Croatia's prime minister Zoran Milanovic has cancelled a planned trip to Serbia, protesting Belgrade's failure to distance itself from comments made by Serbian nationalist leader who was recently released from a UN war crimes tribunal.

An attack in China's restive Xinjiang province has left at least 15 people dead, according to China's official news agency.

Xinhua reported that the assailants used explosives and knives to attack civilians and that 11 of the dead were attackers.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been cleared of killings which occurred during the uprising which toppled his regime three years ago, after his initial life sentence was overturned and a retrial ordered.

Around 2000 protestors gathered on Tahrir Square in Cairo after the announcement, but were soon dispersed by police using tear gas.

"I did nothing wrong at all," Mubarak said in an interview to Sada al-Balad tv, adding that he had been "relying on God" while he awaited the decision.

France warned that it would recognise a Palestine state if the final international effort for peace talks between Israel and Palestine failed whilst proposing a two-year negotiation time frame to end the conflict through a UN backed resolution.

“If this final effort to reach a negotiated solution fails, then France will have to do what it takes by recognising without delay the Palestinian state. We are ready,” said the foreign minister, Luarent Fabius on Friday.

At least four protesters have been killed and scores of others injured as Egyptian security forces opened fire on thousands of demonstrators protesting against the government of President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, reports Aljazeera.

The protests, which were led by the opposition Salafist Front in Cairo, were the first mass demonstrations after months of quiet, after the Salafist Front called for an uprising to “topple military rule in Egypt.”

An explosion, suspected to have been caused by a roadside bomb, has killed at least 25 people in Nigeria.

The deaths, near the town of Mubi in Adamawa state, included 5 soldiers, according to a government spokesperson.

Mubi was recaptured from Boko Haram militants by the Nigerian military this week and the army has now imposed a 24 hour curfew.

British police are free to investigate members of the Egyptian cabinet for war crimes confirmed the UK High Court on Thursday, after ruling that they were not immune from investigation.

The UK Crown Prosecution Service agreed to inform the Metropolitan Police that “issues of immunity do not preclude investigations into allegations against persons still in office, irrespective of their function, for the purpose of future prosecution”.

Foreign ministers from up to 60 countries within a US led coalition against Islamic State militants will hold their first meeting next week in Brussels.

The meeting, to be held on December 3 and chaired by the US Secretary of State John Kerry, will analyse progress in the fight against Islamic State militants, and discuss future political coordination, reports Reuters.