The Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a major city in eastern Congo declared a unilateral ceasefire yesterday, citing humanitarian grounds, but there was no sign of them giving up control of Goma at the heart of a region home to trillions of dollars in mineral wealth.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has recorded an &alarming rise& in reported executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian armed forces during the war in recent months, it said yesterday.

Two weeks after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect, aid is flooding into the Gaza Strip, bringing relief to a territory suffering from hunger, mass displacement and devastation following 15 months of war.

Harry Potter fans with sight loss or visual impairment can now experience a new tactile adventure which has launched at the Warner Bros Studio Tour.