Crimes against humanity are being committed in Burundi, a United Nations commission of inquiry has said.

The head of a UN Commission of Inquiry said more efforts were needed, including the use of balloons and computer hacking, to tell the North Korean people about its damning report on human rights conditions in their country run by Kim Jong-Un.

Syrian troops ousted rebels from the strategic town of Qusair near the Lebanese border yesterday, after a devastating 17-day assault led by Hezbollah fighters from across the frontier.

There are “reasonable grounds” to believe that limited quantities of toxic chemicals have been used as weapons in at least four attacks in Syria’s civil war, a UN report said, but more evidence is needed to determine the precise chemical agents and who used them.

Zimbabweans wake up to an uncertain future today as they await the fall-out from opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s decision to pull out of the presidential run-off.