A man from New Zealand and two Burmese men have been handed a prison sentence by a court in Myanmar for “insulting Buddhism”, after they posted a flyer on their Facebook page advertising for their bar, showing Buddha with his eyes shut, wearing large headphones.

Ye Lwin, judge at the Bahan Township courthouse, said that though the men had apoligised, they had "intentionally plotted to insult religious belief" when posting the flyer on social media.

Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson criticised the verdict saying "by using the Religion Act to criminalise these three individuals, rather than accepting an apology and dealing with it in another way, the government is, sort of, setting up more witch hunts against persons that these Buddhist groups view as being insulting to their religion”.

"What this shows is freedom of expression is under greater threat than ever in Burma (Myanmar) just as the country heads into a pivotal election year," added Mr Robertson.

United Nations investigators have begun sharing details from their database on suspected war crimes and criminals in Syria with European authorities working on domestic prosecution cases, reports Reuters.

The chairman of the United Nations commission of inquiry, Paulo Pineiro, on Tuesday, urged national authorities to contact the independent investigators who have compiled five lists over nearly four years of evidence gathering.

Northern Mali’s rebels agreed to another round of talks with the government after the rebel coalition said it was not ready to sign a preliminary UN brokered deal, alleging that it fully meet the demands of greater autonomy for the rebel controlled areas.

The spokesperson for the MNLA rebel group, Moussa Ag Acharatoumane, said,

“We agreed that there should be another meeting with mediators and the Mali government.”

China has increased the amount of weapons it exports to foreign countries to become the third biggest exporter of arms, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

China overtook Germany, France and the UK as it increased exports of arms by 143% from 2010-14,  compared to 2005-09.

The country now accounts for about 5% of the world's exports of weapons, though it still lags behind the US and Russia, with exports at 31% and 27% respectively.

A US diplomat who was arrested after Democratic Republic of Congo security forces raided an activist meeting in Kinshasa has been freed, said Congo's government.

USAID official Kevin Sturr was amongst the 40 people arrested after security forces broke up a press conference attended by journalists, activists and musicians.

DRC's Information Minister Lambert Mende said the diplomat had been “returned to the embassy late last night."

A United Nations investigation into human rights in Eritrea found “very clear patterns” of violations, and an absence of rule of law, on Monday.

The chairman of the investigative team, Mike Smith, told the UN Human Rights Council, that “Most Eritreans have no hope for their future,” stating,

“Detention is an ordinary fact of life, experienced by an inordinate number of individuals men and women, old and young, including children.”

The UN refugee agency UNHCR says that about 357,000 had fled Eritrea by July 2014, reports Reuters.

The Nigerian government forces recaptured the North Eastern city of Bama from Boko Haram militants, the army announced on Monday.

The Nigerian Defence Headquarters tweeted,

“Nigerian troops have this afternoon routed terrorists from Bama in Borno state. Mopping up operation is ongoing.”

Militants were progressively pushed out from the town after arrival of new military equipment helped boost morale among the Nigerian soldiers, reports Reuters.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Europe to maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions, on Monday.

Speaking after a meeting with the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Ms Merkel said that a full cease-fire had not been observed and that pro-Russian militants continued to block international monitors from having complete access to the regions they controlled.

Urging the EU to agree to a “political commitment that sanctions and implementation of Minsk are closely connected, Ms Merkel added,

“The sanctions and the implementation of the Minsk plan must be connected.”