There has been an increase in suicide attempts by refugees in Australia’s detention centres, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday.

The concerned refugees are all stuck in a legal limbo, due to them being deemed security threats by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

A total of 47 refugees have been given adverse security assessments by the ASIO, which makes it impossible for them to be released or resettled in Australia.

These refugees are not permitted to see evidence against them or to know the criteria used to assess them.

Two Tamils have attempted suicide in the past month and a third “stood screaming with an electrical cord clutched in his hand late on Sunday at the spot his friend had swung by the neck until almost dead three nights before.”

The man concerned was rescued from the Oceanic Viking in 2009 and was distraught after listening to a Mother’s Day program on the radio.

Another Tamil woman was detained with her two children last week after the ASIO decided she was a security risk.

The woman and her children lived in Melbourne for over a year, but they were detained as the ASIO had found her deceased husband used to be a driver for the LTTE.

According to Melbourne-based lawyer Julian Burnside there was no review system for assessment made by the ASIO.

Sri Lanka has warned the United States from pushing foreign solutions as an answer to domestic issues the country is facing.

External Affairs Minister GL Peiris was addressing the Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholars on Tuesday as part of his four-day official visit to the US and stressed the need for a home-grown solution.

"We are conscious of the opportunity that has now presented itself. We also realise that the process that we have in mind must be a domestic process. It can't be donor-driven or foreign-owned. That will be unhelpful in implementing the reforms that are required at this moment in history,"

"At the end of the day, the solution that everyone wants has got to have a home-grown element to it."

Mr Peiris sought to address concerns about Sri Lanka’s human rights situation and said the government had started a process to implement the recommendations of the LLRC in “a meaningful way”.

He said that Sri Lanka’s immediate concern after the war was resettlement of those displaced and economic development of the North-East, claiming that over 98% of IDP’s had been resettled.

“Ninety-eight percent of the people who were displaced by the conflict have been resettled, And they have not just been returned to their homes. We have seen to it that resettlement has occurred in an environment of confidence and satisfaction.”

“We believe in reconciliation, but economic development is a crucial component of a wider reconciliation,” he said.

“The economy of the Northern Province grew by 22 percent in 2011, while for the country as a whole it was 8.3 percent. This is the result of sustained and substantial investment and development in infrastructure in that part of the country.”

Mr Peiris is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday, the 18th of May.

Photographs Tamilwin

Posters, condemning the massacre of Mullaivaikal and the affirming the Tamil nation's determination to seek justice and fight for their rights, emerged overnight at locations around the University of Jaffna, Tamilwin reports.  

According to unverifiable photographs published on the news website, the posters carried messages saying, "Mullaivaikkal is not the end of us", "we will give our rights a voice and fight for justice", "embracing our suffering we will attain our dreams", "even though people have died, our aspirations have not", and "this is the day that with the assistance of the international community, the voice of the Tamil nation's rights was suppressed."

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As the external affairs secretary meets Hiliary Clinton, and international attention focuses on Sri Lanka's failure to make meaningful progress on accountability, transparency and justice, the Sri Lankan state have made announcements over the past few days pledging to carry out tasks that have eluded them for three years.

On Sunday the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) announced that a mechanism has been estabilished that will "provide of the details of the detainees and those who are already released by the Terrorist Investigation Division". The Ministry of Defence said the information would only be provided to close relatives, such as a spouse, children, parent or sibling.

Meanwhile, speaking to The Hindu, Mahinda Rajapaksa pledged to release imprisoned former Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka, saying "We will release him soon".

File photo: Sri Lankan troops in Colombo.

Preparations for the annual Victory Day Parade in Colombo are in full swing, with rehearsals for the event causing the closure of roads around the Galle Face Green.

The parade will be held on May 19 under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Media on the island report sources in the Defence Ministry as saying the parade this year will consist of 852 officers and 12, 828 other rankers from the tri-forces, the police, and Civil Defence Force.

The parade will be commanded by Maj. Gen. Jagath Rambukpotha, who was the commander of the 56th Division during the final phase of the armed conflict.

The military will be showcasing its might with 148 vehicle columns including infantry and Special Forces vehicles.

33 aircraft of the air force will conduct a flypast with 23 officers and 167 airmen.

The Navy parade in the sea along the Galle Face coast will see 72 vessels and will consist of 147 officers and 1524 sailors.

Photograph Colombopage

Meeting the heads of private and state owned media institutions on Tuesday, Mahinda Rajapaksa instructed Sri Lanka's media not to use the media to 'incite communal hisharmony' and to act with a 'sense of responsbility'.

Expressing appreciation towards the media institutions that he said had 'acted responsibly' during the UN Human Rights Council, Rajapaksa commended them for 'considering the well-being of the country' and stressed that media reporting on 'highly sensitive issues' should 'create reconciliation rather than emotional tension'.

In a book called 'Gota's War', Mahinda Rajapaksa was praised for refusing to consider a ceasefire at the behest of the international community, whilst India was blamed for the rise of armed resistance during the 1980s.

The book, written by the Sinhala journalist working at the pro-government newspaper The Island, praised the determination by the Rajapaksa brothers to end the armed conflict through military means. As characterised by the title, the book pays particular attention to the role of Gotabhaya in steering the campaign.

Speaking at the launch of the book, the Presidential Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga, asserted that Mahinda Rajapaksa would have acted differently to the late president, J.R. Jayawardene in the face of Indian pressure. Claiming to be present at confidential talks between Rajapaksa and international diplomats, Weeratunga stated that Rajapaksa had refused to 'give in to international pressure'.

Weeratunga stated that an Indian delegation, headed by then National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan, arrived in Colombo in April 2009, shortly after a visit by UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French External Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner 'to force the government to throw a lifeline to the LTTE', reports The Island.

Weeratunga added that 'if not for Indian interference, the government could have crushed terrorism years ago'.

The launch, attended by Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, Gotabhaya, was boycotted by several Western diplomats.

Ranil and Sampanthan at May Day rally

The leader of the opposition, Ranil Wickremasinghe offered to mediate talks between the government and the TNA at a meeting with Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday.

Discuss the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) the UNP leader said that the PSC "would not be meaningful" without the TNA and gave his assurance that he would bring the TNA to the PSC discussions if the government was willing to implement the LLRC recommendations.

The meeting comes shortly after Sumanthiran of the TNA slammed the government for its failure to make meaningful progress on accountabilty and implementation of the LLRC recommendations.

The government insists that the PSC requires wider participation than the SLFP or UPFA alone.

President Mahinda Rajapakse has been invited to take part in the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee.

Mr Rajapakse will travel to the UK on June 3 for a four-day visit, but according to sources in the British High Commission in Colombo it will not be a state visit and no meetings with British government officials have yet been confirmed.

British Tamils have expressed regret the decision to invite the president to the UK.

Speaking to TamilNet, Arujuna Sivananthan of the British Tamil Conservatives said,

“Her Majesty has led an exemplary life binding together various communities not just in the United Kingdom but the the world. As Conservatives committed to the principle of individual liberty, we do not wish the celebration of her six decade reign tarnished by the presence of individuals alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Mr Rajapakse’s last visit to the UK was met by large scale demonstrations, which led to his address at the Oxford Union to be cancelled.

Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister, G.L. Peiris, will be leaving for the United States on Monday, to attend his meeting with US Secretary of State Hiliary Clinton on May 18th in order to discuss implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC.

Implentation of specific recommendations contained within was an integral part of a US resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year.

Peiris is said to be accompanied by the Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, MP Sajin Vas Gunawardena and the Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.

Tamil National Alliance MP M A Sumanthiran has hit out at the government’s insincerity in addressing accountability issues.

In a speech to the Sri Lankan parliament on Friday, Mr Sumanthiran said that only an independent international investigation can break the cycle of impunity and prevent the return of violence.

“You talk so much about reconciliation. If you’re serious about reconciliation, your concern will be that of the victims. If victims are to recover from their trauma, justice and accountability are a necessary part of that. That is so, because to bring closure to a collective and personal grief; to ensure genuine reconciliation, to break the cycle of impunity in Sri Lanka, and to ensure against a return to violence, we need to put in place a credible and independent mechanism for accountability. [...]

"That can happen only by the appointment of an independent international investigation […] Everyone who knows this country, knows that no internal arrangement will ever be independent, and that is why we have consistently requested that it must be international to ensure that it is independent.”

Mr Sumanthiran also accused the government of attempting to hide human rights violations, like the killings of the 17 aid workers in Muttur and the 5 students in Trincomalee.

“I wish to tell this Government most categorically, that none of those matters will ever be forgotten. Matters of justice, quests for justice, can never be quenched by sweeping these things under the carpet.”

The MP criticised repeated, unnecessary appointments of various committees by the government, questioning the motives for delaying the implementation of constitutional amendments and recommendations of the LLRC.

“Merely appointing committees and ensuring that nothing comes out of those committees is no way of demonstrating to the world that you’re serious about finding a political solution. This is the same with regard to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission as well.

"Why should the LLRC recommend that there must be Rule of Law? That the Constitution must be implemented? […]Why should an inter agency advisory committee be appointed – yet another committee – when interim recommendations are made by the LLRC?

“If the LLRC makes interim recommendations, implement those. It is for that that you appointed that Commission in the first place. Now it has given its final report, you have gone and appointed yet another committee to advise you on what of that can be implemented, and when that report comes a further committee will be appointed, and when that comes another committee will be appointed, and this pattern keeps going on and on and on.”

For full transcript of speech please see here.

“The 24-member IOTC was annoyed that we were yet to comply with the international regulations despite several complaints of poaching by Sri Lankan fishermen. We were able to save the day by pledging to comply with the IOTC requirements that included installation of a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) on each boat”.

The Right to Information Act proposed by the UNP has been blocked by the government, according to UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Jayasuriya said that he was informed the bill could not be presented as it had already been defeated in 2010.

“After the Bill was defeated in June 2010, I worked alongside members of the civil service to amend it and bring it more in line with modern versions seen in countries such as India,” he said.

“There are 90 countries worldwide which have passed similar legislation. Out of the SAARC countries only Bhutan and Sri Lanka do not have a Right to Information Act,

“It is important that this Bill is passed as the people have the right to be given all the information about their own country.

“In 2009 the UNP withdrew the Right to Information Bill as we were promised the government would present their own, this never happened."

Finance Secretary Dr P B Jayasundera has said tea imports into Sri Lanka should be banned in order to protect the integrity and image of Sri Lankan tea.

The Tea Exporters Association, which represents around 75% of Sri Lankan tea exporters, has recently made a proposal to allow the importing and blending of foreign tea with Sri Lankan blends for export.

Speaking at a Dilmah conference, Dr Jayasundera rejected the proposals.

“Sri Lanka should not permit our product to be used in that manner.”

“One product we should uncompromisingly preserve and protect is Sri Lankan tea. Dilmah has shown that all facets can be developed locally. We believe Sri Lanka has a tremendous comparative advantage in tea and can make it a three billion dollar industry in the next 10 years.”

“The TEA, which is behind the effort to import cheap low-quality teas for blending and re-exporting from Sri Lanka, is comprised entirely of tea exporters and does not represent the hundreds of thousands of growers and workers who help sustain one of the country’s most important industries. For the past few years, the TEA has attempted to argue that the relatively high cost of Ceylon tea prevents local players from competing with international brands.”

Dilmah, the largest exporter of ‘Pure Ceylon Tea’, is also vehemently opposed to the proposals by the TEA.

The Sri Lankan military deployed to the North-East are to be trained in public health surveillance and disease prevention, the Ministry of Health announced on Friday.

According to the ministry spokesperson, the soldiers will be trained by the Epidemiology Unit of the Health Ministry and will by the end of their training have the same knowledge as a public health inspector in dengue fever prevention, and conduct all inspection activities in the North-East.

The Defence Minister, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was thanked by the Health Minister Maithripapa Sirisena, for the defence ministry's contribution to the public health initiative.

See related articles:

Army to form construction company (19 Jan 2012)

Army opens yet another holiday resort in Jaffna (11 Jan 2012)

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The Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff has inaugurated a truth commission to investigate human rights abuses from 1946-1988, including those committed during military rule.

However, an amnesty law, passed by the military regime in 1979, means that no one can face prosecution for crimes committed during military rule.

"Brazil deserves the truth, new generations deserve the truth, and - above all - those who lost friends and relatives and who continue to suffer as if they were dying again each day deserve the truth," President Rousseff said.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said the commission is "a necessary and very hopeful step".

Over 500 people are thought to have been killed or disappeared in Brazil during the years under military rule. Thousands were tortured, exiled or deprived of their political rights.

The former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic was accused of intending to ‘ethnically cleanse’ Bosnia of Bosniaks and Croats, the court heard on the first day of his trial.

Mladic is charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide.

The former army general is accused of commanding Serb troops who killed over 8000 Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995 and in connection with the 44-month siege of Sarajevo during which over 10,000 people died.

"Four days ago marked two decades since Ratko Mladic became the commander of the main staff of the army of Republika Srpska - the VRS," said prosecutor Dermot Groome.

"On that day, Mladic began his full participation in a criminal endeavour that was already in progress. On that day, he assumed the mantle of realising through military might the criminal goals of ethnically cleansing much of Bosnia. On that day, he commenced his direct involvement in serious international crimes."

Mr Groome said the attacks by Mladic’s forces where part of a systematic plan to ethnically cleanse non-Serbs from majority-Serb parts of Bosnia.

Mr Groome said crimes of sexual violence were integral to the process of "taking over and ethnically cleansing Bosnia".

"While women were most often targeted for such crimes of terrible violation, men were also victims," he said.

A court in Moscow has ordered police to "liquidate" the anti-Putin demonstration, known as 'Occupy Abai', at the central Chistiye Prudy park.

Currently in its second week following the re-election of Vladamir Putin as the Russian president, Occupy Abai has seen widespread support with thousands of protesters gathering in the evening after work.

Having set up camp, the protest movement has set up a makeshift kitchen, wifi for incessant social networking, and even itsvery  own Occupy Abai library, which issues books and an Abai newsletter.

Condemning Occupy Abai as "illegal", President Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, called for the camp to be broken up.

However, opposition parties have countered the government's threats, stating that the camp was no in breach of Russia's laws on protest, as it was merely a "stroll" in the park.

File Photo (EUNAVFOR)

Naval forces of the European Union have conducted raids on Somali territory for the first time.

Several boats were destroyed when EU helicopters and two warships attacked pirate bases near the town of Haradhere.

A statement released by the European Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) said no injuries were sustained by either side during the raid.

“The focused, precise and proportionate action was conducted from the air and all forces returned safely to EU warships on completion. Whilst assessment is on-going, surveillance of the area during the action indicates that no Somalis were injured ashore as a result of EU action.”

The Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Duncan Potts said

“We believe this action by the EU Naval Force will further increase the pressure on, and disrupt pirates’ efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows.

"The local Somali people and fishermen – many of whom have suffered so much because of piracy in the region, can be reassured that our focus was on known pirate supplies and will remain so in the future.”

Bile Hussein, a pirate commander, told the Reuters news agency that speed boats, fuel depots and an arms store were targeted in the attacks.

"They destroyed our equipment to ashes. It was a key supplies centre for us. The fuel contributed to the flames and destruction. Nothing was spared."

Somali pirates have hijacked vessels across the IndianOcean and have demanded huge sums in ransom payments.

Around 17 ships and 300 crew members are thought to be currently held by the pirates.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two rebel leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he is seeking the arrest of Bosco Ntaganda and Sylvestre Mudacumura, both of whom are accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“When impunity prevails, persons like Bosco Ntaganda are encouraged to continue committing crimes. They increase their power through violence... Now more than ever is the time to arrest him," an ICC statement says.

General Ntaganda, also known as ‘The Terminator’, a former member of the armed forces, is now charged with three counts of crimes against humanity and four counts of war crimes, including murder, rape and ethnic persecution.

Mr Mudacumura is the field commander of the FDLR, a group that is accused of taking part in the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.

He is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity and nine counts of war crimes.

European Union foreign ministers have failed to agree whether to boycott the Ukraine during the forthcoming Euro 2012 football tournament, due to the treatment of former Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko by the government.

"We are not at a stage to make a decision on attendance but will follow developments carefully," said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton

According to AFP "long and heated" talks took place between the bloc's 27 foreign ministers, with some countries pushing for a total boycott and others preferring to engage with the Ukraine to make progress on human rights issues.

"I will listen to news the prime minister will bring tomorrow," she added, referring to diplomatically sensitive talks Tuesday between Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and EU officials.

The US ambassador to the Ukraine visited Ms Tymoshenko in hospital on Monday and has called for her release.

Ambassador John Tefft said the U.S. position “has been all along that selective persecution of Ms. Tymoshenko and members of her party is something we disapprove.”

Boycott forces Ukraine to postpone summit (09 May 2012)

Pressure increases on Ukraine over Euro 2012 boycott (03 May 2012)

German President cancels visit to Ukraine over treatment of ex-Premier (26 Apr 2012)

NATO has criticised a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), urging it to investigate civilian deaths from air strikes during the alliance’s offensive against Colonel Gaddafi’s forces.

HRW claims in its report released on Monday that over 72 civilians were killed in 8 separate NATO air strikes.

“We're calling for prompt, credible and thorough investigations," HRW's Fred Abrahams told BBC News.

"Until now, NATO has taken a position of denial [...] I think it will lead to unnecessary civilian deaths in the future if NATO refuses to look at what went wrong and make corrections."

NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said the alliance conducted the offensive "with unprecedented care and precision" and that they "did everything possible to minimise risks to civilians".

"But in a complex military campaign, that risk can never be zero," spokeswoman Oana Lungescu acknowledged.

She added that the alliance "looked into each credible allegation" of attacks on civilians and "confirmed that the specific targets struck by NATO were legitimate military targets".

India's former foreign minister and leader of the opposition BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), Yashwant Sinha, called on the UK to withdraw its aid money stating that India did not need "that kind of assistance or advice".

Welcoming the Indian finance minister's comments that UK aid was "peanuts" relative to India's overall budget, Sinha said,

“You can tell the British public from our side that they can keep their money, use it for their own welfare, or divert it to some other country which is in greater need.”

“[Aid] gives an opportunity to those countries who are giving us small sums of money to be sanctimonious in their approach, ‘India should do this, India should do that’. We don’t need that kind of assistance or advice,”

“There are problems in the UK and US but we are not rushing there with our aid saying, ‘We will fix it for you’.”

“We have malnourished children, we have disease, we have poverty but these are our problems and we should fix them.”

“We are producing so much food that we have run short of hessian bags and storage. Malnutrition is not because we don’t have resources.”

The former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party has been indicted by a war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh.

Ghulam Azam, 89, is accused of carrying out war crimes during Bangladesh’s war of independence against Pakistan.

Azam is thought to have led pro-Pakistani militias which carried out atrocities during the 9-month war in 1971.

"The International Crimes Tribunal charged him with crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, rape, abduction, arson and other crimes under international law," state prosecutor Ziad Al Malum told AFP.

Mr Azam has pleaded not guilty to all charges and argued that they are politically motivated.

The tribunal was set up by the ruling Awami League to bring to justice those accused of collaborating with Pakistan during the war, however New York based NGO Human Rights Watch have said that the procedures of the tribunal fall short of international standards.

Israel faced increasing calls to take action on over 2000 Palestinian prisoners currently on hunger strike, including two who have refused food for 77 days, amid concerns for their health.

Palestinian groups state that a further six Palestinians are in a "critical" condition.

Egyptian mediators have continued attempts to negiotiate a deal in an effort to prevent current demonstrations in Gaza and the West Bank spiralling if one of the hunger striker was to die.

The Middle East peace envoy, the former UK prime minister Tony Blair, said he was "increasingly concerned about the deteriorating health conditions" of the hunger strikers and called on Israel to "take all necessary measures to prevent a tragic outcome that could have serious implications for stability and security conditions on the ground."

Having appealed to the US Secretary of State Hiliary Clinton to intervene, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, described the situation as "very dangerous".

Speaking to Reuters Abbas said,

"If anyone dies … it would be a disaster and no one could control the situation."

The hunger strikes main demands are to end 'administrative detention' (imprisonment without trial or charge); to end solitary confinement; to end to strip searches and night-time raids on prisoners in their cells, as well as allowing families from Gaza to visit prisoners in Israeli jails and access to educational resources.

The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) states that no one's life is at risk.

China joined Japan and South Korea in condemnation of any further nuclear testing by North Korea.

Following a summit held in Beijing on Sunday between the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, the Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, and Lee Myung Bak of South Korea, the three countries deemed any future tests as "unacceptable".

Speaking to reporters after the meeting Lee Myung Bak said,

“Our three countries agreed that we will not accept further nuclear tests or further provocations from North Korea,”

Warning of "unstable" elements in the region, Wen Jiabao said,

“The various parties need to use their wisdom, keep patient, and display goodwill to the greatest extent so as to ease confrontation and return to the right track of dialogue and negotiations.”

Yoshihiko Noda said,

“We should further prevent provocations of North Korea in the future and strengthen co-operation among the three countries in this regard,”

Investment bank JPMorgan Chase has urged share holders to vote against proposals calling on the bank to stop investing in firms that "substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity."

JPMorgan has a big stake in Chinese oil firm PetroChina, which has been condemned for financing genocide in Sudan.

Investors against Genocide, a non-profit organisation, said the $1.8 billion investment by JPMorgan in PetroChina “works against the spirit” of US sanctions on the Sudanese regime.

However the bank says it its business practices already "reflect our support and respect for the protection of fundamental human rights and the prevention of crimes against humanity" and noted that "a vast majority" of the shares of PetroChina owned by JPMorgan are "at the direction of our customers, who are the share owners."

Investors against Genocide argue that a huge share of PetroChina holdings is linked to JPMorgan’s wealth management business and that most customers will not be involved in choosing where their wealth is invested.

That means those investors are "inadvertently investing in these terrible companies that are helping to fund genocide and have no idea," said Eric Cohen, co-founder and chairman of Investors Against Genocide.

Last year a similar proposal by the group got 8% of JPMorgan's shareholder votes.

Members of the Syrian National Council (SNC) an alliance of groups fighting in opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, commenced three days of talks on Saturday, in Rome.

Representatives of the various groups remain in disagreement regarding the future leadership of the current President of the SNC, Burhan Ghalioun.

Speaking to the Reuters news agency in Rome, Samir Nashir, a representative of the Dasmascus Declaration group, expressed support for a change of leadership. Nashir said,

"We are in heated discussions over the presidency ... We are against an extension or a renewal of Burhan Ghalioun's term,"

"We are in favour of transition because it gives all the various Syrian political components a chance in the post,"

"The SNC wants to send a clear message to all components of the Syrian community, Alawite, Christians, Druze and all the minorities, that the SNC is not a council for Muslims only as the regime seeks to portray it,"

The Italian governmnent said the talks were arranged to "guarantee them [opposition activists] the chance to meet, dialogue and broaden participation, religious and otherwise, of anti-regime figures."

The US will resume the sale of some military equipment to Bahrain, the State Department announced Friday, whilst recognising  "a number of serious unresolved human rights issues".

Speaking to The Washington Post, a senior official said,

“our desire to help the Bahrainis maintain their external defense capabilities, and a determination that it is in U.S. national interest to let these things go forward,”

US officials have declined to release a full list of equipment that will be approved for sale, however one official reportedly said items that “used against protesters in any scenario" would not be sold.

The listing of restrictions has sparked controversy however, with Tom Malinowski, Washington director for Human Rights Watch describing it as "short-sighted", and a US senator, Sen. Ron Wyden, stating it was "exactly the wrong time to be selling arms to the government of Bahrain."

Wyden added,

“Things are getting worse, not better. . . . Reform is the ultimate goal and we should be using every tool and every bit of leverage we have to achieve that goal.”

The decision came a few days after Bahrain's crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa met with Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemned Sudan's "indisciminate" aerial bombing of South Sudan on Friday, and warned that such actions could be considered "an international crime".

Speaking to reporters during a visit to South Sudan this week, Pillay said,

"I am saddened and outraged to learn that such attacks which place civilians at great risk - and have already killed and injured some and caused many thousands of others to flee - have been taking place again in recent days."

"Deliberate or reckless attacks on civilian areas can, depending on the circumstances, amount to an international crime."

Urging both sides to abide by the UN-backed ceasefire that was to have begun on Saturday, Pillay added,

"Human rights are not negotiable and cannot be cherry-picked. There are no excuses, not even the youthfulness of the state, for ignoring or violating them,"

The UN has published global guidelines on ‘land grabbing’, the purchase of land by rich nations and foreign companies in developing countries.

The guidelines, which are non-binding, call on governments to safeguard the rights of the indigenous population which uses the land.

200m hectares, an area eight times the size of Britain, are estimated to have been bought or leased over the past ten years.

“Giving poor and vulnerable people secure and equitable rights to access land and other natural resources is a key condition in the fight against hunger and poverty,” said the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, José Graziano da Silva.

“It is a historic breakthrough that countries have agreed on these first-ever global land tenure guidelines,

“We now have a shared vision. It’s a starting point that will help improve the often dire situation of the hungry and poor.”

Tens of thousands of people are thought to have been forcibly moved from their lands in order to make way for foreign companies.

The new guidelines are designed to ensure that people have access to their ancestral land, fishing grounds and forests, however as the guidelines are not obligatory, it will be difficult to ensure implementation by countries.

The former commander of the Dutchbat peacekeeping forces in Bosnia may be prosecuted for the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995.

Colonel Thom Karremans was in charge of the troops responsible for the protection of a Muslim enclave in a Serb-Christian region. However the peacekeepers allowed Serb soldiers to take control of the town who then went on to massacres of over 8000 Muslim men and boys.

The National Reflection Committee has now advised Dutch prosecutors to bring charges against the colonel, although prosecutors do not have to follow the advice.

Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander controlling the perpetrators of the massacres is due to stand trial on charges of genocide at The Hague next week.

However, supporters of Mladic in Srebrenica are on the verge of a political victory.

A decision made by the election authority earlier this week means that Bosnian Muslims who fled the massacres in the town will not be able to vote in mayoral elections later this year.

Srebrenica was granted exceptional status in 2008, allowing Bosniak Muslims, who had fled the town, to vote in local elections. This resulted in Camil Durakovic, a Muslim, to be elected as mayor.

But with the revocation of the special status, it seems likely that a Serb mayor who denies genocide charges is elected.

''We want the people who were born here and who had to escape the mass murder to be able to vote in Srebrenica,'' Mr Durakovic said.

''Otherwise the town will be taken over by politicians who propagate lies, who negate the genocide.''

The town, which was 75% Bosniak Muslim before the war, is now split evenly between the two communities, however more Serbs are registered voters as many Bosniaks are still registered in the towns and cities where they sought refuge from persecution.