Tuareg separatists in Northern Mali have agreed to a ceasefire with the government after seizing control of several towns earlier this week, as unrest threatened to plunge the country into all out war.

The rebel groups, thought to be from the Islamist from the MUJAO and Ansar Dine, as well as the separatist National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) agreed to a ceasefire deal with the government after a meeting with members of the African Union.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has warned Israel against unilateral moves to define permanent borders for the West Bank, stating that it could result in a renewed conflict.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Hanan Ashrawi said,

“We don’t believe unilateral readjustment of borders or crossing points is a solution… It will only create a reality that will backfire in the future.”

Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga has been handed a 12 year sentence by the International Criminal Court on Friday over his role in a 2003 massacre of a village.

Katanga was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in March over the 2003 attack, in which over 200 villagers were killed, many butchered with machetes.  

The United Nations Security Council has approved sanctions against Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram on Friday, adding it to a list of al-Qaeda-linked organisations.

Under the UN's 1267 sanctions list, Boko Haram will be subject to an international asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.

Samantha Power, the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, hailed the move in a statement, noting,

Russia and China, using their veto powers, blocked a draft UN Security Council resolution that called for the crisis in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), reports The Guardian.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin labelled the resolution as a publicity stunt that would have hindered efforts to bring peace to Syria.

The Us Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, condemned the actions of Russia and China at the Security Council.

Thailand's army launched a military coup 4.30 pm local time today, suspending the constitution and taking over control of the country, two days after martial law was imposed.

See here, here and here.

Russia and China signed a 30-year, £237 bn deal for the Russian gas giant Gazprom to deliver gas to China reported The Guardian.

The former Russian deputy energy minister, Vladimir Milov, said the Russian deal was an attempt to open new markets in reaction to deteriorating relations with the west.

Earlier this month, Russia reportedly lifted an informal ban on foreign ownership of strategic assets, apparently opening the way for Chinese companies to invest and develop gas fields and pipelines.

The movement towards justice for victims of crimes against humanity and genocide in Guatemala, is seriously being undermined, warned Amnesty International in a statement released this week.

Condemning the recent annulment of a genocide case against the former president,  Amnesty’s Guatemala researcher, Seebastian Elgueta, said,

“Victims of Rios Montt’s crimes have been fighting for justice for more than three decades and now are again facing numerous obstacles created to deny them that justice. Guatemala owes a debt of justice to those victims, as well as the rest of the estimated 200,000 victims of the conflict.”

Prosecutors in the US may consider pressing charges of war crimes against a former defence spokesman of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPLF), reports AllAfrica news.

Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu, who was arrested this week at Newark Airport due to concerns over the validity of his citizenship  has been denied bail by a US judge, reports Voice of America.

80 U.S. troops have been sent to Chad to assist in the international search and rescue effort for the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamist militant group.

A statement from the White House said that "the force will remain in Chad until its support in resolving the kidnapping situation is no longer required."

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