The Zimbabwean opposition's Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai slammed Wednesday's election as "null and void" and a "huge farce".

Alleging polling day irregularities and vote-rigging by Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, Tsvangirai said that over 1 million voters were not being allowed to vote.

Speaker to reporters, Tsvangirai said:

"This has been a huge farce,"

"In our view, that election is null and void."

A criminal court in Libya sentenced the education minister from Gaddafi’s era, Ahmed Ibrahim, to death today, for murder and inciting violence during the 2011 uprising that ended in the disposition of Gaddafi.

The United Nations’ intervention force in the Democratic Republic of Congo has given residents in Goma 48 hours to disarm and anyone armed beyond that time will be considered a rebel.

"They will be considered an imminent threat of physical violence to civilians and [UN mission in DR Congo] Monusco will take all necessary measures to disarm them, including by the use of force in accordance with its mandate and rules of engagement," a statement by the UN mission in the DR Congo, Monusco, said.

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) has been involved in electoral fraud during the July 2013 national elections, suggests recent research by Human Rights Watch.

The Asia director of Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams, confirmed that,

The US Secretary of State has announced that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will aim to achieve a “final status agreement” over the coming 9 months, after talks between the two sides concluded in Washington.

“They are on the table with one simple goal: a view to ending the conflict, ending the claims. Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months” said Secretary John Kerry at a press briefing.

Palestinian protesters in Ramallah, protesting against the resumption of peace talks between the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel, were beaten up by Palestinian Authority police, and 5 arrested, states Human Rights Watch. In a statement, HRW condemned the police violence which left 10 protesters injured.

Tom Porteous, deputy program director at HRW said,

The police beat protesters and then arrested injured people, some even from the hospital

India’s ruling Congress-led coalition unanimously agreed on the formation of a new state in the Telangana region of the southern Andhra-Pradesh state, officials said today.

Supporters of the new state say that the area had been neglected by the Andhra Pradesh government.

The Syrian government has captured a key district in the strategically important city of Homs.

Syrian state media said the army has “restored security and stability to the neighbourhood of Khalidiya”, a former rebel stronghold.

Witnesses of police violence at peaceful protests in Tunis, Tunisia have told Human Rights Watch (HRW) of the use of excessive teargas and also that police dispersal efforts included beating and insulting protesters and journalists.

The violence occurred at a peaceful sit-in demonstration outside the National Constituent Assembly, to protest the assassination of opposition politican Mohamed Brahmi.

HRW's deputy Middle East and North Africa director, Nadim Houry said: