Survivors from the Auschwitz concentration camp marked the 70th anniversary of its liberation by calling on the international community to never be bystanders in the face of genocide, as world leaders paid tribute on Tuesday.

At a ceremony in Auschwitz to mark the occasion, Holocaust survivors spoke in front of dozens of world leaders urging them to ensure such atrocities that took place at the concentration camp, occur never again.

“You should never be a bystander”, said Holocaust survivor Roman Kent at the site in Poland. "We survivors do not want our past to be our children's future.”

Approximately 1.1 million were killed at the camp between 1940 and 1945, before Soviet troops loiberated it. The overwhelming majority of those killed were Jewish.

“A minute in Auschwitz was like an entire day, a day was like a year, and a month an eternity,” continued Kent. “How many eternities can one person have in a single lifetime?”

Tributes came from leaders across the world with US President Barack Obama saying,

“Honouring the victims and survivors begins with our renewed recognition of the value and dignity of each person. It demands from us the courage to protect the persecuted and speak out against bigotry and hatred. This anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made confronting this terrible chapter in human history and on our continuing efforts to end genocide.”

Clashes between peacekeepers and protestors at a UN base in Mali have left at least two people dead and several injured, including two UN officers.

Protestors had gathered to voice their opposition to reports of a UN plan to create a buffer zone in the region around Gao, claiming it would favour separatist Tuareg militants.

Local radio journalist Aboubacrine Abouhayata and witness Attouyoube Maiga told AP news agency that UN officers fired live rounds of ammunition.

"Here in the morgue in Gao we have at least three dead protesters, some killed by gunshot wounds... There are also several serious injuries," a hospital official is quoted by AFP news agency as saying.

Fighters from the Syrian-Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG) have declared Kobani as liberated from Islamic State.

Officials said they had driven out the militants, ending four months of intensive fighting in the strategic town on the border with Turkey.

YPG spokesperson Polat Jan said on Twitter: "Congratulations to humanity, Kurdistan, and the people of Kobane on the liberation of Kobane."

Militants from Boko Haram launched an attack on the key city of Maiduguri in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state.

The attack comes during US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Lagos, for talks with President Goodluck Jonathan and the main opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari.

US President Barack Obama has landed in India on Sunday, embarking on a visit that he has hailed as the start of a new era of co-operation between the world’s largest democracies.

Breaking normal protocol, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, welcomed Mr Obama, as he disembarked from the plane.

Speaking ahead of his departure to India Today, Mr Obama said that, "I'd like to think the stars are aligned to finally realize the vision (of) India and America as true global partners."

His upbeat sentiment was echoed by the US ambassador in Delhi, Richard Verma, who said, "There's no question this is a defining time in the US-India relationship. Things not only feel different, they are different."

Mr Obama is set to attend India's Republic Day parade on Monday, becoming the first US President to have been invited. Accompanied by several congressional Democrats, as well as commerce and trade representatives, the issues of trade and security are thought to feature highly in bilateral talks.

Ram Madhav, a foreign-affairs adviser with India Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also emphasised the importance of the trip, saying Mr Obama is “proceeding in a very meticulous manner to place India at a totally different, higher leel in global affairs.”

Chairman of India’s National Security Advisory Board (NSA) Shyam Saran hailed the trip, saying “US-India relations have reached a new height”. “The US is an indispensable partner,” he added.

Commenting on the visit, India's finance minister Arun Jaitley also said that India would “like a much greater understanding with the United States with regards to regional issues", highlighting security issues in the region in particular.

The fifth anniversary of the uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak was marked by pro-democracy protests across Egypt, with at least eleven deaths after riot police backed by soldiers attempted to quell the protests.