In an interview with DW, a close friend of Brahim Saadoun said he has proof he is "a soldier of the Ukrainian army." The UN has said that the death sentence against him and two other British men could be a war crime.

American speed skater Erin Jackson's dream of chasing gold in her signature 500 meters event at next month's Beijing Olympics is back on after a selfless act from a good friend and teammate who gave up her own spot on Sunday.

US real estate scion Robert Durst was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with no possibility of parole for the killing of his best friend.

Exactly 34 years ago today, the charismatic Pan-Africanist and Burkina Faso's then President, Thomas Sankara, was shot dead aged 37 by soldiers during a coup on 15 October 1987. Four years before his assassination with 12 others, Sankara and his close friend, Blaise Compaoré, staged a coup that brought them to power. This is the story of how he shaped Burkina Faso decades after his assassination.

Zhi Xiang is no ordinary animal rescuer: he is a Buddhist monk and has given nearly 8,000 dogs a new life, either at his ancient monastery or at a shelter he runs in Shanghai. He already has nearly 8,000 dogs to feed and care for. A few hundred will eventually be resettled in Europe or North America. "I have to rescue them because if I don't, they will die for sure," said the 51-year-old, who temporarily discards his monk's robes for an orange workman's suit as he gives vaccinations to dishevelled dogs fresh off the streets. Driven by his faith, Zhi has been rescuing animals -- mostly dogs but also cats and other strays -- since 1994.