US forces have vacated the Shamsi airbase in south-west Pakistan within the time limit given by the Pakistani government.

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani told BBC Urdu, the air base is now under the control of the country's forces.

The withdrawal was demanded by the government after last months NATO air strike, which killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Botswana’s President Ian Khama spoke out against African leaders who have refused to fully co-operate with the International Criminal Court, calling it a “betrayal of the innocent and helpless victims”.

In a keynote speech delivered at the ICC’s annual meeting, Khama objected directly to the African Union’s decision earlier this year, to oppose the arrest warrants issued for late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and other wanted heads of state.

He told the meeting,

"I specifically note with regret that at a recent summit held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in June, 2011, the African Union formally decided not to cooperate with the ICC over the indictments and arrest warrants against some leaders,"

"This decision is a serious setback in the battle against impunity in Africa and undermines efforts to confront war crimes and crimes against humanity which are committed by some leaders on the continent."

"Such a move also places Africa on the wrong side of history. It is a betrayal of the innocent and helpless victims of such crimes."

"We need to have the political will and the moral courage to hold accountable, without fear or favour, anyone in authority -- including a sitting head of state -- when he or she is suspected of having committed crimes against innocent people."

He spoke as the ICC announced that Fatou Bensouda, the current deputy prosecutor of the ICC and a former justice minister of Gambia, is set to become the new Chief Prosecutor from June 2012.

The International Criminal Court announced on Monday, it was referring Malawi to the UN Security Council for its failure to arrest Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir who is wanted for his part in the Darfur genocide.

The ICC's pre-trial chamber concluded that "the Republic of Malawi failed to cooperate with the court by not arresting and surrendering Omar Al Bashir to the court during his visit to Malawi" and "decided to refer the matter to both the United Nations Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute."

The government of El Salvador has apologised for the "blindness of state violence" that resulted in the massacre of over 1000 civilians in the town of El Mozote, in 1981.

Soldiers, of the now criminalised Atlacatl battalion executed civilians, almost half of whom were children. The victims were accused of working with left-wing guerrilla groups.

Speaking at a remembrance event held on Sunday in El Mozote, El Salvador's Foreign Minister, Hugo Martinez, said,

In a statement released on International Human Rights Day 2011, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton reflected on the on-going repression of "people exercising their universal rights" and asserted that it is an "obligation of every government to guarantee the rights of all citizens".

See full statement here, extracts reproduced below:

The Dutch government has issued a formal apology for the massacre of villagers in Java in 1947.

On the 64th anniversary of the killings, Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia, Tjeerd de Zwaan, attended a memorial event at the Heroe’s Cemetery in Rawagede, the site of the massacre.

"In this context and on behalf of the Dutch government, I apologise for the tragedy that took place in Rawagede on the 9th of December, 1947," de Zwaan said.

The committee on constitutional law of the French National Assembly has passed a bill which will make denial of the killings of over 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 by Turkey as genocide a crime.

The bill, which will now be sent to the National Assembly, will make genocide denial a criminal offence and carries  a fine of 45,000 euros and a one year prison sentence for those found guilty.

The first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize has called on the international community to support the pro-democracy protests that have swept across the Arab world this year.

Speaking at the ceremony, Yemeni journalist Tawakkul Karman, who shares the prize with Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and rights activist Leymah Gbowee, called on the international community to intensify support for the wave of protests in the Middle East.

The Taliban’s deputy leader, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad has announced they are in talks with the government of Pakistan.

The announcement is likely to exacerbate tensions between the US and Pakistan, already at a critical point after the recent deaths of Pakistani troops in a NATO attack.

The Libyan government has given British police the go-ahead to conduct inquiries into the Lockerbie bombing and the killing of PC Yvonne Fletcher.

Scottish detectives will travel to Libya to interview Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was convicted for involvement in th Lockerbie bombing in 1988.

Al-Megrahi was released in 2009 on compassionate grounds due to his ill-health. At the time he was only expected to live another 2 months.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland QC said: