Colombia's Farc rebels have declared a month-long unilateral ceasefire, after an increase in violent incidents between the group and the government in recent weeks.

Chief negotiator of the group at talks with the government, Ivan Marquez, said he hoped the ceasefire, starting on 20 July, could lead to a bilateral truce.

Mr Marquez said the truce would "create favourable conditions in order to advance with the opposing side toward a bilateral and definitive ceasefire."

The government welcomed the move but said more was needed.

The root causes of last year’s conflict in Gaza remain unaddressed despite a growing humanitarian crisis said the UN in a statement made on Wednesday.

The government of the United States has given the go-ahead to the world's largest cruise company to commence trips to Cuba from Miami, the latest move in the thawing relationship between the two countries.

Carnival Corp said it was still awaiting approval from the Cuban government but the trips could start early next year.

The announcement comes as the US state department expressed concern about the detentions of around 100 people in Cuba on Sunday.

Madrid's city council will change the names of streets which refer to former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and his regime.

The authority said around 170 streets are still named after the general, under whose rule countless of atrocities were committed against his opponents.

A 2007 law introduced by the then-Socialist government, named Historical Memory Law, stated that all symbols related to the Franco regime should be removed, amidst opposition from right-wingers.

An Australian citizen who is a former Croatian war general will be extradited to face trial in Croation over coming days reports SBS.

Dragan Vasiljkovic, also known as Daniel Snedden, who has been fighting extradition for almost a decade, will face trial in the Croatian city of Split for alleged involvement in war cries during the Balkan conflict in the 1990s.

Mr Snedden’s  lawyer, Darko Stanich, who will defend him in court, said,

Nuclear talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 have been extended by three days after disagreements over the lifting of an arms embargo on the country.

Western diplomats remained hopeful that a deal would be reached and the differences between Iran and the five UN Security Council members plus Germany, who are conducting the talks, continued to narrow with every passing hour and that only a few significant issues remained unresolved. UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said there was “clear will on both sides” to get the deal completed.

The FARC negotiating team called for “strong gestures” from the Colombian government that proved commitment to peace.

Speaking to Agence France Presse, FARC commander Pastor Alape and senior member of the negotiation team, said,

Burundi rejected a second UN diplomat assigned to mediate between parties in the countries post –election political crisis reports Reuters.

The Burundian government rejected the mediator on the bases that a critical UN report on Burundi’s elections demonstrated bias.

A suicide bomb in a church in the northeast of Nigeria has capped a week in which almost every day saw deaths due to violence by Boko Haram militants.

At least 5 people were killed in the latest attack in Potiskum, in Yobe state.

Recent attacks include: