The British Foreign Secretary William Hague, labelling the upcoming Syrian presidential elections as a ‘parody of democracy’, announced that the Syrian opposition would have its diplomatic status in the UK upgraded, reports the BBC.

William Hague, whilst hosting a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in London, said,

“We are of course united in our disgust and anger at what’s happening in Syria and the ruthless utter disregard for human life.”

The US revealed yesterday that it was flying manned surveillance missions over Nigeria in an effort to find the 200 girls abducted by the militant Boko Haram group, reports the BBC.

US officials also announced that Nigeria was using US satellite imagery to aid its ground search missions.

“We have shared commercial satellite imagery with the Nigerians and are flying manned ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) assets over Nigeria with the government’s permission,” said a senior US administration official.

The Ukrainian interim leadership today during talks to deescalate the rebellion in eastern regions outlined plans to allow regions greater autonomy over local affairs, reports Reuters.

The talks, which involved politicians and civil society groups, excluded representatives of the pro-independence movement in the eastern regions.

Officials form the International Criminal Court announced today that allegations of war crimes committed by British troops will be examined and verified by the court.

The court is to conduct preliminary examination of around 60 alleged case cases of unlawful killings and claims of the mistreatment of over 170 Iraqis in British custody, reports The Guardian.

A French journalist has been killed in Central African Republic, announced the office of the French President Francois Hollande, today.

The journalist was found dead by French soldiers after they stopped a vehicle driven by Christian militias that predominantly fight with the Seleka rebels, reports Reuters.

The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB), yesterday, charged a former parliamentary lawmaker with war crimes reports the Jurist.

Abdul Jabbar, a former member for the Jatiya Party, was charged with aiding genocide. The 1 year investigation used evidence of Jabbar’s involvement in the murder of 36 people, forceful conversion of 200 Hindus to Islam and looting of over 557 houses during Bangladesh’s war for independence.

Boko Haram leaders said today that children they had abducted would be released if imprisoned militants were released. 

The Nigerian Interior minister Abba Moro, told the BBC that the government would not agree to any kind of swap deal.

“As far as this government is concerned, the option of swap of innocent citizens with people who have taken arms against the country is not on the table,”  said Moro.

Thousands voted today in a referendum held in the eastern regions of Ukraine to determine the creation of a separate ‘people’s republic,’ reports The Guardian.

People were asked by the poll to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the ‘act of self-rule’ for the ‘People’s Republic’ reports The Telegraph.