The US Secretary of State John Kerry will urge the the need for political consensus in order to reach an IMF loan, reports Reuters citing a senior US official.

"His basic message is it's very important to the new Egypt for there to be a firm economic foundation,"

"In order for there to be agreement on doing the kinds of economic reforms that would be required under an IMF deal there has to be a basic political... agreement among all of the various players in Egypt."

"What they need to do is ... things like increasing tax revenues, reducing energy subsidies, making clear what the approval process will be to the Shura Council for an IMF agreement, that kind of thing,"

Kerry, is currently on visit to Egypt.

"The British parliament's recognition of the genocide follows similar acknowledgements by the Norwegian and Swedish parliaments last year. We thank them all and hope that this will inspire our friends and friends of human rights and freedom in other countries to do the same. We must all stand together against tyranny, wherever it may appear."

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), led by Nato, has apologised for killing two Afghan boys, who were mistaken for insurgents.

A helicopter opened fire on the boys, who were herding cattle in Uruzgan province in central Afghanistan.

Isaf spokesman, Brigadier General Gunter Katz said: "The two boys were killed when our forces fired at what they thought were insurgent forces."

Gen Joseph Dunford, commander of ISAF said in a statement:

"I offer my personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed."

"I am committed to ensuring we do the right thing for the families of those we harmed, as well as for the community in which they lived. We take full responsibility for this tragedy."

The governor of Uruzgan, Amir Mohammad Akhundzada, was quoted by AFP as saying: "The children were killed by Australian troops, it was a mistaken incident, not a deliberate one."

The al-Qaeda commander behind the Algerian hostage attack in January has been killed by Chadian soldiers in Mali, Chad's military said on Saturday.

In a statement read on national television, the army said:

"On Saturday, March 2, at noon, Chadian armed forces operating in northern Mali completely destroyed a terrorist base (...) The toll included several dead terrorists, including their leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar,"

Belmokhtar is one the world's most wanted jihadists, and it is believed that his death would be a mjaor blow to al Qaeda in the region.

See Reuters for full report.

A Japanese court has jailed two members of the US Navy for the rape of a Japanese woman on Okinawa.
Christopher Browning and Skyler Dozierwalker were sentenced to ten and nine years in prison respectively.

The judge at Naha district court said the sailors, who both pleaded guilty, were "contemptible and violent".

"The ruling may seem severe, but the damage to the feelings of the victim and residents is more severe," Judge Hideyuki Suzuki was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying.

The attack caused a backlash against the US military presence in Japan and all troops were placed under  a night-time curfew.

There are around 26,000 US troops on Okinawa under the terms of a long-standing security alliance with Japan.

Pro-democracy activist, Zainab al-Khawaja has been sentenced by a Bahraini court to three months in jail for "insulting and humilating a public employee".

She received her sentence after a court of appeal overturned a previous aquittal.

This week the UN Human Rights Council issued a statement condemning "the continued harassment and imprisonment of persons exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression in Bahrain".

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Obama administration to ban antipersonnel landmines, on the Mine Ban Treaty's 14th anniversary.

The Mine Ban Treaty, which comprehensively prohibits antipersonnel landmines and requires their clearance and assistance to victims, entered into force in 1999, and was signed by 161 nations including the EU and all NATO members except the US.

Arms director at HRW, Steeve Goose said:

“The United States needs to accept that the world has moved on and there is no longer a place for antipersonnel mines,”

“The US has followed the key requirements of the treaty throughout its existence – no use, no production, no trade. Washington should stop clinging to antipersonnel mines as an unneeded contingency, and instead join US allies in the comprehensive ban.”

“The United States is already acting like it has given up antipersonnel landmines, but its actions need to be confirmed in its declared policy,”

“The US can meet its national defense needs and security commitments without antipersonnel mines.”

See HRW for full press release.

A Rwandan born Dutch citizen has been found guilty of inciting genocide and has been sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison.

66-year old Yvonne Basebya was found guilty of inciting genocide in 1994, before moving to the Netherlands in 1998. She was cleared of other charges including perpetrating genocide, murder and war crimes.

Judge Rene Elkerbout said,

"She incited unfortunate youngsters to commit murder against Tutsis during meetings, as evidenced by the song she sang, 'Tuba Tsembe Tsembe', which means 'let's exterminate them all',"

Prosecution spokesperson Jirko Patist said,

"The suspect recruited youths and incited them to commit genocide, to commit murders," he said. "The court called her an essential link in the genocide."

The US pledged $60 million in non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition. Speaking in Rome after a 'Friends of Syria' meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US would now "extend food and medical supplies to the opposition, including to the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military (Council)."

The offer will not include the anti-tank and anti-aircract weapons requested by the Syrian opposition or non-lethal protective equipment such as bullet-proof vests, armored personnel vehicles and military training.

A death sentence handed to a senior Islamist leader for war crimes, has sparked deadly clashes in Bangladesh, leaving 30 people dead and hundreds injured.

A war crimes tribunal issued the death penalty to Delwar Hossain Sayeedi for crimes including murder, torture and rape during the country’s 1971 war of independence.

Supporters of Sayeedi’s party, Jammat e-Islami, claim that the tribunal is biased, and were involved with clashes with the police across the country.

The special tribunal was set up in 2010 by the current Bangladeshi government to deal with those who collaborated with Pakistani forces to prevent Bangladesh from becoming an independent country.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has claimed that it has discovered a rocket launcher and a war head during a raid on a house with republican links in West Belfast.

Tensions in the region have risen as the annual marching season approaches.

"The recovery of these items has saved lives," said a PSNI spokesman.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the BBC that Rwanda cannot be blamed on its own for its involvement in the conflict of its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"If you read, and I have read, both the UN report and the very detailed rebuttal of those claims by the Rwandan government, you've got to say there's a dispute over the facts," Mr Blair told the BBC.

"I'm not disputing the need to make sure that everybody abides by the right international principles here, I'm simply saying it isn't right to put all of this on Rwanda ," he said.

He also said it was harmful to withdraw aid to the country, as was done by many western states.
Rwanda had "virtually eliminated measles in the country, now moving on to rubella".

"The way they've reduced malaria deaths by something like 60%. These are massive achievements done through aid.

"To withdraw the aid in those circumstances seems to me a way to punish the Rwandan people without necessarily helping the issue of the conflict."

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have said that they would “not object” the delaying of the trials of four Kenyans, including Deputy Prime Minister and presidential candidate in next week’s election, Uhuru Kenyatta.

The four men were charged with crimes against humanity over election related violence during the polls in 2007, which killed over 1,000 people and the trial was due to start in April.

Fatou Bensouda, ICC prosecutor, said on Tuesday:

"The prosecution is ready for trial and wishes trial to proceed,

"At the same time, the prosecution recognises that logistical constraints such as courtroom availability make a trial on April 11, 2013, unlikely. Therefore, the prosecution does not object to a reasonable adjournment, to allow time for protective measures to be put in place for the witnesses whose identities remain to be disclosed and to provide the defence with adequate time to prepare."

"People here are saying this is a potential game-changer," said Al Jazeera Online's James Brownsell from Nairobi.

"If ICC judges agree with the prosecutor, Kenyatta and Ruto will be free to campaign if the election reaches a second round. As the dates stand, if no winner is found on Monday, the pair from the Jubilee coalition would be standing in the dock as voters go to the polls in early April. This decision will have a significant influence on the campaigns."

Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has addressed the opening of the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, calling for a strengthening of the international justice system to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account.

The High Commissioner also went on to allege that the Security Council had "failed" in regard to Syria, and highlighted gross human rights violations in several countries, including Sri Lanka.

She also underlined the threat faced by human rights defenders from states, including intimidation of human rights activists within the council in Geneva, as had occured in March 2012.

See our previous post: Tamil NGO delegates intimidated at UN Human Rights Council (02 March 2012)

Extracts from her address have been reproduced below. See her full address here.

"Yet here too, we still have a long way to go. The ICC can only become involved if the State concerned is among the 122 State Parties to the Rome Statute, or if a situation is referred to it by the Security Council. Two important situations – Darfur in 2008, and Libya in 2011 have been referred, but the Security Council has so far failed with regard to Syria, despite the repeated reports of widespread or systematic crimes and violations by my Office, the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, civil society organizations and Special Procedures."

"Again, despite the truly inspiring advances in combating impunity and ensuring accountability both at the international and national levels, including through transitional justice processes, there are still far too many people with command responsibility who escape justice for serious crimes and gross human rights violations. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Palestinian territories are still occupied; massive violations have occurred in Iraq and Sri Lanka; and war crimes continue to be committed in numerous internal conflicts including those continuing in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan and Syria. We must continue to nurture and strengthen the system designed to deal with such crimes and violations, and those who commit them. It is also critical that we in the international community do our utmost to prevent such situations from developing or deteriorating."

"Since then, civil society has evolved and expanded, with many more active national human rights organizations around today than there were 20 years ago. These national human rights defenders are the heroes of our time. It is, therefore, a matter of great concern that so many State authorities continue to ignore or repress civil society organizations, human rights defenders and the media. These organizations and individuals inject the life blood into human rights: they are the promoters of change, the people who ring the alarm about abuse, poor legislation and creeping authoritarianism."

"Nonetheless I continue to hear of brave human rights defenders, journalists or bloggers who have been threatened, harassed, arrested or killed because of their work on behalf of the human rights of others. Such intimidation has sometimes even occurred during the proceedings of this Council. We must never tolerate such pressure, or reprisals against those who rightly seek to engage the international human rights system."