Several foreign aid organisations have said that financial sanctions imposed by the United States are severely restricting their work in the country.

Save the Children, Concern Worldwide, Handicap International, Welthungerhilfe, PMU-AMI and Triangle Generation Humanitaire say they cannot receive money in North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank, which is the target of sanctions by the US treasury.

"Because of the decisions that have been taken by Hezbollah and the fact that they are fighting very harshly the Syrian population, we have decided to ask that the military branch of the Hezbollah would be considered as a terrorist organisation,"

The government has reversed its decision not to give Afghan interpreters the right to live in the UK.

Up to 600 Afghans, who worked on the frontline for a year or more, will be allowed to remain in the UK, after concerns were raised over their safety in Afghanistan.

One interpreter, "Abdul", told the BBC: "We risked everything to do this job. We are glad that the British government has recognised our service and the sacrifices we made for them."

The World Bank pledged $1 billion to help fund development in Congo, provided there was a return to peace.

The World Bank President Jim Young Kim unveiled the proposed aid on the first day of his visit to the conflict ridden country with United Nations chief, Bank Ki-moon.

The White House has admitted for the first time that 4 US citizens have been killed by drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. wrote to Congressional leaders accepting US responsibility for the deaths of 4 individuals with US citizenship, but claimed 3 of these men "were not specifically targeted by the United States”.

Colombian authorities say the head of security for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who was also the right-hand man of the guerrilla group leader, has been killed.

El Negro Eliecerm, known by his nom de guerre ‘Timochenko’ was killed in a clash with army forces confirmed the Colombian Defense Minister, Juan Carlos Pinzon.

Syrian troops have exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers along the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights.

Damascus said it had attacked an Israeli vehicle that crossed onto its territory, while Israel’s defence ministry said it returned fire after one of its vehicles was hit by shots from Syria.

The Golan Heights, illegally occupied by Israel since 1967, has seen several clashes recently.

At the launch of the paper, Salmond stated Scotland could ''more than afford to be independent'' adding,

"This document sets out the enormous attributes and key strengths of the Scottish economy across a diverse range of sectors. We have a vast array of human, financial and natural resources, which many other countries do not enjoy.

Rwandan President Paul kagame has denounced the UN’s peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo, saying it has made the situation worse in some cases.

Speaking to the BBC, Kagame said that military action needed to be "properly co-ordinated" with political efforts.

"If you see what we had last year, the resurgence of the fighting and chaos and displacement of people and so on and so forth... what we witnessed last year - actually the situation got worse,” Kagame said.