"You do have problems with part of the opposition which is extreme, that we should have nothing to do with. But that is not a reason for pulling up the drawbridge, putting our head in the sand and doing nothing."

"What we should be doing is working with international partners to help the millions of Syrians who want to have a free democratic Syria, who want to see that country have some form of success."

"Although the prime minister still wants to help moderate forces, how that can be achieved is far from clear. He called the conflict a stalemate.

With Russia still supporting President Assad, so too it seems is Western policy on Syria".

The M23 rebels have summarily executed  44 people and raped at least 61 women since March 2013, reported Human Rights Watch.

The findings are based on more than 100 interviews since March, which included former M23 fighters who left the movement between late March near the Congo-Rwanda border.

The findings also suggested that Rwandan authorities were heavily involved in supporting the rebels,

“Not only is Rwanda allowing its territory to be used by the abusive M23 to get recruits and equipment, but the Rwandan military is still directly supporting the M23,” said Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Algerian militant leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been charged by US prosecutors over a siege at a gas plant earlier this year.

37 hostages were killed when Algerian security forces retook the Tigantourine complex from militants who had captured it a few days before, taking local and foreign workers hostage.

Belmokhtar is still at large and the US has offered $5mn reward for information leading to his arrest.

"I am pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming direct final-status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis."

"The best way to give these negotiations a chance is to keep them private," he said, saying that the deal was still being "formalized" and he would therefore not discuss it in detail."

"We know that the challenges require some very tough choices in the days ahead,"

"Today, however, I am hopeful."

"The announcement today did not mean the return to negotiations. It meant efforts would continue to secure the achievement of Palestinian demands.... Israel must recognize the 1967 borders."

"If you want to see the future of Manus Island, take a good look at Nauru. What happened at Nauru happened with 500 people in it. Imagine (what could happen) at a detention centre with 3000."

A group of Farc rebels has been arrested by the Colombian army, after an ambush on troops left 15 soldiers dead.

Over 70 rebels attacked 26 soldiers who were guarding an oil pipeleine near the country’s border with Venezuela.

The Colombian government is currently in talks with Farc to end the conflict; however President Juan Manuel Santos has said the army will respond strongly, while the talks should continue as normal.

"These are the instructions to our forces: don't stop shooting for even a moment until we reach the end of this conflict," he said.

"All of Colombia must work for peace precisely so that incidents like those that occurred in the last 24 hours never happen again."

Election officials abducted by gunmen in Northern Mali a week before presidential elections have been released.

After being abducted whilst handing out voter identification cards, the officials were handed over unharmed to French forces today.

An unnamed official told the AFP news agency that the abduction was ordered by a member of the Tuareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azwad (MNLA).

The British government has revoked five export licences for military equipment destined for Egypt in response to reports that security forces have used excessive force in dealing with protests since the deposition of former president Mohamed Morsi.

A Foreign Office official told press that the revocation was linked to reports of military and police malpractice during recent protests, stating,

“We judge that there is now a clear risk that the equipment covered by these licenses might contribute to the excessive use of force during crowd control.”

A woman who lied on her refugee application in the United states over her role in the Rwandan genocide has been jailed for 10 years.

43-year-old Beatrice Munyenyezi commanded road blocks in Rwanda, where Hutu militias would murder Tutsi civilians ruled the US court, making her reportedly the first person in the US to be convicted over the genocide of Tutsis.

She was handed down a maximum term, a 10-year jail sentence,  after which she will be deported to Rwanda, where genocide charges potentially await her.

Judge McAuliffe said,

“This defendant was actively involved, actively participated, in the mass killing of men, women and children simply because they were Tutsis.”

Munyenyezi's husband and his mother are currently serving life sentences for genocide.

The former chief of a CIA unit based in Milan has been arrested in Panama.

Robert Seldon Lady was convicted in absentia by an Italian court for the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in 2003.

The cleric, known as Abu Omar, was then reportedly flown to Egypt and tortured.

Read more here.

South Sudan has committed serious abuses against and failed to protect civilians in its anti-insurgency campaign, Human Rights Watch said today.

Highlighting the failure of the army to protect the civilians, Human Rights Watch urged President Salva Kiir to publicly condemn the attacks and ensure that authorities and military officials immediately investigate and identify all those responsible, whether they are government officials or abusive soldiers.

Voicing concern over the escalating situation in South Sudan, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, Daniel Bekele stated,

“Yet again the government of South Sudan has utterly failed to stop armed Lou Nuer youth from moving into ethnic Murle areas, despite advance warnings that they were mobilising.”

“This failure, together with a spate of serious abuses by soldiers in the area, only reinforces the perception that South Sudan’s leaders are taking sides in this ethnic conflict.”

The Arab League has expressed its support for a plan to recommence peace talks between Palestine and Israel.

US Secretary of State John Kerry proposed his plan to the league in Jordan and said he was hopeful both countries "would soon be able to come and sit at the same table".

The Arab League issued a statement saying they "believe Kerry's ideas proposed to the committee today constitute a good ground and suitable environment for restarting the negotiations, especially the new and important political, economic and security elements".

Read more here.

The International Criminal Court has said that two witnesses have withdrawn from testifying at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s case over security concerns.

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told the BBC: "The prosecutor might seek to add other witnesses in the future if suitable replacements for these witnesses are forthcoming."

Kenyatta has been charged over election violence in 2007 which left over 1,000 people dead.

The ICC has previously accused Kenya of not doing enough to protect witnesses.