1. A top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow.

2. Evidence emerging from mass grave sites in Syria has exposed a state-run "machinery of death" under al-Assad in which he estimated more than 100,000 people were tortured and murdered since 2013.

3. Germany has joined the US and Britain in making diplomatic contact with Syria's HTS.

4. Congo has filed criminal complaints against Apple subsidiaries in France and Belgium, accusing the tech firm of using conflict minerals in its supply chain.

5. European automakers are raising prices of petrol cars and readying discounts on electric vehicles.

6. Chinese leaders agreed last week to raise the budget deficit to 4% of GDP next year, its highest on record.