Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Human rights are universal and apply equally to all people everywhere. The Government is proud to stand up for the rights of LGBT people. We will continue to do so across the world over the coming year, raising LGBT rights in international meetings and through our diplomatic missions around the globe, and maintaining our strong support for the UN’s Free and Equal Campaign."

An international, China-led operation called Cobra II has seized huge quantities of rare wildlife products and marked the first time Beijing authorities have arrested a wildlife crime suspect overseas.

Read more: China Leads International Seizure of Wildlife Products | TIME.com http://world.time.com/2014/02/11/china-leads-international-operation-to-...

Donations for communities affected by "Yolanda" continue to pour in, three months after the super typhoon hit the central Philippines. The African Diplomatic Corps in Tokyo handed over to Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel M. Lopez the collective donation of the ADC and the Association of the Wives of African Ambassadors for victims of "Yolanda".

A day after coming under mortar fire in Homs, aid workers gathered at the edge of a besieged rebel-held district on Sunday to evacuate civilians and deliver humanitarian supplies to 2,500 people trapped by Syria’s civil war.