A senior Russian politician has stated that the Syrian government has not been capable of doing its job, in a sign that Russia may be trying to distance itself from its long-standing ally, reported Reuters.

The head of President Putin's party group in the State Duma lower house Vladimir Vasilyev, was quoted as saying,

China announced made it clear to India on Wednesday, that it would oppose any “unilateral” oil exploration in the disputed South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said,

The Indian army has been accused of widespread human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir, according to a report by human rights organisations based in the territory.

Peace talks between Farc rebels and the Colombian government have resumed, after air raids by the government killed over 20 rebels earlier in the week.

A Farc negotiator refused to comment on how the strikes, just few days after the first phase concluded, will affect the talks, reported the BBC.

The government has ruled out a truce, while the rebels are still abiding by a unilateral ceasefire, declared last month.

Tuareg separatists in Mali have given up hopes for an independent state in the north of the country.

The rebels made the announcement after talks with the Malian government in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on Tuesday.

The talks, between the government, Tuareg forces and Islamist rebels, also saw the Islamist Ansar Dine, pledge to reject all forms of extremism.

Rebels are currently in control of northern Mali, with Ansar Dine causing international outrage by destroying historic cultural sites in Timbuktu.

"Our concerns are that an increasingly desperate Assad regime might turn to chemical weapons, or might lose control of them to one of the many groups that are now operating within Syria."

Nato has approved the deployment of the Patriot missile defence system on the Turkish border with Syria, as fears grow over the use of chemical weapons by Assad’s regime.

The bloc declared its “determination to deter threats and defend Turkey” in a statement released on Tuesday.

The sentences of two ex-paramilitary Bosnian Serb commanders have been upheld by the International Criminal Court.

The two former members of the 'White Eagles' Serb paramilitary group, were contesting their guilty verdicts, on the back of Serbian protests against the tribunal’s unfair targeting of Serbs.

Dispelling Serbia’s allegations of unfair treatment, the war crimes tribunal upheld the life sentence handed to one of the ex-paramilitary members and reduced the second member’s life sentence by 3 years.

The UN-established International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has handed over the case of a former Army Lieutenant Colonel to Rwanda for trial – marking the last case to be transferred by the UN tribunal.

Lieutenant Colonel Phénéas Munyarugarama faces charges of genocide, incitement for genocide, murder and rape amongst others.