The German government will support a resolution later this week, describing the massacre of around 1.5mn Armenians in 1915 as a genocide, according to Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert.

"The government backs the draft resolution ... in which the fate of the Armenians during World War One serves as an example of the history of mass murders, ethnic cleansings, expulsions and, yes, the genocides during the 20th century," Mr Seibert said according to Reuters.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had earlier rejected using the word genocide, in an interview with public broadcaster ARD TV on Sunday, and denied it was to avoid upsetting Turkey.

 A former Nazi SS guard said he is “morally” guilty for his role at Auschwitz concentration camp, as he faced trial at a court in Germany on Tuesday.

Oscar Groening, 93 years old, referred to as the “accountant of Auschwitz”, told the court of the two years he spent at the camp, as he went on accused of being complicit in the genocide.

“It is without question that I am morally complicit in the murder of millions of Jews through my activities at Auschwitz,” said Mr Groening. “I ask for forgiveness. I share morally in the guilt but whether I am guilty under criminal law, you will have to decide.''

A court in Egypt sentenced former president Mohammed Morsi to 20 years in jail on Tuesday, finding him guilty of the arrest and torture of protestors.

Mr Morsi, who was ousted by Egypt’s security forces in July 2013, was facing the first of several trials, related to the deaths of protestors in December 2012. He also stands accused of passing on intelligence to a foreign country.

Alongside other senior Muslim Brotherhood figures, Mr Morsi escaped facing the death penalty, having been found guilty of intimidation and violence but acquitted of murder.

The Chinese government has signed several agreements worth $46bn, focusing on building a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the two countries.

When completed, the superhighway will give China direct access to the Indian Ocean.

A United Nations vehicle was targeted by a bomb attack in northern Somalia, killing at least nine people, according to the latest reports.

Amongst the dead were 4 Unicef workers, said officials, with the organisation saying in a statement that  “the IED [improvised explosive device] attack occurred when the staff were travelling from their guest house to the office, normally a three-minute drive.”

The victims also reportedly included an MP from Puntland, the semi-autonomous region of Somalia where the attack took place, and African Union soldiers from Kenya and Burundi.

Al-Shabab’s military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters, “We are behind the Garowe attack.”

Colombia’s FARC militants pledged to maintain their unilateral ceasefire and reiterated their commitment to the peace talks with the Colombian government.

The Colombian government responding to the FARC statement, reaffirmed its commitment to the peace process, though blamed renewed violence

The FARC militant commander, Ivan Marquez, in a statement, said,

“We have resolved to declare a unilateral ceasefire to hostilities for an open-ended period that should transition into an armistice.”

Washington Post journalist, Jason Rezaian, is to be charged by Iran for his alleged involvement in espionage, collaborating with with hostile governments and propaganda against the establishment, reports Reuters.

The Washington Post executive editor, Martin Baron, said that Mr Rezian could face up to 20 years in prison, adding that,

An emergency summit has been scheduled to take place with European leaders this week as European Union proposed doubling the size of its search and rescue operations on Monday, amidst fears of further refugee boats in trouble at sea in between Libya and Europe.

EU ministers, on Monday, held a moment of silence at a meeting to discuss the refugee crisis that has left an estimated 1,500 people dead at sea this year.

Thousands of Yemeni troops pledged allegiance to the exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Sunday.

The Yemeni commander of a military district encompassing half of the country’s border with Saudi Arabia announced full support to Hadi local officials reported.

At least 15,000 troops are now thought to be on the same side as the Saudi Arabia government, reports Reuters.