A coalition of Iranian opposition figures from a range of political groups condemned the upcoming Iranian presidential election as a 'charade', reports the Guardian.

The coalition, which came together for a two day conference organised by United for Democracy in Iran in Stockholm this weekend, consisted of exiled political figures, who attended in their personal capacity, rather than as representatives of their political parties.

In a statement, the coalition slammed the exclusion of candidates as exhibiting a lack of legitimacy, stating the election on 14th June was "an insult to the Iranians".

"The policies of the Islamic Republic, both internally and externally, have created numerous crises and placed our homeland in a truly precarious position."

"In these circumstances, the regime in Tehran is staging an election that bears no resemblance to free and fair elections in accordance with international standards."

"The adventuresome foreign policy of the regime, that has sacrificed Iran's national interests for the backward and self-serving viewpoints of a few, has positioned our country in unprecedented isolation, brought to bear back-breaking sanctions and imperilled the security of the nation."

"Free and fair election… is the most realistic and least costly way of bringing different viewpoints together and pave the way for the achievement of democracy to save our country from ruin and chaos."

Russia has confirmed it will deliver anti-aircraft missiles to the Syrian regime, saying the arms would be a ‘stabilising’ factor and help deter "some hotheads" from intervening.

"We consider these supplies a stabilising factor and believe such steps will deter some hotheads from considering scenarios that would turn the conflict international with the involvement of outside forces," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Ryabkov also criticised the EU’s decision not to renew an arms embargo on the Syrian rebels, saying the move will undermine efforts to hold a peace conference, as proposed by the US and Moscow.

"A whole range of actions that have been undertaken, not without the participation and not without the support of our Western partners including the United States and France... are serving to undermine the idea of calling a conference," Ryabkov said.

The African Union accused the International Criminal Court of being 'racist' on Monday, reports AFP. 

Demanding that the ICC end proceedings against the Kenyan president, it said Africans were being targeted due to their race.

Speaking at the end of the AU summit, AU chair and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, said:

"African leaders have come to a consensus that the (ICC) process that has been conducted in Africa has a flaw,"

"The intention was to avoid any kind of impunity... but now the process has degenerated to some kind of race hunting."

Speaking to AFP, the ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah said the ICC "will not be reacting" to the AU resolution calling for the end of the Kenyatta proceedings.

The European Union has agreed not to renew an arms embargo on the Syrian opposition, meaning individual countries could arm the opposition. Pressure to arm the rebels, mainly from the British and French foreign ministers, was not successful with the EU deciding not to deliver any weapons to the rebels.

William Hague welcomed the decision, saying it was "important for Europe to send a clear signal to the Assad regime that it has to negotiate seriously, and that all options remain on the table if it refuses to do so".

However his bid to arm the rebels faced criticism at home, with shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander questioning the governments moves.

“As William Hague meets EU foreign ministers today, he should be asking both is it legal, and is it advisable to send arms to Syria's rebels.

”How would the Government prevent British-supplied weapons falling into the wrong hands, and how does supplying weapons help to secure a lasting peace.” Alexander said.

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has called for a new law to be passed that criminalises denial of genocide committed by the country’s Khmer Rouge regime.

Speaking to Parliament ahead of an election due to be held on July 28, Sen, a former Khmer Rouge cadre himself, Sen stated,

“Anyone who says there was no Khmer Rouge genocidal regime in Cambodia has to be punished,”

"In Europe, anyone who dares to say Hitler did not kill people will be prosecuted,"

His comments come after a recording of opposition leader Kem Sokha was posted on a government website where he allegedly states that the notorious S21 prison was an invention of the Vietnamese invaders. However, his party issued a statement, saying,

“Kem Sokha has never denied that there was a Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. He has publicly and strongly condemned that regime because he personally was one of the victimized and he clearly knows about the torture and killing,”

“But unfortunately, some politicians are taking the occasion of the words of Kem Sokha with the aim of manipulating and causing public confusion about him.”

Two rockets have hit a district in southern Beirut, controlled by Hezbollah.

The missiles, Soviet-made Grad rockets, hit buildings in the al-Shayyah area and injured three people.

Syrian rebels have vowed to attack Hezbollah after their leader Hassan Nasrallah promised to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad until the rebels were defeated.

"We used to say before, 'We are coming Bashar'," Col Abdul-Jabbar al-Aqidi was quoted as saying. "Now we say, 'We are coming Bashar and we are coming Hassan Nasrallah'.

Dozens of Hezbollah fighters are thought to have died in Syria while fighting against rebels alongside the Syrian army.

Speaking to reporters, Issoufu went on to add,

"I had said that if the Libyan state turned into a Somalia or fell into the hands of fundamentalists, the solution would be worse".

He also stated that whilst Libya was doing their best to control the situation,

"it is possible that in the future there would be more infiltrations".

Issoufu was speaking after attacks on a military barrack and French-owned uranium mine, allegedly planned by an Algerian militant, which only ended after fierce battles between the militants and Niger soldiers backed by French special forces.

The Islamist Signed-in-Blood Battalion and Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) jointly claimed responsibility for the attacks.

The announcement was made as Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Burma and met with President Thein Sein, the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to the country since 1977.

He also had talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Last year Japan announced the cancellation of $3.4bn debt from Burma, and the latest move will see that all outstanding debt are also erased.

See the full report from the BBC here.

"The population growth of Rohingya Muslims is 10 times higher than that of the Rakhine [Buddhists],"

"Overpopulation is one of the causes of tension."

"One factor that has fueled tensions between the Rakhine public and [Rohingya] populations relates to the sense of insecurity among many Rakhines stemming from the rapid population growth of the [Rohingya], which they view as a serious threat."

The Colombian government announced progress in peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The government said that an agreement on land reform had been reached by the two parties. A joint statement released by the two sides, outlined their agreement on ‘integrated rural reform’, which included a fund that allowed for the redistribution of unused land to displaced people and peasants.

FARC chief negotiator, Carlos Fernandex Cossio, described the land agreement as a vehicle to redistribute farmland, where farmers will receive, loans, technical assistance and marketing advice, whilst being bolstered by legal and police protection.

The Colombian Vice President, Hymberto de la Calle, also warned that there would be no peace deal until all six points had been agreed on, and that the final deal would also be put to a nationwide referendum for final approval to insure national participation and transparency.

The next round of talks are set to address the issue of how FARC will gain political representation, and whether or not the militants will be granted blanket immunity for the crimes they have committed.

The leader of the militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, aligned his movement behind President Bashar’s Syrian government.

The affirmation of support came as Hezbollah militants assisted Syrian government forces to launch an assault on the town of Qusair.

“Syria is the backbone of the resistance and the resistance cannot stand with folded hands while its backbone is being broken, “ Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

Hezbollah is categorised as a terrorist group by the United States.

Sami Lushtaku, who is also the mayor of the town of Skenderaj, was arrested by EULEX who stated he was detained,

"for war crimes against the civilian population in the form of violation of bodily integrity and health of civilians held in a KLA detention center located in Likovc, Skenderaj municipality".

They went on to add,

"One of the individuals is investigated also for war crimes in the form of killing of one civilian," it said.

See the full report from Reuters here.