Fallujah has been the site of a fierce battle between the Iraqi army and Al-Qaeda linked militants, as both sides fought for control of the city over the weekend.

Since Monday the city has been held by Sunni militants, thought to be linked to Al-Qaeda, and tribal militias, united in their fight against the Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Government forces have launched an offensive, which included shelling of the city as they attempted to wrestle back control.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced that he will retire from office after India’s next elections and attacked opposition leader Narendra Modi in a press conference earlier today.

Announcing that he will step down from his post in the Congress party, Singh went on to say,

“I sincerely believe it would be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as the prime minister”.

Mohamed Morsi, the ousted president of Egypt is to go on trial over charges of a prison break during the 2011 revolution.

Morsi will stand trial at the end of this month with over 130 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood and reportedly members of Hamas and Hezbollah.

The prison-break trial is the third announced for the former president who also faces charges for inciting violence, murdering protesters and espionage.

An explosion in the south of the Lebanese capital Beirut has left at least 5 people dead and scores injured.

The car bomb is thought to have targeted the Shia area of southern Beirut to stir up sectarian strife, in more evidence that neighbouring Syria’s conflict is spilling over into Lebanon.

In December a senior Hezbollah commander was shot dead in the capital. Hezbollah is fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad’s forces in Syria.

Catalan's president urged the European Union to support the nation's bid for independence from Spain stating that the Spanish government would attempt to obstruct any referendum, reports Reuters.

The calls for support were expressed in letters, dating December, which were made public on Thursday.

Writing to the German Chancellor Angela Merkhel, the Catalan President, Artur Mas, said,

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir, today, ruled out any power sharing solution with opposition and rebel leader, Riek Machar, to halt the escalating conflict.

 Kiir told BBC that Machar, who was disposed of his role as deputy president in July, would not be rewarded with power for rebelling against the South Sudanese government, stating,

“These men have rebelled. If you want power, you don’t rebel so that you are rewarded with the power. You go through the process.”

Sweden has announced that it is seeking assistance from the Kurdistan Regional Government in investigating five Iraqi asylum seekers, who are suspected of being involved in the genocide of Kurds, under Saddam Hussein.

The five suspects reportedly include at least three senior officials from Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party, which oversaw the killing of Kurds, including the infamous 1988 poison gas attack on the town of Halabja, which left some 5,000 civilians dead.

The chief of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, has called for an end to fighting.

Speaking to the BBC, Johnson said the humanitarian situation was getting worse.

"Violence has been committed by both sides. Unfortunately, elements on both sides have exploited the situation and have fuelled ethnic tension," Johnson said.

The South Sudanese government and opposition rebels are due to start peacetalks in Addis Ababa today.

Mediators have said that the rivals are expected to reach an agreement in order to halt the violence that has plagued the country.

"The two sides are expected to reach an agreement on the cessation of hostilities and peaceful resolution of the current political crisis," a statement by the Ethiopian government said.