Members of the European Union have agreed to extend economic sanctions on Russia by 6 months, due to its actions in the conflict in Ukraine.

The sanctions, imposed in July 2014, will expire at the end of July this year, and are targeted at Russia's energy, defence and financial sectors.

UN has urged he ban of countries from peacekeeping duties, if their troops sexually abused children where they were deployed, after a recent scandal involving French troops.

An internal review, commissioned before the latest scandal broke, recommended that the home countries of peacekeepers are identified annually and a six-month deadline for investigations are imposed on the countries.

It also recommended that countries be obliged to disclose disciplinary action taken against soldiers, as well as governments' failure to report.

At the moment, peacekeepers can only be prosecuted by their own state.

The review panel's chairman, former president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta stressed "immunity should not mean impunity".

Sri Lankan troops were expelled from Haiti for sexually abusing children in 2007, with 111 soldiers and 3 officers were repatriated back to Sri Lanka after being part of UN mission in Haiti and were accused of a string of sexual assaults, including rape of children as young as 7 years old. No prosecutions or punishments have taken place.

The United States will provide $5 million in support of a regional military force tasked with combating Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants, a State Department official said on Tuesday.

German industry leaders have called for asylum seekers to be allowed to work, reports the Telegraph.

Kenyan security forces were too slow to respond to attacks on villages and beat Muslims and ethnic Somalis in police custody, found Human Rights Watch,

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has landed in Khartoum, unhindered by South African authorities, despite a high court order preventing his departure.

Mr Bashir, prevented from leaving South Africa on Sunday due to the charges of war crimes and genocide he faces at the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli government has released  report concluding that action taken in the Gaza Strip last summer was "lawful" and "legitimate", ahead of a forthcoming United Nations report on the conflict.

The Israeli report largely blames Palestinian militants – namely Hamas – for violations of international law, stating that action taken by Israeli troops was an “imperative necessity”.

A judge is expected to hear an application calling for the arrest of President Bashir on Monday.

The ICC president Sidiki Kaba in a statement acknowledging South Africa’s contribution to “strengthening the Court,” called on the governmen

An attack by Colombia’s Farc militants has left three police officers dead and hundreds of thousands of Colombians without power.

President Juan Manuel Santos ordered bombing raids on rebel positions, which were halted due to ongoing negotiations, aimed at ending the decades-long conflict.

The Israeli military cleared itself of responsibility for a missile attack that killed four children on Gaza beach last summer, reports the Guardian.