Clashes in China’s Xinjiang province between Chinese and Uighurs have left 21 people dead, 15 of which were Chinese officials.

The Chinese authorities said the violence erupted after security forces conducted operations against “terrorist cells”.

But exiled Uighur groups said the clashes were caused when armed Chinese killed a young Uighur.

The US has urged China to investigate the violence and give due protection to all Chinese citizens, including Uighurs.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that armed drones in Afghanistan have been operated from RAF bases in the UK for the first time.

Defence officials say the Reaper drones are mainly used for surveillance but can also make use of 500lb bombs and Hellfire missiles.

Campaigners have protested against the use of drones in armed conflicts.

Chris Nineham of the Stop the War Coalition, said:

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2099 on Thursday, which reaffirmed the people of Western Sahara's right to self-determination and extended the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) by another year,

Two Tibetan monks have died after setting themselves alight at the at the Kirti monastery in Aba county, Southern China earlier this week, protesting against Chinese rule.

The recent deaths mean that more than 100 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest since 2011. They were identified as Lobsang Dawa, 20, and Konchog Woeser, 23.

Speaking on the immolations Free Tibet director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren said,

The PKK has announced it will withdraw its troops from Turkey in May.

At a press conference in Kurdistan, northern Iraq, military leader of the Kurdish group, Murat Karayilan, said that the withdrawal will be completed as soon as possible.

US President, Barack Obama has promised a "vigorous investigation" for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which if found could be a "game-changer".

Speaking at the White House, Obama said:

"Horrific as it is when mortars are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed, to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law.

Serbia’s President Tomislav Nikolic has personally apologised for the first time for the massacre that took place in Srebrenica, in a television interview due to be broadcast later next month.

France's defence minister confirmed that 1000 French troops will be staying in Mali regardless of the expected arrival of over 12,000 UN Peacekeepers.

Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters

“From now on we are in the post-war phase. The U.N. resolution adopted yesterday will allow for the arrival of a force to stabilize the country,”

The billionaire founder of US equity firm Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman, has unveiled a $300 million scholarship fund, aiming to send 200 foreign post-graduate students to study in China each year.

Schwarzman has donated $100 million of his own money and is raising a further $200 million, to send students from across the world on an international education programme at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, in subjects that include public policy and international relations.

The programme is modelled on the Rhodes Scholarship programme that saw foreign students study at Oxford University in the UK, and has generated substantial interest from many Western backers.

Announcing the scheme, Schwarzman hoped that it would “foster stronger and deeper relationships” adding that it would develop “a far richer and more nuanced understanding of China’s social, political and economic context”. He went on to state,

“A win-win relationship of mutual respect between the West and China is vital, benefiting Asia and the rest of the world, and enhancing economic ties that could lead to a new era of mutual prosperity”.

Amongst the many firms who have backed the scheme are BP, Boeing, Caterpillar, Bank of America and Credit Suisse. Those on the advisory board of the fund include, former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Condoleezza Rice, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, American cellist Yo-Yo Ma and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Commenting on the fund, the Financial Times stated in their editorial,

“This is a groundbreaking initiative. China has never opened its university system to foreigners to this extent."

The UN Security Council has approved the creation of a new peacekeeping force in Mali.

The resolution, proposed by France, has authorised the force, which will see troops deployed in July ahead of elections in the country.

11,200 military personnel and 1,440 police officers will make up the UN force, called Minusma, costing £520m a year.