The BBC has condemned harassment of its Persian staff’s families by Iranian authorities.

It said there had been "unprecedented levels of intimidation" ahead of presidential elections which are due to take place on Friday.

The corporation is accusing Iran of warning the families of 15 members of the BBC Persian Service that they have to stop working for the BBC.

Morgan Tsvangirai, chief rival of Robert Mugabe, has rejected the president's proposed election as "unlawful".

Mugabe bypassed parliament to set the poll date for the 31st July, a move which breaches the 2008 power-sharing agreement made between the president's Zanu-PF party and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change.

Tsvangirai said of Mugabe's declaration:

"Clearly therefore, the unilateral proclamation made today is a deliberate attempt to stall the reform agenda in Zimbabwe. Without reforms, Zimbabwe is yet again heading to another contested, predatory and illegitimate election."

British legal representatives of defendants sentenced to death by Bangladesh's international crimes tribunal have appealed for a UN intervention on the basis that their clients were not tried fairly.

The domestic court trying those accused of atrocities during the 1971 war of liberation against Pakistan, has faced growing criticism from international human rights and legal groups.

Barristers have reportedly not been allowed into Bangladesh to see their clients, and there have also been allegations of witnesses being abducted, defence lawyers being assaulted and judges being changed.

 A senior United Nations official in Afghanistan, Jan Kubis, confirmed to press today that the Taliban had shown signs of willingness to meet and discuss the reduction of civilian casualties with the UN.

Afghanistan has seen a 24 percent civilian casualty in the first half of this year, most of which have been caused by anti-government forces.

Fighters from the Free Syrian Army have killed at least 60 Shiite villagers in an apparent reprisal raid for a previous attack on a rebel base by pro-government militias.

The Syrian government said innocent civilians were massacred, and even opposition activists condemned the attacks as a “destructive act of revenge”, although claiming that most of the dead were fighters who were involved in the attack on rebels the day before.

Leaders of a Palestinian movement to boycott Israel have outlined their intention to oppose any peace talks, even if they include a conversations relating to the freezing of Jewish settlements.  

The Boycott Divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, lobbies worldwide for the economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel.

The Colombian rebel group Farc, has resumed peace talks with the Colombian government in Havana.

This phase of the discussions will focus on the disarmament of the rebels and their transition to a political entity.

The government's lead negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, said that they would be "establishing rules which will allow the transition of the Farc to an unarmed political force".

Sri Lanka and Slovenia have agreed to further strengthen the bilateral trade and economic ties between the two countries at the conclusion of an official visit to the country by Sri Lanka’s Minister of External Affairs G.L Peiris.

Peiris, who met with several Slovenian officials, emphasised that continued visits by business leaders from Sri Lanka to Slovenia would serve to mutually benefit trade and investment opportunities in both countries.