Officials from five EU countries have agreed to a proposal for a training mission for Malian soldiers, who are fighting against rebels in the north of the country.

Foreign and defence ministers from Germany, Italy, France, Poland and Spain met in Paris on Thursday and endorsed a decision made by the EU Foreign Affairs Council from October, which says that they are "determined to support Mali in restoring the rule of law and re-establishing a fully sovereign democratic government".

The Malian army has been trying to regain territory captured by Tuareg and Islamist militants earlier this year.

The regional bloc Ecowas agreed this week that they would send 3,300 troops to assist the Malian army, pending a final decision by the UN Security Council.

US military prosecutors are seeking the death sentence for a soldier who is thought to have massacred Afghan civilians.

Sgt Robert Bales is accused of carrying out the attacks in March this year, killing 16 people, including nine children.

Several soldiers testified, saying he returned to the base covered in blood.

Sgt Bale is charged with murder, attempted murder, assault and using drugs and alcohol while deployed.

Afghan witnesses testified via video link, including a seven year old girl who said she hid behind her father as he was shot and killed.

The most senior military commander of Hamas, Ahmed al-Jaabri, was been killed in an Israeli air strike amidst the escalating conflict.

Israeli military sources described the airstrike as a result of “precise intelligence gathered over a period of months. Outlining the motive behind the attack, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) stated that the operation was intended “to severely impair the command-and-control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure.”

A tweet from the Israeli military indicated that it was prepared to “initiate a ground operation in Gaza” if necessary.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud, condemned the Israeli operation, and went on to demand an immediate end to the aggression, reported the official Wafa news agency.

Commenting on the wave of rocket attacks from Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, warned that the damage to the daily lives of residents in Israel could result in serious repercussions.

"Today we've sent a clear message to Hamas and to other terrorist organisations,"

"And if there is a need, the Israeli Defence Forces are prepared to widen the operation. We will continue to do everything to defend our citizens."

“Whoever thinks they can damage the daily lives of residents of the south, and they won’t pay a heavy price for this, they are mistaken”

Meanwhile Egypt has recalled its ambassador to Israel. Egypt's foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, urged Israel to "stop its strikes on Gaza Strip immediately", stating that the further violence from Israel "could have negative repercussions on the security and stability of the region."

Pushed by Egypt's new government, the UN Security Council will be holding a special closed session on the attack, along side an emergency Arab League session on Friday.

In a statement the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office said, 

“We continue to call on all sides to exercise restraint to prevent a dangerous escalation that would be in no-ones interests.”

Mark Toner, spokeperson to the US State Department said,

"we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties".

"Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that is counterproductive to the Palestinian cause".

Current US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has confirmed she will be stepping down at the end of the term.

According to reports President Obama will likely nominate current US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice or Senator John Kerry for that position.

However, Susan Rice came under criticise from those such as Senator John McCain who highlighted her statement following the attack on US embassy in Libya that killed US Ambassador Chris Stevens along with three other US staff.

Susan Rice has come under scrutiny for claiming the attacks on the embassy as “spontaneous” when later reports suggested it was a “coordinated attack.”

President Obama on Wednesday at the press conference defended Susan Rice saying she “had nothing to do with Benghazi” rather called on the Republican delegates to “go after me” rather.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has estimated that over 2.5 million peple have been displaced by fighting between the government and opposition militants.

The chief spokesperson of the UN High Commission for Refugees, Melissa Fleming, said that the figure could be much higher.

"The figure they are using is 2.5 million. If anything, they believe it could be more, this is a very conservative estimate," she said.

"So people are moving, really on the run, hiding. They are difficult to count and access."

The UN said last week that up to 4 million Syrians would need aid by the end of the year.

The UN General Assembly has elected 18 new states to join the UN Human Rights Council.

The elected countries were Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Montenegro, Pakistan, South Korea, Sierra Leone, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Ireland, Estonia and the United States.

A report by Freedom House said that a third of candidates were unqualified for membership, due to the human rights situation in those specific countries.

Freedom House singled out Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, UAE and Venezuela as not suitable for membership of the UNHRC.

The US meanwhile announced it is “proud and pleased” at its re-election.

In a statement, released by the State Department on Monday, the US reflected on the Council’s key accomplishments during its first term.

The US highlighted its leadership in pushing through a resolution on Sri Lanka, saying it “sent a strong signal that Sri Lanka still needs to address outstanding issues of reconciliation and accountability”.

Kuwait has released a member of the ruling family, Shaikh Abdullah Salem Al Sabah, who was arrested after tweeting comments that were critical of the government.

Shaikh Abdullah said he was questioned by the secret service police around accusations of instigating against the regime.

Sheikh Abdullah and another young Sheikh, Shaikh Nawaf Malek Al Sabah, wrote tweets that were sympathetic of the Kuwaiti opposition protests.

The Kuwaiti opposition were protesting against an amendment that allowed for a pro-government parliament to be assembled in a unexpected general election due to take place on 1st December. The opposition argue that the amendment allows the government to influence the outcome of the elections.

Noting the Kuwaiti response to opposition protests, Human Rights Watch called to revoke the ban on demonstrations.

Speaking on the need to respect the people’s right to self-assembly, Deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, Joe Stork, said,

“The government has an obligation to respect the right to gather peacefully regardless of whether demonstrators support or oppose policies.”

“If force is required to quell violence by protesters it should be the absolute minimum necessary to protect lives and property.”

“The right to peaceful assembly is enshrined in the constitution Kuwaitis will be celebrating.. Authorities should lift the ban and permit people to express their views.”

Human Rights Watch’s concerns come after over 150 protesters were injured in demonstrations at the end of October.

The 22 member Arab League has acknowledged the new National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces as the legal representatives for the Syrian opposition.

Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council, consisting of six members, formally recognised it as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people.

The united representative body was established at the weekend during discussions held in Doha, Qatar.

Responding to the recent developments, Assad's Minister of Information Omran al-Zubi said whilst speaking at a university in Damascus on Monday,

"The work of the external opposition is clinically dead and is undergoing convulsions."

The West African bloc Ecowas has agreed to deploy troops to free Mali’s north from militants.

The regional leaders agreed at a summit that 3,300 soldiers, mainly from Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso, would be sent to Mali to retake the northern regions from Tuareg and Islamist militants.

The president of the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouatarra, said that the soldiers can be deployed as soon as the UN Security Council approves the plan.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Barack Obama on Sunday to congratulate him on the recent Presidential election and told him that he will press ahead with presenting a resolution to the United Nation’s General Assembly to become a non-member state. President Obama was quick to denounce the proposal as he, “reiterated the United States’ opposition to unilateral efforts at the United Nations.”

On other hand, US stressed its willingness to support direct dialogue between the two parties as Obama, “reaffirmed his commitment to Middle East peace and his strong support for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians with the objective of two states living side by side in peace and security.”

Palestinian’s resolution has already received the support of 130 countries, but Palestinian diplomats face pressure to postpone the proposal till the outcome of Israel’s election in January is announced. Last year Palestinians submitted a proposal to the Security Council to become a fully-fledged member of the United Nations and the US made it clear that it will veto that proposition. For this particular resolution proposed by Palestinian President Abbas, there is no veto power in the General Assembly.

Yigal Palmor, the Israeli Ministry spokesperson said, “It is not a vote for Palestinian reconciliation with Israel but for a continuation of the confrontation with Israel by other means.” He added this resolution is a hindrance for future negotiations.

This resolution will likely be put to vote on November 29th and inevitability this would recognise Palestine as a statehood and give access to International Criminal Court.

"The Chinese government should investigate the cause (of the incidents). China does not look into it seriously and tries to end (the incidents) only by criticising me".

"The Dalai Lama clique and overseas Tibetan separatists have been sacrificing other people's lives for their own secret political aims".

"To achieve his separatist goal, he associated with the Japanese right-wing forces. Chinese people despise him for what he did. We are firmly opposed to any country's providing a stage for him"

"Not only did the Dalai not condemn them, but he actually glorified these acts, which are against the national law and religious principles"

"Throughout the 18th Party Congress the new unelected leaders have been reminded on an almost daily basis of Tibetans' rejection of Chinese rule, and of the terrible failure of policies to cement the occupation".