One of Russia's most prominent opposition politicians, the former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, has been sentenced to 15 days in jail after being arrested at a demonstration in Moscow. He was convicted of disobeying police orders at the rally which hadn't been authorised. Mr Nemtsov has repeatedly criticised the Russian government's record on human rights and democracy.
South Korea is introducing stricter rules to combat illegal whaling. Although commercial whale hunting is banned, South Korea allows the trading of whales that are found dead, and critics have suggested this loophole is being exploited. Here's Abigail Mawdsley.
From Monday, all fishermen must report to the police immediately if they find a dead whale washed ashore or tangled in their nets. They'll have to provide DNA samples for testing and will only be allowed to sell the whales' meat and body parts after a full investigation into how the animal died. The rules should make it much harder for people to pretend that whales have died accidentally. In another change, the dead whales may only be processed at government-approved plants.
Wildlife officials in the United States are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to fall dead from the sky over a small town in Arkansas. The birds began dropping over the town of Beebe just before midnight on New Year's Eve, piling up on roofs and gardens. Wildlife experts said they may have been hit by lightning, high-altitude hail or may have died by stress caused by New Year's Eve fireworks.