The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has said that the lack of action in relation to the Syrian conflict was “a stain” on the organisation.

Rice, who will become President Obama’s national security adviser, said that although her time as ambassador was “remarkable”, she regretted not more was done on Syria.

Bahraini activist Zainab al-Khawaja has been jailed for two months after she was found guilty of insulting the police.

Khawaja has already spent several months in prison and the latest sentence would mean she would be held until February next year.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved the deployment of a peacekeeping force in Mali today.

A former French Gendamarie officer has been accused of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, reports France24, as he was allegedly supplying arms to the government despite being aware of the genocide unfolding.

The UN has announced that US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia’s Foreign Minister will meet next week to discuss Syria.

UN, Russian and US diplomats held talks in Geneva, over organising an international conference to attempt to solve the Syrian conflict.

A resolution on sexual violence in conflict was unanimously adopted by the 15 member UN Security Council on Monday.

The Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has landed in Taiwan, after leaving China for the US last year.

Chen is thought to be planning to meet opposition politicians to discuss human rights. China is likely to be angered by the trip to the island, over which China claims sovereignty.

According to Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the country's former military ruler will be charged for treason by the newly installed government.

Speaking to Parliament on Monday, Sharif said Musharraf would have to answer for his acts during his years in power, although the government has not yet pressed formal charges.

Lebanon has seen its worst fighting since the start of the Syrian civil war with over a dozen soldiers killed on Monday.

Government troops fought armed Sunni Muslim militiamen in the southern city of Sidon, causing the death of at least 16 soldiers and injuring dozens more.

Spillovers from neighbouring Syria have sparked fears of the re-ignition of sectarian violence in Lebanon.

The Egyptian Army has issued a warning ahead of planned mass-protests against President Mohammed Morsi.

Army head General Abdel-Fatteh al-Sisi said the armed forces would "not remain silent as the country slides into uncontrollable conflict".

"There is a state of division in the society, and the continuation of it is a danger to the Egyptian state.

The head prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatour Bensouda, believes that Palestine qualifies to join the ICC after the UN general Assembly voted to admit the country as a non-member state in November.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed concerns over the planned peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, after a row over the group's office in Doha.

Mr Kerry told reporters in Doha: "We need to see if we can get back on track." adding that he was sunsure whether this was possible.

"We are waiting to find out whether the Taliban will respond," Kerry said.