Two senior commanders with al-Shabab have been killed in an air strike that targeted their car in southern Somalia.

Villagers told the BBC that it was probably a drone strike that killed the militants.

Read more here.

Prosecutors in Romania have charged a second man with genocide, for his role in running a communist-era prison in the country.

85-year-old Ion Ficor was the commander of the Periprava labour camp from 1958-1963, and was charged after 5 skeletons were discovered from unmarked graves near the prison site.

Andrei Muraru of the Romanian Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes (IICCMER) was quoted by the BBC as saying,

As Iran and the USA gear up for talks over Iran's nuclear program, Tehran has removed a spate of anti-American posters that were posted across the city.

The posters, which read "American Honesty", were put up in recent days in an apparent attempt to discredit upcoming talks. The photograph in the poster depicts an American negotiator wearing a suit jacket seated at a table, with an attack dog by his side.

The move to remove the posters was slammed by the Conservative Kayhan newspaper which said,

Syrian Kurdish fighters have siezed a border crossing into Iraq, after fierce battles with Al-Qaeda linked jihadist groups, according to reports.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had said the Kurds

"took control of the Al-Yaarubia border crossing with Iraq at dawn after clashes with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Al-Nusra Front and other rebels".

The border is a key supply route for the jihadists, and come amidst increasing reports of fighting between the various groups opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Heavy fighting has broken out between Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers and M23 rebels near the eastern city of Goma.

The clashes came after the breakdown of peace talks between the groups in Uganda.

Read more here.

Protesting the denial of war crimes by Bosnian authorities, activists erected 'guerrilla memorials' overnight in three towns across the country.

Bearing the text "So that it never happens again. In memory of the victims of war crimes committed in the area of (Foca, Bugojno or Konjic)" the memorials were dedicated to Serbs, Muslims and Croats killed in the 1992-5 war.

An activist from a multi-ethnic group said:

"These memorials were raised by the people,"

The International Criminal Court has decided to require Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto to attend most of his trial.

His defence had argued that he was needed in Kenya after the attacks on a Nairobi shopping centre and that his trial for crimes against humanity could continue without him present.

Read more here.

See extracts from a blog post by Channel 4's Paul Mason below. For full post click here.

As political heroes go, few rank higher that Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Most people know her as a modern-day saint – the diminutive democrat who defied Burma’s ruthless military leaders. Yet an increasing number are beginning to question Ms Suu Kyi’s judgement.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power paid an emotional visit to the memorial to the Rwandan genocide in Kigali earlier this month, as part of a mission from the UN Security Council.


In an passionate interview after her visit, Power said,

Three British Royal Marines stood trial today for thee alleged murder of a wounded Taliban fighter in Afghanistan.

The killing is believed to have taken place in Helmand Province in September 2011 but only came to light last year, after video footage of the incident was uncovered.

In the footage, recorded by a helmet camera, an injured Taliban fighter is found in a field by 3 Marines, before one of them shoot him in the chest. He then went on to say,

"Obviously this don’t go anywhere fellas, I’ve just broken the Geneva Convention.”