence this week ahead of the scheduled race.

Former F1 World Champion, Damon Hill, has spoken out against the sport’s ruling body’s ambiguous stance on Bahrain,stating,

“Jean Todt's approach has been to say nothing, because otherwise you're being critical, and I think that is a mistake. Because he's being used, or the sport is being perceived as being used, by its engagement in the economy and the reputation of the country.”

"He's not said anything that has distanced the sport from things that it would find distasteful and upsetting, which I believe everyone in the sport would like to do.”

"The vast majority of people in the sport would like to say we don't want to come here to make life worse for people. We would like you to enjoy Formula One. It has lots of positive things to offer. But please don't, on our behalf, round people up and brutalise them. I don't see that being political. It's more ethical than political."

The last British detainee in the US prisoners’ camp at Guantanamo Bay has exposed “deteriorating” conditions of inmates and said there was “systematic torture” by US personnel.

Shaker Aamer said he was afraid that he and fellow inmates will die due to the treatment form guards. Several detainees are on hunger strike, due to the indefinite detention and intrusive searches, with some currently being force-fed by guards.

A series of suicide attacks have killed up to 29 people in Mogadishu, Somalia.

The blasts have been blamed on Al-Shabaab, the Somali offshoot of al-Qaeda, and witnesses have reported that at least three suicide bombers were involved.

See the Telegraph for full report.

In response to American sanctions against 18 Russian officials, Russia announced a ban on Saturday on an equal number of Americans.

The US on Friday imposed visa and banking sanctions against Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses.

A spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry said:

“This war of lists was not our decision, but we do not have the right to ignore such open blackmail,”

Human Rights watch have slammed air strikes by the Syrian government stating they are “serious violations of international humanitarian law”, in their latest report released earlier this week.

The 80-page report, entitled “Death from the Skies: Deliberate and Indiscriminate Air Strikes on Civilians”, found that the Syrian government had deliberately been targeting civilians in air strikes carried out during the country’s conflict.

Secretary of State John Kerry has renewed a US pledge to support South Korea against its hostile northern neighbour, after talks in Seoul with President Park Geun-hye and Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

Kerry said at a press conference with President Geun-hye that South Korea and the US were "very much aligned and very supported of each others' positions" and added that the international community was "all united in the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power".

The army of the Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended 12 of its senior officers over incidents of mass rape last November.

The UN gave the country an ultimatum last month, saying it would suspend cooperation with brigades unless action was taken against those involved.

"The commanding officers and deputy commanding officers of two units, as well as the commanding officers of eight other units, have been suspended and put at the disposal of the military prosecutor," the Reuters news agency quotes spokesperson, Kieran Dwyer.