Image: Huffington Post

The United States and United Kingdom should take “tougher measures” against Bahrain argued the Financial Times View this week, following the decision to strip the country’s most prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim of his citizenship.

In a piece entitled “Bahrain crackdown fans the sectarian flames”, the Financial Times stated the move, alongside preventing activists from attending the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, “together constitute the most significant assault on civil society and the moderate opposition since Saudi troops crossed into Bahrain in 2011 to help crush protests inspired by the Arab spring”.

The Colombian government and Farc rebels have sighed a historic ceasefire deal in Havana which includes UN monitors to oversee the disarmament of rebels after a political peace deal is signed.

Speaking shortly after the announcement of the ceasefire the leader of the Farc militant group Rodrigo Londono TimoChenko said,

“Let this be the last day of the war.”

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos said,

“We have reached the end of 50 years of death, attacks and pain. This sit h end of the armed conflict with Farc.”

Bosnian police arrested six former Bosnian Serb soldiers under suspicion of being involved in the killings of 27 Muslim Bosnians during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

The arrested men allegedly separated 27 men from their families, tortured them and made them dig their own mass grave before killing and burying them. Following the end of the war, the suspects are thought to have uncovered the remains they could find and dispose of them into the river to avoid being caught in the future.

The former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has become the highest level political leader to be sentenced by the International Criminal Court, after he was jailed for 18 years for committing crimes against humanity.

Jean-Pierre Bemba was found guilty in March of five charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, a landmark ruling that marked the first time the court had found rape as a crime against humanity and that held commanders responsible for the actions of their troops.

Judge Sylvia Steiner said Mr Bemba’s troops had carried out "sadistic" crimes of "particular cruelty". Prosecutors had called for a minimum 25 year sentence.

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told AFP,

“I believe this is a very important day for international criminal justice, especially when it comes to sexual and gender-based crimes.”

The sentencing was hailed by the ICC, with spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah saying the ruling shows "justice may take time but ends by being done".

Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, international justice advocacy director at Human Rights Watch said the sentence offered "a measure of justice" for the victims.

"Other commanders should take notice that they, too, can be held accountable for rapes and other serious abuses committed by troops under their control," she said.

Dozens of US State Department officials have signed an internal memo protesting against the White House’s policy on Syria and called for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad, reports the BBC.

A State Department official confirmed to the BBC that it has received the memo, reportedly signed by “51 mid-to-high level officials”, but declined to comment on its contents.

An anonymous official however said that it was sent "because the status quo is not sustainable".

Israel’s government has approved an $18 million budged for further settlements in the West Bank, reports The Guardian. 

The latest addition to Israel’s existing $88 million budget for new settlement projects in the West Bank, comes amidst calls from the US and European Union to halt all settlement building.

The Israeli government said the increase in settlements was needed to address security concerns, citing alleged recent knife attacks by Palestinians.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Israel’s prime minister, Netanyahu said the extra funding allocation was “an assistance to plan to strengthen communities” in the West Bank.

The International Criminal Court is due to sentence Congolese politician Jean-Pierre Bemba on Tuesday, after a landmark case that focussed on rape committed by troops under his command as a crime against humanity.