Russia's Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, warned that President Bashar al-Assad's chances of staying in power were growing "smaller and smaller".

Speaking to CNN, Medvedev said:

Malian troops are continuing their advance, with the support of the French army, against rebels in the north of the country.

Northern Mali's most populous city, Gao, was captured by Malian and French soldiers on Saturday.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Malian and French troops would arrive "near Timbuktu soon".

Kachin rebels have lost a strategic base on a hill top in northern Burma after clashes with the Burmese army.

The Kachin Independence Army's base on Hka Ya hilltop is the last line of defence before Laiza, the capital of Kachin state, which has been under rebel control for 50 years.

A South African court has halted the delivery of helicopters to the Zimbabwean military, over human rights concerns.

High Court judge N B Tuchten placed a temporary halt on the delivery, saying it would be irresponsible to provide equipment to a force that was not neutral, ahead of elections later this year. A full hearing will be held on February 19.

Israeli are likely to boycott the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a planned session of the UN Human Rights council, in protest against the group’s stance on the Jewish state.

North Korea has warned the South that it will retaliate with “physical counter-measures” if Seoul took part in sanctions by the UN.

In a statement, released a day after it announced a third nuclear test, North Korea said sanctions would mean war.

An UN official has told reporters that the body wants to send troops to intervene in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to fight rebels in the east of the country.

The official said that an intervention force of 2,500 soldiers would be added to the UN’s existing Monusco peace keeping mission in the country.

Catalania declared its region as a sovereignty entity on Wednesday in a largely symbolic act which paves the way for a referendum on independence from Spain.

The declaration reads: "The people of Catalonia have - by reason of democratic legitimacy - the character of a sovereign political and legal entity."

The United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) amended its travel advisory to Libya on Thursday, advising all British nationals to leave Benghazi immediately as well as to avoid travel at all to some parts of the country.