The Australian government confirmed that it had turned back 20 boats carrying 633 asylum seekers in the past 18 months, according the country’s immigration minister.

Minister Peter Dutton said that the government would “celebrate” what he called a “significant achievement”, telling reporters,

“We have [more than] a year since we have had a successful people-smuggling operation and that is good news because we have had no reported deaths under Operation Sovereign Borders at sea and we have been able to stare down these evil people smugglers”.

"I think the important point to remember in all of this is had those 20 boats arrived, 200 boats or 2,000 boats would have followed them," he added.

The announcement comes as the Australian government confirmed it turned back a boat carrying 46 asylum seekers from Vietnam last month. The Vietnamese government was contacted, the boat they arrived on scuttled and the refugees sent back, confirmed the minister.

A man based in Sweden is being investigated over suspicions he committed war crimes in the conflict in Ukraine according to the head of International Public Prosecution Office in Stockholm, Tora Holst.

“I can confirm that a person based in Sweden is being investigated. It is in regards to suspicions of some kind of war crime that is said to have been committed in Ukraine in 2014,” Holst said on Thursday.

“An investigation can take a long while before the suspicions are put to the suspect in question. If the person is set to be questioned as a suspect and want a lawyer he will naturally be awarded one,” said Holst.

Sweden's security service, Säpo, believes a handful of Swedes have travelled to Ukraine to take part in fighting since the country's armed conflict with Russia began in 2014, Swedish website The Local reported.

The UN mission for Libya in a statement said,

President Barack Obama told US Jewish leaders that rockets could fall on Israel should they decide to reject the Iran nuclear deal.

South Sudanese opposition leader Lam Akol was barred from boarding a plane to attend peace talks in Ethiopia reports Reuters.

Mr Akol, who belongs to the side-lined Shilluk ethnic group, said,

Kosovo’s parliament amended its constitution to allow the creation of a special court to investigate alleged war crimes committed by ethnic Albanian fighters during the 1990 conflict on Tuesday.

The tribunal will be part of Kosovo’s judicial system however the proceedings will be held abroad. Early reports suggest that they will be held in the Netherlands.

The constitutional change comes as the US and European Union have applied pressure on Kosovo to address longstanding accusations of war crimes committed by Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

The constitutional changes were backed by 82 seats in the 120 seat parliament reports the BBC. 

The Sudanese army is shelling and bombing civilians in South Kordofan, Amnesty International said in a report released today, accusing Sudan of committing war crimes in their war against armed militants who demand more rights for the region.

A major Naga separatist movement has signed a peace deal with the Indian government, potentially ending decades of conflict.

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muviah) demanded an independent homeland for the Naga people in India's north-eastern states and in neighbouring Myanmar.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the deal as "historic".

"I have the deepest admiration for the great Naga people for their extraordinary support to the peace efforts," Mr Modi said, after the agreement was signed on Monday.

“The Naga political issue had lingered for six decades, taking a huge toll on generations of our people [...] Our oldest insurgency is getting resolved, it is a signal to other smaller groups to give up weapons," he added.

NSCN (I-M) leader Thuingaleng Muivah also praised the Indian premier.

“Under Modi, we have come close to understanding each other and have worked out a new relation with the government,” the Naga leader said.

The US has for the first time provided support to defend Syrian militants, trained by the US.

Pentagon spokesperson Capt Jeff Davis said "defensive support fire" was provided to the militants last Friday, while they were engaging suspected al-Nusra fighters.

The US-trained militants from the New Syria Force, were fighting alongside the Free Syrian Army.

An aide to Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza was killed in an attack on his car on Sunday.

Gen Adolphe Nshimirimana, a former army chief of staff and intelligence chief, was targeted by armed men in the capital Bujumbura's Kamenge district.

The general is reported to have been in charge of the president's security and responsible for a heavy-handed crackdown on demonstrations opposed to Mr Nkurunziza's decision to run for an unconstitutional third term.

Presidential adviser Willy Nyamitwe told Reuters: "He has been killed by a bullet... He was in the car with some bodyguards but I don't know exactly what happened."

The violence continued on Monday, with prominent rights activist Pierre Claver Mbonimpa also attacked in Bujumbura. Mr Mbonimpa, a stern critic of the president, was shot and seriously wounded by gunmen on motorbikes.

US Secretary of State John Kerry outlined his intention of securing greater support for a UN peace plan in Libya, reports Reuters.