Catalonia’s pro-separatist government has set up its own tax agency that is ready for action if the Catalan people vote for independence on the October 1 referendum.

Speaking to reporters, the head of the Catalan regional government Carlos Puigdemont, said

“We have put in place the structures necessary for Catalonian to be ready to enforce the will Catalans express in the October 1 Referendum.”  

The International Criminal Court must hold Burundian officials at the highest level accountable for crimes against humanity concluded a United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Monday.

 “The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity are attributable primarily to state officials at the highest level and to senior officers and members of the National Intelligence Service, the police, the army and the Imbonerakure [youth league of the ruling party],” the report said.

Thousands of people joined protests across Argentina to demonstrate against the disappearance of a human rights activist last month.

Violent clashes took place between protestors and security forces, with reports of Molotov cocktails being thrown at police headquarters in the southern region of Patagonia, where 28 year old Santiago Maldonado disappeared on August 1.

At least 23 people were injured and 30 arrested.

North Korea on Sunday conducted its sixth nuclear test. The detonation was first detected as a manmade earthquake, which was 10 times more powerful than the tremors created by its test last year. 

In a statement Pyongyang said the detonation was of an advanced hydrogen bomb, rather than an atomic device, and said it was a "perfect success". 

The test comes amid heightened tensions between North Korea and the US over recent weeks as Pyongyang remains defiant in the face of US calls to dismantle its development of nuclear weapons. 

More than one million people had fled South Sudan to neighbouring Uganda said the United Nations refugee agency earlier this month, as violence in the country continues.

“Over the past 12 months, an average of 1,800 South Sudanese have been arriving in Uganda every day,” said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a statement earlier this month.

“In addition to the million there, a million or even more South Sudanese refugees are being hosted by Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central African Republic,” it added.

As many as 40,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar in the last week, since violence flared between Rohingya fighters and government soldiers in the Rakhine state.

According to UN officials in neighbouring Bangladesh, an estimated 38,000 people have crossed the border into the country, with reports that fleeing civilians were being shot at.

UNHCR regional spokeswoman Vivian Tan told the BBC that they are "seeing lots of makeshifts tents and shelters on the side of the road - every available space is being occupied".

Kenya’s supreme court has annulled the result of the country’s presidential election today, declaring Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory invalid with fresh elections now due to be scheduled.

The decision from the country’s top court comes after a petition filed by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claimed electronic voting results were hacked. He had originally been deemed to have obtained 44 percent of the vote to Mr Kenyatta’s 54 percent. The court ruled 4-2 in Mr Odinga’s favours, citing “illegalities and irregularities” by the electoral commission.

Sanctions on Russia will be lifted once Moscow agrees to sign a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine,   said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“I am working together with French President and also the help of the United Sates on finding solutions within the Normandy format, “ Ms Merkel said.

Merkel alongside Frances Leader has been trying to encourage Russia and Ukraine to implement a ceasefire under the Minks agreement.

“If the Minsk agreement is kept, then the requirement will be met for the lifting on the sanctions on Russia,” Ms Merkel added during a joint conference with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.

North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan's northern region, Hokkaido island today, as tensions escalated between the Pyongyang and Washington. 

The firing of the missile was strongly condemned internationally, with the US president, Donald Trump warning that "all options are on the table". 

“This regime has signalled its contempt for its neighbours, for all members of the United Nations, and for minimum standards of acceptable international behaviour,” Mr Trump added. 

“Threatening and destabilising actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world." 

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has ordered the expulsion of the head of the UN lead International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), reports Reuters.

Defying a court ruling that against the decision, Mr Morales called on the head of the CICIG Ivan Velasquez to leave the country immediately.

In response to the  expulsion, the US State department said it was “deeply concerned” by the Guatemalan President’s decision, echoing concerns of the UN and other nations.