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,

A dozen soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were convicted of sexual violence, a government official confirmed on Sunday.

The latest convictions are part of a string of 19 sentences that have been handed out by the state since the start of December.

In a statement released today, Reporters Without Borders, condemned the prison sentence, of a reporter from the Eleven Media Group, Ma Khine.

Amnesty International has reported that war crimes and crimes against humanity are taking place in the Central African Republic and called for the rapid deployment of UN peacekeepers, at the close of a two week mission to the country.

Christian Mukosa, Amnesty International’s Central Africa expert, stated,

“Our in-depth research on the ground in the Central African Republic over the past two weeks has left no room for doubt that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed by all parties to the conflict”.

At least 14 people were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Benghazi, Libya.

The attack on a military checkpoint, on the outskirts of the city, is believed to be the first suicide attack in Libya since Gaddafi was overthrown in the 2011 uprisings.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although car bombs and assassinations have been common in Benghazi with frequent clashes between the military and militia groups, in particular the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia.

The President of Cuba, Raul Castro, has said that Cuba and the US should respect their differences and both sides should work on improving relations, but called on the US to drop their demands for a regime change.

He said that the fact that officials from both countries had met over the last year to discuss issues such as immigration and the resumption of postal services, showed that relations can be civilised.

The Dutch Court of First instance has approved the extradition of a man suspected of taking part in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, to Rwanda where he will be put on trial.

The 37-year-old, Jean Claude Iyamuremye, was arrested in the Netherlands in July, for his alleged role in a militia that killed ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda.

China’s Defence Ministry has strongly denounced a Japanese five-year government approved strategy, that will see an increase in defence spending.

Japan’s new defence plan will see it purchase its first surveillance drones, as well as increase the number of aircraft and naval destroyers, alongside establishing an amphibious marines unit.

India has transferred its diplomat, whose arrest in the US sparked protests in India, to its UN mission, reports Reuters.

Devyani Khobragade, who was arrested earlier this month, on charges of visa fraud and making false statements about the employment of her housekeeper, was serving as the deputy consul general in New York.

The incident was vehemently condemned by New Delhi, which has demanded that all charges be dropped.

The Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said,