A former Rwandan mayor found guilty of genocide by a UN-backed war crimes tribunal in 2011 has on appeal had his sentence extended from 15 to 25 years.

In 2011 Gregoire Ndahimana was found guilty of “genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity” for failing to intervene when police under his command attacked a church where Tutsis were sheltering.

The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, has said that clashes in the capital Juba were due to an “attempted coup”.

The president said soldiers loyal to ousted Vice-President Riek Machar were behind the fighting, which erupted the shots were fired near a ruling party conference.

Bids by five Kurdish lawmakers to be released from detention while on trial were rejected by Turkish courts on Monday, reports Reuters.

The individuals were detained and charged with links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 2010.

The decision by the courts is being considered contentious as the ruling comes following Turkey's top court ruling earlier this month that the prolonged detention of another deputy awaiting trial was unconstitutional.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has responded to a report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, calling on the international community to place sanctions on those responsible.

Speaking to the General Assembly on Friday, Ban Ki-Moon stated,

France is not sending any high-level government officials to the Winter Olympics in Russia next year.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made the announcement on Sunday however failed to provide an explanation.

Human rights activists have called for a boycott of the games in Sochi over Russia’s recent legislation banning “homosexual propaganda”.

The German President Joachim Gauck announced last week that he will not be attending the games.

The state of Kosovo was identified as an independent nation by officials at Facebook, last month.

The social media site approved changes that allowed users to identify themselves as citizens of Kosovo and “check in” to locations registered within Kosovo.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2005 and was recognised by the U.S and several European nations as a separate state. Facebook failed to identify Kosovo as a separate nation as it mirrored states that had been recognised by the United Nations.

4 people have been killed in clashes in Bangladesh, following the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah earlier this week.

Violence erupted as supporters of Abdul Quader Mollah torched shops and vehicles, leaving four people killed, as they protested against the execution.

The president of the Central African Republic, Michel Djotodia, has offered peace talks to the leaders of Christian militias, in order to resolve the sectarian violence that has gripped the country.

Hundreds of people have died in clashes between former members of the now extant Seleka, Djotodia’s Muslim rebel group which helped him into power after a coup, making him the first Muslim leader in this Christian majority country.

Catalans have reacted defiantly after Spain’s pledge to block an independence referendum in Catalonia, which was announced for November 9 2014 yesterday.

Speaking to Russia Today, Miquel Strubell, member of a pro-independence grassroots organization, the Catalan National Assembly, said the Spanish state has to open negotiations with Catalonia.