Colombian government peace-talks with the FARC rebels took a progressive turn today as the two parties released a joint statement outlining progress in talks, reports Reuters.

“We are making significant progress. It’s a good environment. I would say it couldn’t be better,” said the leader of the separatist FARC movement, Ivan Marquez.

The Nigerian President broke his silence on the kidnapping of hundreds of school girls by the suspected militants Boko Haram, reports the BBC.

“We promise that wherever they are we will surely get them out,” said President Goodluck Jonathan.

Syrian Airstrikes on a market in Aleppo killed at least  33 people last week , reported the BBC.

According to the UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack happened in the northern Halak district.

The attack came shortly after the Syrian government bombed a school in southern Aleppo killing 18 people.

South Sudanese government forces launched an offensive on the strategic oil hub of Bentiu in fresh attempts to reclaim the region from the rebels, reports the BBC.

The offensive comes as the South Sudanese president, told US Secretary of State John Kerry that he was ready to hold peace talks with the rebels.

The Ukrainian interim Prime Minister blamed the death of 40 pro-Russian separatists in Odessa on the inefficiency of local security services and told the BBC that a full comprehensive and independent investigation would be conducted into the matter.

Seven international observers have been freed by pro-Russian fighters in East Ukraine, after they were held hostage for eight days.

The observers, part of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) in Europe, were released "without conditions", the BBC quoted pro-Russian fighters as saying.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged US help to find and return the hundreds of Nigerian girls that were kidnapped by militants two weeks ago, reports the Washington Post.

Ukraine’s government today stated that it was now ‘at war’ with pro-Russian insurgents, as the commencement of Ukraine’s ‘anti-terrorism’ measures escalated violence in the rebel held eastern regions, reports The Telegraph.

The head of Ukraine’s anti-terrorist command, Vasyl Krutov, said,

The recently deployed EU peacekeeping force in Central African Republic set restoring regional stability as its top priority, reports Reuters.

A car bomb attack on Thursday evening has killed at least 12 people in the Nigerian capital Abuja, reports the BBC.

Several pro-Russian rebels have been killed, injured and arrested in an Ukrainian offensive in the eastern city of Sloviansk, reports the BBC.

Rebels earlier shot down armed Ukrainian helicopters, that flew over the eastern rebel held region.

A spokesperson for Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said that Kiev had fired on civilians from air in a ‘punitive operation,’ reported Reuters.

The Philippines today announced that it would supply the US with up to 5 military bases in Subic bay as part of defence agreement renewals made by the two states this week.

A bomb exploded at Chennai Central railway station at 7.15 am this morning, killing one woman, and injuring many others on board the train.

Blasts arose from two carriages of the Bangalore-Guwahati express train, which had arrived at platform 9 ten minutes earlier, witnesses have reported.