• Gunmen shot dead a Hamas commander in the Gaza Strip and the Islamist group blamed a Fatah-dominated security service for the first killing in the territory since a ceasefire went into effect overnight. Hospital officials in the southern town of Khan Younis said Hussein Shabasi was shot in the head.

• A Somali Islamist group threatened to fight any peacekeeping troops sent to their country as African leaders struggled to put together an international force for the anarchic Horn of Africa nation. The European Union released €15 million to finance peacekeeping operations, but leaders at an African Union summit were still seeking the 4,000 troops they need to bring the projected force up to strength.

• The United States demanded that North Korea offer real steps to nuclear disarmament at six-country negotiations, which China announced would resume on February 8 in Beijing. A US Treasury official, meanwhile, said talks with Pyongyang on a financial standoff that has overshadowed the nuclear negotiations were inching forward.

• Hundreds of supporters of leftist Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa stormed Congress, clashing with police and forcing lawmakers to evacuate the building, opposition members and witnesses said. Police fired tear gas as they battled with the protesters, who were demanding Congress accept Mr Correa's proposal for a vote on constitutional reforms.