A former British Royal Marine has launched an appeal against a jail sentence handed down to him, for murdering an injured Taliban fighter in 2011.

Sgt Alexander Blackman, was found guilty of murder in November 2013, and given a minimum sentence of 10 years alongside a dishonourable discharge from the marines. Blackman, who had served 15 years in the marines, was the first British soldier to face a murder charge relating to the conflict in Afghanistan, since it began in 2001.

Both the verdict and minimum sentence are to be challenged. See more from the Guardian here.

The murder was filmed by Blackman's helmet camera, where he is heard to tell his colleagues,

“Obviously this doesn’t go anywhere fellas. I just broke the Geneva Convention.”

Five Cambodian land activists were arrested in a continuing clamp down by government authorities on public dissent.

The five activists were detained  as they prepared to rally in front of the French Embassy reported the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights (LICADHO).

The activists were from the Boeunh Kak community, who have seen hundreds of acres of their residential land appropriated for private development.

China called for an immediate end to the violence taking place between the government and opposition in South Sudan, as peace talks progressed poorly.

China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, said that his country was gravely concerned about the violence. Speaking to reporters in Addis Ababa, where the peace talks are taking place, Wang Yi said,

"China's position with regard to the current situation in South Sudan is very clear. First, we call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and violence."

A senior South Sudanese army official was killed in an ambush near the rebel-held town of Bor. The general is thought to have been involved in the advance of government troops on Bor, with fighting continuing for the control of the town.

Talks between the two sides have stalled after the government said it would not accept pre-conditions to talks, as the rebels have demanded the release of what they say are political prisoners.

Parliamentary elections in Bangladesh are set to be won by the ruling Awami League, as violence plagued the country leaving at least 17 dead.

Heavy security was seen at polling booths across the country, with voting suspended at over 160 polling stations and more than 70 being set alight by protestors.

Tensions have flared after the leading opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, decided to boycott the elections, with over half the seats now being uncontested.  International observers have also declined to send election monitors to the country, with the EU, USA and Commonwealth declining.

Cambodian authorities today banned all public gatherings and summoned two opposition leaders of police questing, in what is seen as a response to months of escalating public dissent to the rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The clampdown included clearing protesters from public spaces after a clash between protesting garment workers and police, last week, left four people dead.

Opposition leaders have been calling for the Hun Sen to step down after he retained power in summer elections which international observers found to  be riddled by irregularities .

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights today welcomed the decision by Nepal's Supreme Court that amnesties should not be granted for serious crimes, committed during the internal conflict.

Commenting on the decision, taken on Thursday, the High Commissioner, Navi Pillay, said:

A group of around 70 former prisoners from the Basque liberation movement Eta have expressed regret for violent acts they had perpetrated.

A statement was read out at an event in the Basque town of Durango, which said that they "accepted full responsibility for the consequences of the conflict".

The group said they recognised the "multilateral damage" resulting from their actions and as such “will act responsibly with positive and constructive will and vision."

Fallujah has been the site of a fierce battle between the Iraqi army and Al-Qaeda linked militants, as both sides fought for control of the city over the weekend.

Since Monday the city has been held by Sunni militants, thought to be linked to Al-Qaeda, and tribal militias, united in their fight against the Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Government forces have launched an offensive, which included shelling of the city as they attempted to wrestle back control.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced that he will retire from office after India’s next elections and attacked opposition leader Narendra Modi in a press conference earlier today.

Announcing that he will step down from his post in the Congress party, Singh went on to say,

“I sincerely believe it would be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as the prime minister”.