Palestine has formally joined the International Criminal Court, an important step to pursue war crimes charges against Israel.

The Palestinian Authority signed the Rome Statute in January became the 123rd member of the ICC at a low-key ceremony in The Hague on Wednesday, attended by Foreign Minister Riad Malki.

On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch urged pressure by governments seeking to penalise the Palestinians for joining the ICC to end.

"Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation of terror and bring back peace."

Muhammadu Buhari will be Nigeria’s new president, winning the election by 2.1mn votes over incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, according to Reuters.

President Jonathan is reported to have called and congratulated Mr Buhari for his election victory.

Nigeria's opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) declared the victory for former military ruler Mr Buhari and said hailed the historic democratic transfer of power.

"The people of Nigeria have taken over," an ecstatic APC spokesman Lai Mohammed told Reuters.

"This is the first time in Nigeria that a sitting government will be voted out of power using purely democratic means."

In a ceremony today negotiators for the government of Myanmar and 16 ethnic rebel groups signed a ceasefire accord aimed at ending over sixty years of armed conflict. The agreement now has to be taken by negotiators to respective leaders of the rebel groups for final approval.

The Union Peace Working Committee (government’s negotiating team) and Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (representing the 16 ethnic armed groups) have agreed on the text of this Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) after over a year of negotiations involving seven rounds of talks.

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein who was in attendance at the ceremony today said that signing the agreement “opens the door for political dialogue and also further peace talks.”

Japanese sanctions on North Korea will be extended for two more years, due to a lack of progress during talks on Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang.

North Korea says it has returned everyone who was still alive but Japan disputed this.

Last year, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe eased sanctions, including remittance and travel bans, amid hope of progress during talks.

Japanese civilians were kidnapped in the 1970s and 1980s to train spies in language and culture.

An air strike on a camp for people displaced by fighting in Yemen has killed at least 40 people on Monday, Reuters reports.

The attack near Haradh, which seemed to have been targeted at a nearby Houthi rebel base, was blamed on the rebels by Yemen’s foreign minister, Riyadh Yassin.

However Yemen's state news agency Saba, which is currently under the control of the Houthis, said the camp was hit by Saudi planes.

Saudi Arabia launched air strikes against Houthi rebels last week, after rebels increased the territory they held.

The capital Sanaa, held by the rebels since December, was hit by the Saudi air force throughout the day. Houthi fighters meanwhile are getting closer to the southern port city of Aden, the last major stronghold of the supporters of President Hadi.