The militant group Mend, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, claimed responsibility for an attack in South Nigeria on Friday which killed 12 police officers.

The announcement came in an email, and went on to say that the group would relaunch attacks after its leader, Henry Okah, was jailed in South Africa for 24 years for the 2010 bomb attacks in Abuja.

After a new round of talks failed to make progress, John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, has warned Iran that talks cannot last forever.

At a start of a trip to the Middle East, Europe and Asia, Kerry said that the process was not an 'interminable' one.

Kerry also called on Turkey and Israel to restore full diplomatic relations at talks in Istanbul.

Religious clashes continued in Egypt on Sunday, with one reported fatality.

Over eighty people were also wounded in the violence which broke out at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in central Cairo, after a funeral service for four Egyptian Christians killed in previous sectarian violence.

See Reuters for full report.

Clashes between Christians and Muslims in a town near Cairo have left five killed and eight injured, reports Reuters.

Violence reportedly broke out when Christian children were found drawing on the walls of a Muslim institute. As well as shooting and fighting several residential and commercial buildings were burned including a child-care centre.

The president's office in a statement said:

South Sudan has restarted oil production in the country, more than a year after it stopped operations with its neighbour Sudan.

A deal was inked last month that allowed the resumption of production after the two countries came close to war over the disagreement. Production was halted 14 months ago after disputes over oil revenues.

First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond has stated that he would be open to an independent Scotland being home to US military bases, as long as they were non-nuclear, reported the Scotsman.

Speaking on a visit to New York, Salmond stated he had held talks with US officials, regarding NATO membership for an independent Scotland. He went on to say,

An obscure constitutional clause has been invoked in Pakistan to bar candidates from election, including former president Pervez Musharaff.

The clause involved subjecting candidates to rigorous tests on religious credentials and 'moral character', after which dozens of candidates were ruled out and hundreds more await 'verification'.

Another high profile figure to be disqualified from running is Ayaz Amir, a newspaper columnist, who was rejected on the basis of having written articles deemed to have encouraged alcohol consumption.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has asked Mali’s government to start a reconciliation process in the country hit by civil war.

Fabius said Mali would continue to receive military assistance from France and called for elections by July.

"There's an unanimous desire for the elections to happen as planned and the date agreed was for July.