The leader of the South Sudanese rebels, currently embroiled in clashes with troops loyal to President Kiir, has said there would need to be negotiations before a truce can be agreed.

Riek Machar, a former vice-president, was sacked after the president accused him of plotting a coup against Kiir. He said his side had a negotiating team ready but that a ceasefire would have to be credible and monitored.

The United States has expressed disappointment with long-time ally Japan, after the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine.

The visit has drawn fury from China, who deemed it “a flagrant provocation against international justice and treads arbitrarily on humanity's conscience".

The shrine honours several high ranking Japanese officials, including those found guilty and executed for war crimes after World War II.

A military offensive in Nigeria that killed over 50 militants has also destroyed four villages and an unknown number of civilians, reports AFP.

The raids were launched by the army in response to an attack on Friday by Islamist group Boko Haram. A defence ministry spokesperson identified those killed as terrorists although villagers have reported civilians killed in the bombardment.

Egypt’s military run government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a “terrorist” organisation on Wednesday, vowing to crack down on its members, as unrest in the country continues.

In a statement released by the Egyptian cabinet, they stated,

"The government has decided to declare the Muslim Brotherhood movement a terrorist organisation".

Pope Francis in his Christmas message called for an end to violence around the world, focusing on Syria but also drawing attention to conflicts in Africa and the Middle-East.

“Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fuelling hatred and vengeance,” the Pope said, and urged “the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid.”

The president of South Sudan Salva Kiir has called for an end to tribal atrocities as clashes continued between Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups.

"Innocent people have been wantonly killed. People are targeting others because of their tribal affiliation. This is unacceptable," Kiir said.

"These atrocities recurring by now have to cease immediately."

A mass grave containing some 75 bodies has been found in South Sudan reported the United Nations today.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on both sides to protect civilian and warned that both political and military leaders could be held accountable for crimes.

In a statement released today, Pillay said,

The United Nations Security Council, today, approved plans to approximately double the UN peacekeeping force presence in South Sudan.

The 15 member council unanimously authorised an earlier request by the UN Secretery-General Ban Ki-moon to strengthen the UN mission in South Sudan to 12,500 troops.

Earlier today, the UN humanitarian chief for South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, said that thousands of South Sudanese had been killed in this week’s violence, stating,

Iran's president Hassan Rouhani made clear he wanted to "rebuild and improve" relations with the West, in comments published in Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

President Rouhani said,

"We want to rebuild and improve our relations to European and North American countries on a basis of mutual respect,"

"We are striving to avoid new burdens on relations between Iran and the United States and also to remove the tensions that we have inherited,"

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has apologised to the families of civilians killed in its attack on a military hospital, which left a total of 52 people dead.

The military leader of the group, Qasim al-Raymi, said in a statement that the combatant responsible had disobeyed orders not to attack medics and patients during the raid on a defence ministry compound at the beginning of December.

"Now we acknowledge our mistake and guilt,