The leader of the Taliban in Afghanistan has hailed the release of 5 Taliban members from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for a captured US soldier as a “big victory”, reported the BBC, after the swap took place on Saturday.

Mullah Mohammad Omar, the head of the Taliban, issued a rare statement praising the transfer and extending his “heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation”.

In the transfer deal, US Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban in 2009 was released in exchange for 5 men, who are thought to be the most senior Afghans from the Taliban being held at Guantanamo Bay.

The United States warned China over "destabilising, unilateral actions" regarding territorial claims in the South China Sea on Saturday, reports Reuters.

"In recent months, China has undertaken destabilising, unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea,"  US Defence Secretary, Chuck Hagel, told delegates at a Asia Pacific Security Forum, Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Lawmakers from the Basque region in the north of Spain, this week, adopted a declaration of self-determination, reports Reuters.

The declaration was backed by 48 votes from the Basque National Party whilst 27 voted against. The Basque region’s ruling Basque National Party further stated that any actions towards the right of self-determination should be negotiated with the central government.

The Syrian government's use of 'barrel bombs' has killed almost 2,000 people this year, in the opposition-held city of Aleppo alone, stated the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The organisation, based in the UK, went on to add that the death toll included 283 women and 567 people under the age of 18.

See here for a BBC team's first hand account of the devastating effects of the air raids.

Australia placed a travel ban on Junta leaders responsible for the recent coup and pledged to cut defence co-operation with Thailand today, reports The Guardian.

‘In line with our concerns, Australia is reducing our engagement with the Thai military and will lower the level of our interaction with the Thai military leadership,” Australians foreign minister, Julie Bishop and defence minister David Johnston said in a joint statement.

At least two people died in a clash between protesters and African Union peacekeepers from the Burundian military during a second day of demonstrations against an attack on a Church in the capital of the Central African Republic, reports Reuters.

Two Rwandan government officials are to face charges over the alleged roles in the 1994 genocide in France, reported Radio France Internationale on Saturday.

The genocide trial would be only France's second over the genocide in Rwanda, after 54-year-old Pascal Simbikangwa was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment over his involvement, by a French court earlier this year.

Egypt’s former army chief, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, was elected as the head of state today, after receiving over 90% of the vote in highly disputed presidential elections, reports The Guardian.

Figures suggest that 46% of Egypt’s population cast votes despite being given a public holiday for election day and being threatened with fines for not voting.

Opposition activists said the election was meaningless due to the months of crackdown on dissent that had suffocated strong opposition.

The US President, Barack Obama, in a speech on US foreign policy, pledged to continue supporting the Syrian opposition whilst using international institutions to tackle problems such as border disputes and climate change, reports The Guardian.

Despite outlining a policy that looked to step away from US boots on foreign soil, Obama added that there were still legitimate cases for US military interventionism.