Ten police officers were injured on Thursday evening during further loyalists riots over the removal of the union flag at Belfast City Hall. 

The violence, centred mainly around East Belfast, broke out on Thursday at around 6.30pm by Albertbridge Road, Castlereagh Road and Mountpottinger Street. 

Commenting on the incident Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said: 

"It was initiated by the loyalist protesters and unfortunately for a number of weeks now we have been trying to facilitate lawful protest and we have been trying to do that in a proportionate and a graduated way."

"This sort of disorder last night is completely despicable and what we have seen is ten police officers injured this morning."

"celebration of national unity and a success for Hamas as well as Fatah... This positive atmosphere is a step on road to restoring national unity".

"Gaza was the first Palestinian territory rid of (Israeli) occupation and settlement and we want a lifting of the blockade so that it can be free and linked to the rest of the nation."

Congolese rebels have threatened to walk away from this week’s peace talks following an increased presence of government troops in the east.

The rebel, March 23 Movement(M23), affirmed that they would walk away unless the government agreed to sign an official ceasefire.

Speaking to reporters the head of the rebel’s political wing, Jean-Marie Runiga, said,

“If Kinshasa continues to refuse to sign a ceasefire, M23 is going to ask its delegation to return to the DRC”

A government spokesman dismissed the rebel demand, stating,

“There’s no point in a ceasefire. When did we declare war?"

The first attempt at peace talks to end the nine-month rebellion in Congo’s volatile east failed last month amid threats and accusations.

The M23 rebels, named after a 2009 peace deal for eastern Congo, claimed that it initially took up arms due to the Kinshasa government’s failure to honour its side of the bargain.

US forces have landed in Turkey to man Patriot missile stations along the Syrian border, reported Turkish state media Anadolu.

Patriot missile defense batteries were station in the region by U.S., Germany and the Netherlands in response to Syrian attacks on border villages.

Nato will be in overall control of the missiles and the soldiers, while the missiles will be operated by US troops.

Nepal’s government has summoned the UK ambassador in protest at the arrest by British police of a Nepali army officer on allegations of torture.

Col Kumar Lama, a serving member of Nepal's army who was visiting the UK, is accused of torturing a detainee in 2005 during Nepal's civil war.

British law allows prosecutors to act against people suspected of torture no matter where it took place in the world.

The arrest is based on a complaint filed by Advocacy Forum Nepal on behalf of a man who says he was tortured by Colonel Lama in army custody.

Nepal says Britain is breaching its sovereignty by carrying out the arrest.

Colonel Lama has been serving with the UN mission in Sudan.

See reports by the BBC and AFP.

A 46-year old man from Nepal has been arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police, over allegations of torture, committed in 2005 during the war in Nepal.

He was held on Thursday in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex and is currently detained in a police station in neighbouring Sussex.

The BBC reported that the man is thought to be linked to the former government and was arrested due to a complaint made in the UK.

Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 allows prosecution of human rights abuses, even if they are unconnected to the UK, under “Universal Jurisdiction”.

In the UK, the Met is responsible for investigations into war crimes and human rights abuses.

The Met’s Counter Terrorism Command leads investigation into these types of offences and employs nine detectives who specialise in war crimes, reported the BBC.

“The future of the Falkland Islands should be determined by the Falkland Islanders themselves - the people who live there… Whenever they have been asked their opinion, they say they want to maintain their current status with the United Kingdom.”

"They're holding a referendum this year and I hope the president of Argentina will listen to that referendum and recognise it is for the Falkland Islanders to choose their future, and as long as they choose to stay with the United Kingdom they have my 100% backing."

"The people of the Falklands are British and have chosen to be so. They remain free to choose their own futures and have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN charter. There are three parties to this debate, not just two, as Argentina likes to pretend. There can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish."

"Unlike the government of Argentina, the United Kingdom respects the right of our people to determine our own affairs, a right that is enshrined in the UN Charter and which is ignored by Argentina."

"They remain free to choose their own futures, both politically and economically, and have a right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter... This is a fundamental human right for all peoples."

"There are three parties to this debate, not just two as Argentina likes to pretend... The islanders can't just be written out of history."

French Member of Parliament has submitted a new draft of a bill that will criminalise denial of the Armenian genocide of 1915, after France’s highest court deemed it unconstitutional last year.

The bill, submitted by French Parliament Member Valerie Boyer, looks to introduce a 45,000 euro fine and a year in prison for denial of the genocide.

Last year the bill was successfully passed by parliament only to be halted by the French Constitutional Council, who deemed it unconstitutional. The bill also provoked an angry reaction from Turkey who threatened “total rapture” with France.

Newly elected  French President Francois Hollande however confirmed plans to reintroduce the bill with members of the Armenian community in France last year.

The UN Security Council has placed sanctions on the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The sanctions, imposed on New Years’ Eve, mean that those connected to the rebels will face travel bans and the freezing of their assets.

Sanctions were also placed on Rwanda’s FDLR rebel movement.

Rwanda and Uganda are accused of supporting the M23 rebels by the UN, but both governments have denied the allegations.

Rwanda joined the UN Security Council on New Years’ day for a two year term.

The Telegraph reported that, Burmese government negotiator and adviser to President, Hla Maung Shwe had said,

"We heard the military used helicopters and training jets while trying to get their camp back,"

The statement comes as the BBC broadcast images they received from the aid group free Burma Rangers, which shows jet strikes and helicopters firing on rebel positions.

Phil Robertson from Human Rights Watch commented,

“All the hubris and optimism that we’re hearing from parts of the international community about the reformers around President Thein Sein face a real reality test when we look at places like the Kachin state, where it seems that the army is still very much in control of the political agenda, continuing to shut out humanitarians and continuing to violate human rights.”

See a report from the BBC here.

Iran has slammed a new US law, intended to curb Iran's influence in Latin America.

President Obama signed the "Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act" last week, which gave the US State Department 180 days to develop a plan to "address Iran's growing hostile presence and activity".

Iran's spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, told reporters that the US "still lives in the Cold War era and considers Latin America as its back yard".

"It is an overt intervention in Latin American affairs... that shows they are not familiar with new world relations," he said.

"We recommend that they respect the nations' right in today's world... world public opinion does not accept such an interventionist move."

The new law also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen US borders with Canada and Mexico, to "prevent operatives from Iran, the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps], its Quds Force, Hezbollah or any other terrorist organization from entering the Untied States."

However, senior State Department and intelligence officials have indicated there are currently no apparent hostile activities by Iran in Latin America.

Five female teachers and two aid workers were killed on Tuesday by gunmen on motorcycles in Swabi, Pakistan.

The victims had been working with an NGO, Support With Working Solution, on polio immunisation campaigns.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the shootings director of the NGO, Javed Akhtar, suspected that the attack was a part of a spree targeting anti-polio efforts in Pakistan.

Previously militant groups have accused health workers of spying for the USA and alleged that the polio vaccine is intended to sterilise Muslim children.

See here for full Associated Press report.