The UN Security Council has approved the creation of a new peacekeeping force in Mali.

The resolution, proposed by France, has authorised the force, which will see troops deployed in July ahead of elections in the country.

11,200 military personnel and 1,440 police officers will make up the UN force, called Minusma, costing £520m a year.

Amnesty International has accused Bahrain of lacking seriousness with regards to human rights, after the kingdom cancelled, for the second time, a planned visit by the UN's Special Rapporteur on torture.

Rapporteur, Juan Mendez, said he was 'deeply disappointed' and added:

A court in Brazil has sentenced 23 policemen to a total of 156 years for the killing of inmates in a Sao Paolo jail.

111 prisoners were killed during a massacre in Carandiru jail, after two rival prison gangs clashed. 13 of those killed were shot by the convicted policemen.

Chechen groups leading the Islamist insurgency against Russia have distanced themselves from the Boston bombings.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder of the two brothers named as suspects, made a trip last year to the North Caucasus, creating speculation that the men had links to extremist movements in the region.

Amnesty International has criticised the decision made by a Guatemalan judge to suspend the genocide trial of former dictator  Efrain Rios Montt, stating that it risks strengthening impunity and weaking rule of law.

Sebastian Elgueta, researcher on Guatemala at Amnesty International said in a statement,

The US has doubled the aid it provides to the Free Syrian Army.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new $123m non-lethal aid package at a meeting of countries opposed to President Assad in Istanbul.

"The situation in Syria is horrific. It is horrible." Kerry said.

Formula 1 Chief Bernie Ecclestone has called the Bahrain government ‘stupid’ for choosing to host the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, as pro-democracy protests escalate leading up to the race.

Speaking to the BBC, Ecclestone said,

A Guatemalan judge has suspended the trial of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who faces charges of genocide, ruling all action taken from November 2011 as illegal.

Serbia has agreed a landmark accord with Kosovo to normalise relations between the two countries.

The accord, brokered by the EU, comes after months of intense discussions between the Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

A French family who were held captive in Nigeria for two months after being kidnapped from Cameroon have been released.

Gunmen claiming to be from Nigerian militant group Boko Haram earlier released videos threatening to kill the family if authorities did not release fellow militants held in Nigeria and Cameroon.

The Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, has formed a committee to consider an amnesty for Boko Haram, that will be inaugurated next Wednesday.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that lawsuits regarding human rights abuses committed abroad cannot be heard by courts in the US.

12 Nigerians had filed a case against Shell over human rights violations in Nigeria during a crackdown on protestors in the early nineties, accusing the corporation of complicity in murder committed by the government.

The European Union will lift all embargoes place on Burma, except for on weapons, in light of the "remarkable process of reform" the country has seen, reported Reuters on Thursday.

A document seen by the news agency reportedly states that the European Union is set "to lift all sanctions with the exception of the embargo on arms", adding,

Dozens of people were killed in a suicide attack on a Baghdad cafe on Thursday, just days before scheduled provincial elections.

The bomb on Thursday night killed at least 26 pople at a cafe reportedly packed with mainly young people.

More than 50 people were also reported injured.