US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has criticised Pakistan's jailing of the doctor who helped the CIA to track down Osama bin Laden.

Speaking to ABC, Panetta said the jaliing had weakened diplomatic ties between the US and Pakistan and that the 33-year jail sentence was "so difficult to understand and so disturbing".

"This doctor was not working against Pakistan. He was working against al-Qaida, and I hope Pakistan understands that because what they have done here doesn't help re-establish a relationship between the United States and Pakistan." he further said.

Syria has received widespread international criticism over the massacre at Houla, after the UN Security Council met on Sunday in an emergency session.

The killings saw at least 90 civilians including 34 children killed, many due to either shelling injuries, opr shot and stabbed to death.

A UN Security Council statement said that its members

UN observers have confirmed over 90 people, including 32 children, were killed in a massacre in the Syrian city of Houla.

The observers were met by horrific scenes when they arrived at Houla to inspect the site.

Some of the victims died through shelling, others were stabbed, shot or bludgeoned to death. Videos posted on YouTube indicate people were summarily executed.

The head of the UN mission, Maj-Gen Robert Mood told the BBC the killing in Houla was "indiscriminate and unforgivable".

The US has cut $33m in aid in response to the imprisonment of Dr. Shakil Afridi by Pakistan.

A Senate panel has said US aid will be cut by $1m for every year of Dr. Afridi’s sentence.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has called on western countries to lift sanctions on Zimbabwe, as they were hurting the poor.

"I would urge those countries that are currently applying sanctions on Zimbabwe to suspend them, at least until the conduct of the elections and related reforms are clear," she said during a visit to the country.

"Sanctions should be entirely suspended for people to entirely focus on economic issues that need to be addressed," she added.

The International Criminal Court has rejected an appeal by Kenyans alleged to have been behind mass-violence after the 2008 elections in the country.

This could mean that the four men have to face trial at The Hague for crimes against humanity.

The men deny the violence which cost the lives of 1,200 people, after the conclusion of controversial presidential elections.

The suspects were supporters of the two main candidates, who orchestrated violence as clashes surrounding the elections escalated.

Politicians and world leaders guilty of abusing human rights may be barred from the 2012 Olympic Games due to be held in London, stated Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne on Wednesday.

In a written statement to British Parliament, the Minister of State at the Foreign Office stated,

"Entry will be refused where an individual's presence at the Games or in the UK would not be conducive to the public good.”

Millions of Egyptian voters took to the polls on Wednesday, to mark the country’s first Presidential elections since the emerging from 60 years of military-backed rule.

The elections have been hailed as a transition to democracy, since the overthrow of President Mubarak and the assumption of power by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Praising the event, US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said,

A report, commissioned by the UN, has found that the Syrian Army is responsible for most of the human rights abuses committed since March.

The report, compiled by a commission appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, looked into human rights violations committed between March and mid-May, and detailed abuses committed by both the government and the rebels.

In their annual human rights report, Amnesty International has slammed the United Nations Security Council, labelling it "tired, out of step and increasingly unfit for purpose".

The London-based human rights group, stated that world leadership has failed when action was needed, saying,