Mexico called for reform of the United Nations Security Council, that would allow for a greater number of member countries across a wider geographical spectrum.

A statement released by Mexico's foreign ministry said that it wanted the 10 temporary members to grow to 26, with six members from Africa, five from Asia, four from Latin America and the Caribbean, five from both Western and Eastern Europe and one from small developing nations, reports Reuters.

The US led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) military combat operations were formally ended in Afghanistan during a ceremony on Sunday. 

"These past 13 years have tested out nation and our military. But compared to the nearly 180,000 American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan when I took office, we now have fewer than 15,000 in those countries. Some 90% of our troops are home," said Barack Obama in a statement.

Speaking at the ceremony, the commander ISAF, John F Campbell, said, "Our Afghan partners can and will take the fight from here."

Cameroon has carried out its first set of airstrikes against Islamist militant organisation Boko Haram after the group overran a military base in the north of the country.

Some 1,000 Boko Haram militants attacked five towns and the military camp, briefly occupying it over the weekend, after Cameroon's troops were forced to abandon it.

Lieutenant Colonel Didier Badjeck told Reuters,

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has pledged to hold an inquiry into the deaths of five Papuan civilians at the hands of the country’s military.

Widodo, who was in the province to attend Christmas festivities, said the incident in Paniai earlier this month was deplorable.

“I want this case to be solved immediately so it won’t ever happen again in the future,” the president said.

"By forming a fact-finding team, we hope to obtain valid information [about what actually happened], as well as find the root of the problems.”

“I want my visit to Papua to be useful, I want to listen to the people’s voices, and I’m willing to open dialogue for a better Papua,” he said.

Joko said the government needed to listen to Papuans in order to solve the long-running conflict in the restive region.

The secretary-general of al-Wefaq Islamic Society, Sheikh Ali Salman, has been arrested and is being held by Bahrain's Interior Ministry, after hours of interrogation.

Salman was initially summoned for questioning about "violating certain aspects of law," according to the ministry. Salman's lawyer Abdullah al-Shamlawi says he has been accused of “inciting hatred against the regime”, with the accusations relating to speeches given between 2012 and now.

His arrest comes after thousands of Shia Muslims rallied in Manama, the Bahraini capital, on Friday, demanding protesting against last month's general election, which al-Wefaq boycotted.