A United Nations report on Friday calling for Julian Assange's "detention" to be brought to an end is the latest twist in a long-running case pitting hi-tech activists against mighty governments.

At the heart of it is a pale, lanky Australian ex-hacker who has been holed up for three and a half years in a cramped office at Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid being arrested by British police.

Public beheadings and roving jihadist gangs are terrifying residents in the Islamic State group's Libyan stronghold of Sirte, in an ominous sign of the movement's growing international influence.

Witnesses tell of amputations and executions in squares in Moammar Gadhafi's hometown on the Mediterranean coast, where women can no longer go out without a male guardian.

In nearly five years of conflict in Syria, sieges have become a key weapon of war employed primarily by the regime, but also rebel forces and the Islamic State group.

Here are some key questions and answers about sieges in Syria:

Masked men chased migrants in Stockholm this weekend in a rare act of overt violence against refugees, but one that reflects smouldering tensions in Sweden as it grapples with the consequences of a record influx of migrants.

The attack came just days after a teenaged asylum-seeker killed a young Lebanese-Swede working at an asylum residence.

The snowy ridge of Mount Hermon separates two worlds. In one, Syria's war rages. In the other, Israeli tourists slalom down ski slopes or drink mulled wine to the sound of techno music.

On a clear day Damascus is visible from the top of the ski lift 2,200 metres (7,200 feet) above sea level in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights where tourists reapply their sunscreen.

The Syrian peace talks, which got off to a start of sorts this weekend, are meant to be a uniquely Syrian affair. But in reality there is a host of outside interests also at the table, in spirit at least.

What began as a popular revolt against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar Assad in March 2011 quickly degenerated into a multi-front civil war that sucked in regional and global powers and created a chaos exploited by brutal jihadist groups. 

France, one of Cuba's leading economic partners, has forged close ties with the island, even if its commercial presence lags far behind that of Venezuela or China, countries close to the Cuban regime.

In 2013, French-Cuban trade totaled 278 million euros ($301 million in today's dollars), but it fell to 180 million euros in 2014 and probably a similar level in 2015, according to official French data.

Divisions among Syria's opposition and anger over regime blockades almost sank new peace talks in Geneva before they began, and analysts say prospects of a breakthrough at the negotiations remain slim.

On Friday, after four days of suspense, Syria's main opposition umbrella group finally announced it would send representatives to Geneva.

Multiple attempts to resolve the Syrian conflict since 2011 have failed.

With new peace talks to open on Friday in Geneva, here is a recap of previous efforts:

In a Middle East torn apart by war and conflict, fighters are increasingly using food as a weapon of war.

Millions of people across countries like Syria, Yemen and Iraq are gripped by hunger, struggling to survive with little help from the outside world. Children suffer from severe malnutrition, their parents often having to beg or sell possessions to get basic commodities including water, medicine and fuel.