A top US General stated American ground troops may still be deployed in the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants if the current strategy of airstrikes fails to defeat them.

Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he backed US President Barack Obama’s announced strategy of American, European and Middle Eastern governments co-operating to carry out airstrikes against IS. However, he went on to add,

A boat thought to have been carrying up to 250 migrants has sunk off the coast of Libya, according to the latest reports, with hundreds reportedly killed.

Only 26 out of the estimated 250 on board have been rescued so far, with Libyan navy spokesperson Ayub Qassem telling Reuters, "There are so many dead bodies floating in the sea."

Sweden’s Social Democrats won their first election for 12 years, but fell short of a parliamentary majority, as far-right parties showed strong gains in the country’s general election on Sunday.

The leader of Sweden's centre-left Social Democrats Stefan Lofven returned to power, but with no overall majority. Alongside the Greens and Left, the centre-left bloc gained 43.7% of the vote, ahead of 39.3% for Fredrik Reinfeldt's Moderate Party.

A hospital in the Iraqi city of Falluja was hit by shelling from the Iraqi army on Sunday, a day after Premier Haider al-Abadi ordered Iraqi air-forces to halt strikes on civilian areas in their fight against the Islamic State (IS), who are in control of the city.

One member of staff was seriously injured in the shelling, according to the BBC.

Clashes broke out between Ukrainian troops and armed separatist in the country’s east, killing at least 6 people in Donetsk, despite the ongoing ceasefire.

According to reports, the Ukrainian military blamed rebels who launched an attack on the city’s airport.

The United Nations has officially taken over peacekeeping in the Central African Republic, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon made a fresh call for an “immediate end” to the violence in the country.

African-led peacekeeping forces (MISCA) transferred authority to the United Nations mission (MINUSCA) on Monday, with 5,000 African and 2,000 French troops stationed in the country.

The UN Secretary General called for "all Central African stakeholders to sustain their commitment to an inclusive political process to ensure the successful completion of the country's transition."

Minusca chief Gen Babacar Gaye of Senegal said,

"Our mission can be summed up in a triptych: to protect the population, back the political process and contribute to the restoration of the authority of the state."

As many as 500 migrants are thought to have been killed off the coast of Malta, after their boat was rammed by traffickers last week, said the International Organisation for Migration on Monday.

IOM spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume said,

“Survivors have testified that the traffickers arrived aboard two boats and ordered the migrants to change vessels in the middle of the sea. The migrants said it was too dangerous and refused. There was a violent altercation and the traffickers used their boat to ram the migrants' boat.”

"Some 500 people were on board - Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians and Sudanese. They were trying to reach Europe."

News of the incident comes after a boat carrying approximately 250 migrants sank off the Libyan coast on Sunday, killing at least 100 people.

Catalan’s regional parliament on Monday began the process of establishing new legislation that would allow for an independence referendum to be held on 9 November this year, reports the Guardian.

The Catalan leader argued that an independence referendum would exhibit an “impressive level of democracy” in Spain.

“This would mean that Spain would effectively bury the ‘old Spain’ and rediscover that it is a country made up of several nations,” said Artur Mas.

The Islamic State (IS) released a video, showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines.

The 44-year-old from Perth, was captured by militants in Syria last year. IS executed two American journalists in the last few weeks, saying it was in response to American air strikes on the group in Iraq. The militants had threatened to execute Haines in earlier videos, calling on the US and Britain to cease supporting the Iraqi and Kurdish armies.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the murder of an innocent aid worker was "despicable and appalling".