An attack by armed militants on an UN office in Somalia has left at least 15 people dead.

Four gunmen entered the UN Development Programme office, after a suicide bomber blew up a car at the entrance of the compound, according to the BBC.

Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The US has been forced to reverse its position on talks with the Taliban, just a day after announcing formal talks with the movement.

Anger from the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai at the presence of the white Taliban flag at the newly opened Doha office of the Taliban, and that the office was accredited to the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" - the name used when the Taliban held power - forced the US to say that it had "never confirmed" a meeting.

A ceasefire deal has been signed in Mali with Tuareg separatist insurgents, allowing government troops to return to the last rebel-held town ahead of presidential elections next month.

Mali's minister of communication told the Guardian:

The new Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, has said he will make the country’s nuclear programme more transparent. Speaking at a news conference after his surprising victory, Rouhani said the sanctions on Iran were “unfair”.

Rouhani said his government would work towards "constructive interaction with the world", while thanking Iranians for "choosing moderation".

The US is to commence direct peace talks with the Taliban said White House officials, on the condition that the Taliban renounce violence, endorse the Afghan constitution and denounce al-Qaeda.

The talks are expected to start next week at the Taliban's newly opened political office in Doha, Qatar.

In a statement, the Taliban said:

 The United Nations said on Tuesday that 140,000 people remained displaced in Burma’s western Rakhine state, a year after the Buddhist-Muslim clashes left 200 people dead.

In its first direct comment on reports that emerged over a week ago of US surveillance of the internet, China called on US authorities to provide the 'necessary explanation', reports Reuters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, said on Monday:

The prospect of agreement on how to end the war in Syria looked grim at the G8 summit as Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin remained stiff in their diplomatic pleasantries.

Russian president Putin said:

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has threatened military force to disperse the protests in Instanbul.

Arinc told the BBC:

 


As the first red-headed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power will cut a distinctive figure in the organization’s staid meeting rooms and endless cocktail receptions. But she will also stand out in ways that go well beyond appearance. By virtue of her youth, professional background, philosophical commitments, and direct personal style, Power has the potential to be a uniquely effective U.S. envoy. By raising the UN’s visibility and cache, and by doubling down on its role as a force for human rights and the mediation of violent conflict, Power could be just what the United Nations needs to help galvanize it for the twenty-first century.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that international pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear programme must continue, after reformist Hassan Rouhani was elected president.

"The international community should not fall into wishful thinking and be tempted to ease pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear programme,

North Korea’s governing body proposed nuclear and security talks with the United States in an appeal sent just days after calling off talks with rival South Korea.

Speaking at a rally on Sunday of tens of thousands of government supporters on Sunday in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it was his "duty" to evict the protesters from Istanbul Park.

Asserting that the two week protest had been manipulated by "terrorists", Erdogan rejected accusations of authoritarianism.

The Tamil Guardian's Ismail Okan Ukav was at a pro-government rally in Ankara on Saturday and sent us these photographs:

Hassan Rouhani, the sole reformist candidate in Iran’s presidential election, has won the presidential elections according to state-run Press TV.