Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report this week, accusing the Ukrainian military of using banned cluster munitions as they battle against pro-Russia separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

HRW said it had evidence of “widespread use of cluster munitions,” adding that, “while it was not possible to conclusively determine responsibility for many of the attacks, the evidence points to Ukrainian government forces’ responsibility for several cluster munition attacks on Donetsk”.

"It is shocking to see a weapon that most countries have banned used so extensively in eastern Ukraine," said Mark Hiznay, a senior arms researcher at HRW.

However, Ukraine’s "anti-terrorist operation" spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov dismissed the report as “utter nonsense”, saying "we do not use banned weapons… Neither do we shell civilian neighbourhoods because this endangers lives."

Independent Australian MP Andrew Wilkie has written to the International Criminal Court, asking for an investigation into the government’s treatment of asylum seekers.

Wilkie said he asked the court to look at policies which were causing "great suffering", citing forcible deportations, compulsory detention and detention camp conditions.

"The effect of the (asylum) policy is that men, women and children are being forcibly relocated and then subjected to arbitrary imprisonment through mandatory and sometimes indefinite detention," Wilkie said in the letter.

"The conditions they are forced to endure in detention are causing great suffering as well as serious bodily and mental injury."

“The Abbott Government’s conduct in relation to asylum seekers also contravenes the Refugee Convention, Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“This is reminiscent of some of the darkest days of military rule... The legal system in this country is still used to intimidate critics of the government.”

Fire was exchanged across the border between North and South Korea on Sunday, the second time skirmishes erupted in the past 10 days.

Reports indicate that North Korean troops approached the border in response to a leafleting campaign by the South, after which southern troops opened fire.

The Iraqi government has approved a deal with Australia, which will see 200 members of Australian special forces train Iraqi troops to fight against Islamic State.

Legal protection for the troops demanded by Australia caused a row between the countries and delayed the signing of the agreement, with the troops waiting in the UAE for over a month.

Taliban fighters have launched deadly attacks on troops and villages in Afghanistan.

Around 500 militants launched attacks on two villages in Ghor, a province in the centre of Afghanistan. A local official told the BBC that details about casualty figures are not yet known.

At least 4 Afghan soldiers were killed when militants attacked security posts in Logar province in the east of the country.

Last week the Taliban launched attacks in the north of the country, killing at least 22 members of the Afghan security forces.