A senior United Nations official in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, confirmed to press today that the Taliban had shown signs of willingness to meet and discuss the reduction of civilian casualties with the UN.
Fighters from the Free Syrian Army have killed at least 60 Shiite villagers in an apparent reprisal raid for a previous attack on a rebel base by pro-government militias.
Kuwaiti supermarket chains have begun to boycott goods from Iran in protest at Iranian support of the Assad regime in Syria. At least nine cooperative societies are said to be backing the boycott.
According to local media, the activists' next stage would be to cancel the residency permits of Iranian nationals in Kuwait, and effectively expel Iranian labourers currently working in Kuwait. Over 50,000 Iranians are understood to work in Kuwait.
Leaders of a Palestinian movement to boycott Israel have outlined their intention to oppose any peace talks, even if they include a conversations relating to the freezing of Jewish settlements.
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Tuesday that he will not show "any more tolerance" towards the protesters.
Pledging to put an end to the demonstrations, Erdogan said that protesters had 'infringed on other people's freedom'.
Protests have been on-going since 31st May. Here are some photographs of the protests last week sent to Tamil Guardian by Ismail Okan Ukav, a journalism student at Istanbul Aydin University in Turkey:
Sri Lanka and Slovenia have agreed to further strengthen the bilateral trade and economic ties between the two countries at the conclusion of an official visit to the country by Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs G.L Peiris.
UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk has called for an international investigation into allegations of torture and other abuses of Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
Falk said in a report that Israeli violations were happening on a “massive scale” and the blockade on Gaza was “collective punishment” of the Palestinian people.
The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his first conciliatory gesture towards protestors, agreeing to meet with them this week, amid mass demonstrations against government policies, that have been criticised of restricting lifestyles.
The South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, accused Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, of "mobilising for war" on Monday, after Bashir threatened to cut off South Sudan's oil flow.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Kiir said:
"The people of South Sudan should remain calm and patient as we work with the African Union to resolve this impasse with Sudan."
US President Barack Obama described the two day summit between himself and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as "terrific" as the summit drew to a close on Saturday.
Held in California, the two leaders discussed cyber crime, North Korea's nuclear programme and other issues including the economy and environment.
A boat carying migrants has sunk off the coast of Australia, with at least 13 people confirmed dead.
Searches are still ongoing, however no survivors have yet been found. The boat sunk around 120km off Christmas Island and is thought to have had 55 people on board.
Officials from the Obama administration suggested to the Associated Press today that approval to provide lethal aid to the Syrian rebels could be decided upon this week, and outlined the possibilities of enforcing a no fly zone over Syria.
Pope Francis recognised the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey as “the first genocide of the twentieth century".
Meeting a delegation of genocide victims earlier this week, Pope Francis told a victim that “the first genocide of the 20th Century was that of the Armenians.”
