US President, Barack Obama has promised a "vigorous investigation" for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, which if found could be a "game-changer".

Speaking at the White House, Obama said:

"Horrific as it is when mortars are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed, to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law.

"All of us, not just the United States, but around the world, have to recognise how we cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian populations."

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron told the BBC he worried that there may be failure to act on the part of the West because of the trauma from Iraq.

Mr Cameron said:

"I choose my words carefully, but what I see does look very much like a war crime is being committed in our world, at this time, by the Syrian government."

"I would want to reassure people and say the lessons of Iraq have been learned.

"There are proper processes in place to try and make sure that what people say is properly backed up by the information.

"If anything, I would argue that because people are so worried about what happened in Iraq, it's actually quite important now to come forward - as the Americans have done and I think [US President] Barack Obama has done it in a very clear and measured way."

Serbia’s President Tomislav Nikolic has personally apologised for the first time for the massacre that took place in Srebrenica, in a television interview due to be broadcast later next month.

However, the President stopped short of demands to acknowledge the atrocity as genocide, telling the interviewer that the charge remained to be proven.
Speaking in an interview about the massacre, which saw 8,000 Muslim men and boys killed by Serbian forces, Nikolic stated,

"I am down on my knees because of it. Here, I am down on my knees. And I am asking for a pardon for Serbia for the crime that was committed in Srebrenica. I apologise for the crimes committed by any individual on behalf of our state and our people".

The refusal to recognise the act as genocide angered the representatives of victims, with Munira Subasic, president of the Mothers of Srebrenica association, saying,

"We do not need someone to kneel and ask for forgiveness. We want to hear the Serbian president and Serbia say the word genocide".

Nikolic has previously denied genocide took place in Srebrenica, which was sharply rebuked by the European Union, with EU foreign policy official Catherine Ashton having stated,

"[We] would like to remind everyone that Srebrenica has been confirmed as genocide by both the ICTY and the ICJ. Srebrenica was the largest massacre in Europe since world war two, a crime against all of humankind. We should never forget and it should never be allowed to happen again."

See our earlier posts:

Serbian president says 'no genocide in Srebrenica' (03 June 2012)

Serbian President denies Srebrenica genocide (10 October 2012)

France's defence minister confirmed that 1000 French troops will be staying in Mali regardless of the expected arrival of over 12,000 UN Peacekeepers.

Defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters

“From now on we are in the post-war phase. The U.N. resolution adopted yesterday will allow for the arrival of a force to stabilize the country,”

See the Washington Post for full report.

The billionaire founder of US equity firm Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman, has unveiled a $300 million scholarship fund, aiming to send 200 foreign post-graduate students to study in China each year.

Schwarzman has donated $100 million of his own money and is raising a further $200 million, to send students from across the world on an international education programme at the Tsinghua University in Beijing, in subjects that include public policy and international relations.

The programme is modelled on the Rhodes Scholarship programme that saw foreign students study at Oxford University in the UK, and has generated substantial interest from many Western backers.

Announcing the scheme, Schwarzman hoped that it would “foster stronger and deeper relationships” adding that it would develop “a far richer and more nuanced understanding of China’s social, political and economic context”. He went on to state,

“A win-win relationship of mutual respect between the West and China is vital, benefiting Asia and the rest of the world, and enhancing economic ties that could lead to a new era of mutual prosperity”.

Amongst the many firms who have backed the scheme are BP, Boeing, Caterpillar, Bank of America and Credit Suisse. Those on the advisory board of the fund include, former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Condoleezza Rice, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, American cellist Yo-Yo Ma and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Commenting on the fund, the Financial Times stated in their editorial,

“This is a groundbreaking initiative. China has never opened its university system to foreigners to this extent."

"It comes as the new leadership is discussing reform in many areas. And without a world-class educational establishment, China’s international prestige will always be in question. Though Tsinghua has educated the president, Xi Jinping, and many of China’s ruling elite, it remains largely unknown outside its country. Allowing in a large contingent of the best and brightest from around the world will not only enhance its reputation and expose it to the demands of international education. It will also groom a corps with unique experience of the world’s newest superpower.”
 

The UN Security Council has approved the creation of a new peacekeeping force in Mali.

The resolution, proposed by France, has authorised the force, which will see troops deployed in July ahead of elections in the country.

11,200 military personnel and 1,440 police officers will make up the UN force, called Minusma, costing £520m a year.

Its mission will be to stabilise "the key population centres, especially in the north of Mali.... to deter threats, initiate and actively... take active effective... steps to prevent the return of armed elements to those areas".

Russia expressed concerns at the Security Council about recent authorisation to make UN forces in the DR Congo more offensive.

"There must be a clear division between peacekeeping and peace enforcement. This is why we believe that the mandate of Minusma does not provide for offensive operations," said Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin.

A thousand French troops will remain in the country to carry out offensive operations against rebel forces.

Amnesty International has accused Bahrain of lacking seriousness with regards to human rights, after the kingdom cancelled, for the second time, a planned visit by the UN's Special Rapporteur on torture.

Rapporteur, Juan Mendez, said he was 'deeply disappointed' and added:

“This is the second time my visit has been postponed at very short notice. The authorities seem to view my visit as an obstacle rather than a positive factor to the reform process,"

Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said:

"This latest cancellation shows that Bahrain is clearly not serious about implementing human rights reforms. The authorities have used the buzzword of 'reform' as a smoke screen, when in reality they are not reforming,"

"There are no reforms in Bahrain, but rather human rights abuses continuing unabated."

See Amnesty International for full report.

A court in Brazil has sentenced 23 policemen to a total of 156 years for the killing of inmates in a Sao Paolo jail.

111 prisoners were killed during a massacre in Carandiru jail, after two rival prison gangs clashed. 13 of those killed were shot by the convicted policemen.

"We never thought they would come in and kill people randomly, as not everyone had joined the rebellion," former prisoner Jacy de Oliveira told BBC Brasil's Luis Kawaguti.

"The policemen began shooting everyone; I was on the fifth floor, if you looked a policeman in the eyes, you were dead," he said.

The lawyer for the policemen argued that they were acting in self-defence, as the prisoners were armed.

Read more here.

Chechen groups leading the Islamist insurgency against Russia have distanced themselves from the Boston bombings.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder of the two brothers named as suspects, made a trip last year to the North Caucasus, creating speculation that the men had links to extremist movements in the region.

However a statement from militants operating in Dagestan said:

"Caucasian mujahideen are not carrying out military actions against the United States. We are fighting with Russia, which is responsible not only for the occupation of the Caucasus but for monstrous crimes against Muslims,"

"Even regarding our enemy, the government of Russia, with which the Caucasus Emirate is fighting, the order from the Emir of the Caucasus Emirate Doku Umarov remains valid prohibiting strikes against civilian targets."

The statement also suggested that Russian security services may have been involved in the Boston attacks.

See Reuters for full report.

Amnesty International has criticised the decision made by a Guatemalan judge to suspend the genocide trial of former dictator  Efrain Rios Montt, stating that it risks strengthening impunity and weaking rule of law.

Sebastian Elgueta, researcher on Guatemala at Amnesty International said in a statement,

“This trial represented a hope of justice for victims of crimes against humanity and crimes under international law in Guatemala” .

“The consequences of this decision may set back the clock in Guatemala to a time when impunity was the norm for those types of crimes.

“Annulling the evidence of witnesses, and forcing them to relive, once more, their harrowing testimony, is insensitive and cruel”.

“This decision shows disregard for the rights of victims, in effect re-traumatizing them all over again.”

See the full statement here.

The US has doubled the aid it provides to the Free Syrian Army.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new $123m non-lethal aid package at a meeting of countries opposed to President Assad in Istanbul.

"The situation in Syria is horrific. It is horrible." Kerry said.

The Secretary accused the Assad regime of "using ballistic missiles against innocent people" and "using his air force to rain down terror on the people of his country".

Read more here.

Formula 1 Chief Bernie Ecclestone has called the Bahrain government ‘stupid’ for choosing to host the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, as pro-democracy protests escalate leading up to the race.

Speaking to the BBC, Ecclestone said,

"The government here were stupid, in a lot of ways, to put this race on... It is a platform for people to use protesting.”

As thousands of protestors took to the streets, Ecclestone went on to say,

“I haven’t seen any of the people here wanting to go to Syria or Saudi Arabia… There are lots of places they could go – Iran, if they wanted. But they seem happy to stay.”

The F1 boss was also questioned about the link between sport and politics, and questioned on whether Formula 1 would go to countries where human rights violations occur such as Syria. Ecclestone was reminded that Formula 1 did not go to South Africa after 1985, due to a sporting boycott of the country, because of their apartheid policies.

Excerpts of that interview have been reproduced below:

BBC Sport's Dan Roan: I understand the argument between politics and sport and sometimes it's not for sport to make those decisions but do you think there's a line and F1 has to make a decision...are there certain places F1 can't go? For instance if Syria said come and race in Damascus and we'll give you a fortune to do so, what would you do?

Bernie Ecclestone: But we don't have a circuit there

DR : If they did…?

BE : We'll have to have a look and see

DR: You can never take a moral stand in sport you don't think? In South Africa you did for example?

BE : We don’t go anywhere to judge how a country is run… I keep asking people, what human rights - I don’t know what they are.

See the full interview and report from the BBC here.

A Guatemalan judge has suspended the trial of former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, who faces charges of genocide, ruling all action taken from November 2011 as illegal.

Judge Carol Patricia Flores was removed from the case in February 2012, before being reinstated recently. Her decision to restart the trial effectively renders all action by the prosecution useless, meaning the trial will have to restart. Flores went on to state,

"I am not doing this because I want to, but because it has been ordered by the constitutional court and the supreme court".

The decision though has angered prosecutors and relatives, who wept and shouted that she was a “sold-out judge”, once the decision was announced. State prosecutor Orlando Lopez added,

"This makes a mockery of the law… Returning the entire process back to a previous phase that has already concluded is illegal."

Serbia has agreed a landmark accord with Kosovo to normalise relations between the two countries.

The accord, brokered by the EU, comes after months of intense discussions between the Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.

"The negotiations have concluded. The text has been initialled by both prime ministers," said EU diplomat, Catherine Ashton.

Belgrade does not recognise Kosovo’s independence, however in order to be considered for EU membership, it must normalise relations with neighbouring countries.

A French family who were held captive in Nigeria for two months after being kidnapped from Cameroon have been released.

Gunmen claiming to be from Nigerian militant group Boko Haram earlier released videos threatening to kill the family if authorities did not release fellow militants held in Nigeria and Cameroon.

French president Francois Hollande denied that a ransom was paid.

See the Guardian for full report.