For the first time since the Nuremberg trials, a former head of state has been convicted by an international war crimes tribunal, as Liberia’s former president Charles Taylor was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment by judges at The Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague.

The UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on the situation in Syria this Friday announced UN officials.

Fifty-one nations have signed in support of the session, which will address last week’s killing of more than a 100 civilians in Houla.

Russia has warned the US of ‘severe repercussions’ on ties between the two countries if the recently tightened sanctions on Iran affect Russian businesses in the country.

"We assume that (Russian) companies which do violate the restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council (on Iran) will not be affected by the anti-Iranian American laws," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The US imposed fresh sanctions on Teheran last week, including making it mandatory for US firms to declare any business with Iran.

"The authority of any host country is limited to organising and offering all necessary facilities to all participating athletes."

A Rwandan man accused of genocide is due to start trial today in Ottawa.

39 year old Jacques Mungwarere was arrested in the town of Windsor in 2009.

The former school teacher is accused of leading and participating in mass killings, including massacres in churches and a hospital.

Mungwarere is the second Rwandan prosecuted under Canada’s Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act, which allows prosecution, irrespective of where and when the crimes were committed.

Two Serb policemen have been handed lengthy jail terms by a court in Sarajevo on Friday, for ‘aiding genocide’.

Dusko Jevic and Mendeljev Djuric ordered their men to take part in the separating of Muslim men and boys from other villagers and then killing over a thousand of the detainees.

Jevic, who was deputy commander of a Bosnian Serb police brigade was sentenced to 35 years, while Djuric, the commander of the brigade’s first company, was jailed for 30 years.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is beginning an official visit to neighbouring Burma.

In the first visit to Burma by an Indian prime minister since 1987, Singh is seeking to strengthen trade and diplomatic cooperation with its neighbour.

Ahead of his visit, Mr Singh said he wanted "stronger trade and investment links, development of border areas, improving connectivity between our two countries and building capacity and human resources".