Indonesian security forces are reported to have attacked a rally marking Papua’s 50th anniversary of its declaration of independence.

Activists across Papua rallied in traditional dresses and protested against the continued occupation of the restive province by Indonesia.

Police officials denied that any protestors were injured but reports indicate several Papuans were shot and many more were arrested.

The Secretary General of the Arab league has warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that the imposition of sanctions was a ‘very serious’ message that they were sending, and urged him to cease the ongoing violence in the country immediately.

Turkey has announced tough economic and financial sanctions against Syria on Wednesday.

The move by Syria’s largest trading partner comes after similar sanctions were imposed by the Arab League, the European Union and the US.

The Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced 9 sanctions, including a freezing of Syrian assets, a travel ban for senior leaders and the suspending of ties with the Syrian central bank.

Protesters in Tehran burn British flag - Getty images

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Burma, becoming the first senior US official in more than 50 years to visit the country.

During the landmark visit, Mrs Clinton is scheduled to hold a meeting lasting several hours with Burma's president Thein Sein. She is also due to fly to Rangoon for her first meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel-prize winning democracy movement leader she has described as "an inspiration".

Former president of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, has been taken into the custody of the International Criminal Court on Tuesday, becoming the first ex-head of state to be detained in ICC custody.

The ICC is investigating reports of killings, rapes and other human rights abuses during a four month conflict between Gbagbo loyalists and Alassane Quattara's French-backed forces. Both sides have been accused of heinous crimes.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the decision as "a major step toward ensuring justice".

A UN report has concluded that crimes against humanity have been committed in Syrian forces and called for a full independent investigation, as violence against pro-democracy protestors continues in the country.

Released on Monday the report says,

"The commission is gravely concerned that crimes against humanity have been committed in different locations."

"These crimes include murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty.”

Torture by Syrian forces was described as “rampant”, with the commission saying it was

"particularly disturbed over the extensive reports of sexual violence, principally against men and boys, in places of detention".

The UN went on to recommend a "prompt, independent and impartial investigations under both domestic and international law to end impunity, ensure accountability and bring perpetrators to justice."

See Al Jazeera's interview with UN commission member Yakin Erturk below.

A Kenyan court has ordered the goverment to arrest Sudan's president Omar Al-Bashir "should he set foot in Kenya in future",

The ruling came after the Kenyan chapter of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) filed a suit seeking a new arrest warrant.

In response, Khartoum has taken the decision to expel Kenya's ambassador.

Kenya was criticised by the International Criminal Court in 2010, after failing to arrest Bashir during his stay in the country.

Around 7000 prisoners, many of them sub-Saharan African mercenaries hired by Gaddafi, are still being held in detention across Libya, the UN says.

The men are held without access to legal services as courts are not yet fully working in the country.

The Arab League has approved sanctions against Syria after its suspension from the body earlier in the month.

The 22-member body voted 19-3 for the immediate implantation of the sanctions, with Iraq and Lebanon abstaining from the vote.

Turkey, acting as an observer, has indicated it too would impose the sanctions on its southern neighbour.