Israel has released a Palestinian Islamic leader following a deal that saw him end a 56 day hunger strike, reports Reuters.

A UN brokered humanitarian ceasefire was broken less than a day after being implemented, reports the BBC.

Lessons remain to be learnt in protecting communities from genocide and mass atrocities, said the UN deputy Secretary General at the commemoration event of the Srebrenica genocide.

The Serbian Prime Minister was forced to flee the memorial event marking the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacres, as thousands filed along the roads that saw the massacres of over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica to commemorate the killings.

A US State Department spokesperson, Mark Toner, speaking at a press brief, said,

The head of UN peacekeeping, Hervé Ladsous, called on the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on the government and opposition of South Sudan.

Speaking the day before the 4th anniversary of the formation of the country, Mr Ladsous told reporters the situation on the ground was “absolutely appalling.”

Last week, the Security Council imposed sanctions against those disrupting the political process, with travel bans and asset freezes on three generals loyal to President Salva Kiir and three from his political rival Riek Machar’s opposition camp.

“What really should be looked at is the possibility of more sanctions towards more leaders,” he said. “I do think that there should be a decision about an arms embargo, because it is really completely questionable that the very meager resources that the country has go into buying more weapons.”

The Serbian government has banned events in Belgrade commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, after threats were made by right-wing extremists.

An official memorial will take place in Srebrenica however activists intended to hold a gathering outside the Serbian parliament in the capital.

Serbia's Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said he had taken the decision to guarantee "peace and security in the whole of Serbia", but organiser Dusan Masic, said it was "scandalous", and showed "where Serbia is in 2015".

German authorities are moving towards recognising the colonial era killing of more than 65,000 ethnic Hereros in Namibia as genocide, according to the latest reports.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Schaefer said that talks were ongoing with Namibia on a joint declaration, which would follow a previous parliamentary motion signed three years ago. The motion states that "the war of destruction in Namibia from 1904 to 1908 was a war crime and genocide".

The latest moves follow the speaker of the German parliament Norbert Lammert writing a guest column for news weekly Die Zeit earlier this week, where he said “using today's standards of international law, the crushing of the Herero revolt was genocide".

The Pope has condemned the killing of Christians in the Middle East, describing the killings as genocide in a speech on Thursday this week.

Speaking at the World Meeting of the Popular Movements in Bolivia, Pope Francis said, "today we are dismayed to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus."

“In this third world war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end," he continued.

Colombia's Farc rebels have declared a month-long unilateral ceasefire, after an increase in violent incidents between the group and the government in recent weeks.

Chief negotiator of the group at talks with the government, Ivan Marquez, said he hoped the ceasefire, starting on 20 July, could lead to a bilateral truce.

Mr Marquez said the truce would "create favourable conditions in order to advance with the opposing side toward a bilateral and definitive ceasefire."

The government welcomed the move but said more was needed.

The root causes of last year’s conflict in Gaza remain unaddressed despite a growing humanitarian crisis said the UN in a statement made on Wednesday.