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The Nato-led mission in Afghanistan, Isaf, has suspended the transfer of detainees to some Afghan jails following allegations of widespread torture. The suspension applies to eight provinces where there are concerns that prisoners could be mistreated in custody. A UN report describes how prisoners have been beaten and in some cases electrocuted. Quentin Sommerville reports from Kabul.

The torture was commonplace and systematic. Prisoners, many of whom had been handed over by Nato troops, were beaten with rubber hoses, threatened with sexual assault and in some cases given electric shocks. Most of those suspected of being insurgents were held without charge. Many of the accusations came in an as-yet unpublished UN report. In one case, a 19-year-old man was beaten for 19 days straight. He eventually bled to death.

A heavily armed convoy of 50 Libyan vehicles is driving through the African state of Niger after crossing the desert border from Libya. The US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the American ambassador in Niger had discussed the convoy with officials there. She said Niger was being urged to cooperate with Libya's National Transitional Council.

"Apparently a convoy has entered, and it does include some senior members of the Gaddafi regime, but we do not believe that Gaddafi himself was among them. We have strongly urged the Nigerien officials to detain those members of the regime. We've also urged them to work with the TNC with regard to their interest in any of these individuals and bringing those who may need to be brought to justice."

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that all military ties with Israel have been suspended. It's a sign of Turkey's growing anger over Israel's refusal to offer a full apology for its raid on a flotilla heading for Gaza last year, during which nine Turkish activists were killed. Most military deals, however, have been concluded. Mr Erdogan also said that commercial relations would be suspended.

The Italian government has announced its latest revisions to an austerity package aimed at stabilising the country's finances as tens of thousands of Italians took part in protests against planned budget cuts. David Willey reports from Rome.

In Milan, striking workers threw eggs and smoke bombs at banks. In Turin, they scuffled with police while in Palermo in Sicily demonstrators burnt the flags of trade unions that refused to take part in the strike. Parliament is meeting to ratify a series of austerity measures enacted by the government last month to try to reassure financial markets. The $68bn austerity package has been radically revised in recent days as coalition members bickered over where the biggest new tax burden is to fall and which public services are to be axed.

BBC News

An Israeli air strike on Gaza is reported to have killed a Palestinian militant and injured two civilians. The attack, near the city of Khan Yunis, came after militants fired mortars towards Israel. Earlier, Israeli soldiers clashed with militants near a border crossing between Israel and Gaza.

Politicians in Somalia have approved a deal aimed at installing an elected government within a year and restoring peace and security after decades of instability. At the end of a UN-backed conference in Mogadishu, they also agreed to pass anti-piracy legislation and write a new constitution. Here's our East Africa correspondent Will Ross.

Somalia's politicians have done the easy part - putting pen to paper. At the United Nations-backed conference in Mogadishu, they signed an agreement which sets out the roadmap towards elections next August and includes the lofty task of making the country secure. The Islamist insurgent groups like al-Shabab were not at this conference and have promised to keep fighting the government. Somalia's politicians are deeply divided along clan lines, and in the eyes of many Somalis, they've failed the people for years. Putting aside the political wrangles to implement this roadmap would be a major achievement.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced plans to switch up to 1/10 of its financial reserves to the Chinese currency, the yuan, becoming the first African country to do so. The governor of the bank said the US budget deficit and the downgrading of its creditworthiness along with the European sovereign debt crisis meant there was a need for diversification of reserve currencies.

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has signed a series of deals with his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina during a high-profile visit to Dhaka but failed to agree on a key issue of sharing water. Progress was made on trade, their common border and the fate of thousands of people living in enclaves in both countries.