A court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday convicted seven soldiers for shooting people at close range who they accused of being militia members. 

The massacre was filmed in a video that was broadcast widely earlier this year, clearly depicting the soldiers shooting people, including young women at very close range. 

A former Serbian soldier accused of war crimes due to his alleged involvement in a massacre of over 100 Kosovo Albanians, has died before the conclusion of his trial in Belgrade.

Milojko Nikolic, one of the men on trial for allegedly murdering over 100 ethnic Albanian civilians in the Kosovo villages of Cuska, Ljubenic, Pavlan and Zahac during the spring of 1999, died on Wednesday in Belgrade.

The Palestinian Authority expressed concern over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision not to meet President Mahmoud Abbas during his trip to Israel.

Modi was welcomed by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a 3 day visit to Israel.

Speaking to Aljazeera, Palestinian Deputy Foreign Minister Tasir Jaradat, said,

The Dutch foreign ministry confirmed that those suspected of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine will be tried under Dutch law.

The decision follows attempts by Russia to block an international court form being set up over the incident.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said that the Dutch–led investigative team will continue to operate during the “prosecution phase.”

The United Nations Secretary-General has announced the appointment of a former French judge to lead a legal team in Geneva that will investigate evidence of war crimes being committed in Syria.

Catherine Marchi-Uhel was appointed by UN secretary general António Guterres to head the investigative body known as the “International Impartial and Independent Mechanism”.

Catalonia’s ruling coalition said the region would declare independence from Spain within 48 hours of a referendum to be held in October if voters backed secession, in a draft bill proposed on Tuesday.

Gabriela Serra, a member of the coalition that governs Catalonia told AFP that "if the majority of votes are for creating a Catalan republic, obviously independence will have to be declared immediately".

Responding to the detention of three journalists in Myanmar last week, the European Union urged the government to protest free speech and ensure journalists were not subject to "intimidation, arrest or prosecution". 

"It constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society," the EU said in a statement.

The National Guard of Venezuela’s former chief has been charged with “serious and systematic” human rights violations reports the Atlantic.

Antonio Benavides was removed from his security chief post in June after his troops were captured on film firing at protestors.

The Iraqi military may have carried out executions of civilian men and boys fleeing Mosul as they sought to recapture the city from the Islamic State, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) this week.

The people of Kurdistan should be allowed to express their right to self-determination, said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the US, defending the decision to hold an independence referendum later this year.

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman told The Canadian Press that the people of Kurdistan “have done our best to be partners in Iraq; it has not worked”.

Indigenous people across Canada have boycotted the country’s 150th independence day celebrations, instead holding events to raise awareness and protest the glorification of colonialism and indigenous genocide.

Sudan will extend a unilateral ceasefire with militants until the end of October said President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Sunday.

The decision comes as the United States plans to lift a 20 year old trade embargo against Sudan in 2 weeks’ time.

On January 15, Mr Bashir extended the ceasefire for six months in response to the US move, reports Reuters.

The French banking giant BNP Paribas has been accused of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, with three civil society groups filing a lawsuit claiming the bank transferred $1.3 million that was used to purchase weapons, in violation of a U.N. arms embargo.

Myanmar will refuse entry to United Nations investigators focusing on allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims reports The Guardian.