"We will propose a ceasefire the moment we sit down at the table… We are going to discuss it."

An Amnesty report released on Wednesday, ‘The Other Side of Paradise’, has accused the Maldives government of several actions amounting to violations of human rights. It outlined that there would be no meaningful reconciliation unless there was an end to the campaign of violent repression, abuses and impunity.

The accusations include many instances of arbitrary arrest and torture by security forces with complete impunity.

Security forces are also said to have increased attacks against peaceful demonstrations, which were instigated by the controversial resignation of the first democratically elected President, Mohameed Nasheed, who later claimed he was forced to resign at gunpoint, suggesting a coup by forces aligned with the previous leadership.

“Why should Russia be the only one reassessing its position? Perhaps our negotiating partners should reassess their position”

“To us, the most important thing is to end the violence, to force all the sides in the conflict to sit down at the negotiating table, determine the future and ensure the security of all the participants of the domestic political process,” he said.

“Only then move on to these practical steps about the internal organisation of the country itself."

An Ethiopian man, only identified as Mr O, could sue the British government over the alleged funding of a project which led to human rights abuses.

Mr O, a farmer from the Gambella region, said a “villagisation” scheme, which received funding from the Department for International Development (Dfid), caused him to be evicted and beaten. He also claims he was forced to witness the rape of several women.

"There have been allegations in the Pakistani media that Dr Afridi was somehow linked to Save the Children. It is absolutely untrue. He has never worked for us, we have never paid him, we have never run a vaccination programme in Abbottabad.

Mauritanian state media has announced that former Gaddafi-aide Abdullah al-Senussi has been extradited to Libya.

"He was extradited to Libya on the basis of guarantees given by Libyan authorities," a Mauritanian government source told Reuters news agency.

Al-Senussi fled Libya during the uprising and was arrested for entering Mauritania illegally.

"The regime in Syria has become a terrorist state… Syria is not an ordinary country to us. We do not have the luxury to remain indifferent to what's happening there."

A gunman killed one and injured another in Montreal, as the separatist government was delivering its victory speech, after it was voted into Quebec, the French-speaking region of Canada, for the first time in nine years.

As he was taken away by police, the gunman, speaking in French, vowed the English would fight back.

The Parti Quebecois (PQ) won 54 of the provincial legislature’s 125 seats, beating the outgoing Liberal government by just 4 seats.

The Indian Defence Minister AK Anthony announced on Tuesday that joint military exercises with China will resume after a four year gap, after meeting with his Chinese counterpart General Liang Guanglie in Delhi.

"We have decided that (to restart military exercises)," Mr Anthony told reporters.

"We covered a lot about the situation in the South Asia, Asia-Pacific region," Antony said.