Bosnian prosecutors charge former members of their armed and police forces with war crimes allegedly committed against Serbian civilians during the Bosnian War which took place over a decade ago.

According to a statement from the national prosecutor’s office, eight people were charged with,

"taking part in illegal detention of Serb civilians, their inhuman treatment, beating and inflicting of serious bodily injuries... and other inhuman acts,"

The accused were all part of the Bosnian Muslim led armed and police forces during the war.

The UN is to end its peacekeeping mission in East Timor on Monday, after 13 years and over 1500 UN troops.

In a statement, the chief of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste, Finn Reske-Nielson, said,

"The Timorese people and its leaders have shown courage and unswerving resolve to overcome great challenges,"

"Although there remains much work ahead, this is an historic moment in recognising the progress already made."

Stressing that the relationship between the UN and East Timor was not ending, Reske-Nielson added,

"As peacekeepers depart, we look forward to a new phase in this relationship focusing on social and economic development."

A bomb, considered to be "viable device", was found on Sunday in East Belfast, under the car of a police officer, after being discovered by an off-duty officer.

Blaming dissident republicans, the Northern Ireland Police Federation said,

“The device was underneath the passenger’s side of the vehicle which shows they were not worried if it killed the officer’s family. It is a really callous approach by the dissidents.”

Politicians from all sides have condemned the act, with Conall McDevitt of the nationalist SDLP describing it as "cynical and deplorable."

The incident is the latest in increasing violence targeted towards police officers, and comes following recent Loyalist riots over the removal of the Union flag from outside Belfast City Hall.

“committed to identifying and deporting from Canada people involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

This includes Nazis who perpetrated reprehensible crimes during the Holocaust, as these criminals must face justice for their horrific crimes”

“As a human rights advocacy organization grounded in the lessons of the Holocaust, we are so pleased to see the Canadian government taking steps to deport one of the few remaining Nazis in Canada - there is no statute of limitations for those who participated in genocide,"

"Having led a delegation of Holocaust survivors to Ottawa to speak to Minister Kenney in April, it is particularly gratifying to see our concerns that Oberlander, a suspected Nazi living freely in this country, have been taken seriously and acted upon in this manne”

The president of the Catalan region in Spain, Artur Mas, has again expressed his determination to hold an independence referendum in 2013.

Mr Mas, currently leading a pro-independence coalition made up of right and left-wing parties, said that the majority of Catalans want to build a new country".

The president said he wanted "all the citizens to decide freely and peacefully our future as a nation".

"We are now facing transcendental pages in our history,"

"Our duty and responsibility is to leave for future generations a country that they can feel proud of."

The Spanish government has rejected the calls, saying a referendum would have no legal force.

Egypt has allowed a shipment of construction materials to enter the Gaza Strip through its territory for the first time in 5 years.

Thousands of tonnes of supplies donated by the Gulf state of Qatar were allowed to reach Gaza through Egypt.

Egypt had previously been following strict import restrictions imposed by Israel.
The recent ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza’s political representatives, Hamas, has allowed for a relaxing of the import laws.

An Egyptian security official told the Associated Press that the shipment was made in consultation with Israeli officials.

The head of the Hamas government’s media office, Ehab-alGhsain, welcomed Egypt’s efforts to stop the blockade, and said

"We hope that Egypt will open this crossing permanently for goods so our people can meet their needs.”

Since the blockade was first imposed, an extensive network of tunnels between Egypt and Gaza has been responsible for the transport of items to Palestinians. Though Egypt has launched periodic crackdowns on these movements, Egyptian security forces have been inclined to ignore the movement of essential items, such as construction materials and fuel.

The US embassy in Central African Republic has brought its operation to a halt as the ambassador along with 40 diplomats have left the country on Thursday, due to escalating tensions between the Seleka rebels and the CAR government.

US State Department deputy spokesperson, Patrick Ventrell said in a statement,

“This decision is solely due to concerns about the security of our personnel and has no relation to our continuing and long-standing diplomatic relations with the CAR.”

The State Department in a separate notice has warned U.S. citizens from travelling to Central African Republic, due to its inability to “provide protection or routine consular services to U.S. citizens.”

According to The Washington Times, President Obama has deployed 50 combat troops to Chad as a “stand by evacuation force”.

Meanwhile, France has deployed 250 soldiers to its embassy in CAR who were originally stationed at the airport in Bangui.

Suspected Taliban militants lined up and shot 21 policemen on a cricket pitch in Pakistan on Saturday night, although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the killing.

The murdered men were kidnapped last Thursday after rocket-propelled grenade attacks on two security posts.

Naveed Akbar Khan, a local government official, told the AFP news agency:

"We found 21 bullet-riddled bodies of security personnel in an uninhabited area. One was wounded and admitted to hospital, while another managed to escape."

Another official, Gul Shehzad, added: "The hands ... were tied with rope before they were shot."

See here for full report on the Independent.

The United Nations Secretary General has released a statement calling on the Indian government to bring to justice the perpetrators of the rape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi, who died from her injuries in the attack.

In a statement released on Saturday a spokesman for the Secretary General said,

"He offers his sincerest condolences to her parents, family and friends, and utterly condemns this brutal crime.

The Secretary-General welcomes the efforts of the Government of India to take urgent action and calls for further steps and reforms to deter such crimes and bring perpetrators to justice. He also encourages the Government of India to strengthen critical services for rape victims.  UN Women and other parts of the United Nations stand ready to support such reform efforts with technical expertise and other support as required."

The statement also said,

"Violence against women must never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated. Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued and protected."

Meanwhile in Sri Lanka…

Murdered 4 year old was raped and strangled (29 December 2012)

The government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and rebels have agreed to hold talks following recent violence, and gains made by the Seleka rebels with some suggesting that CAR's capital Bangui could be in rebel hands within a 'few days'.

Meanwhile, more troops from the Central African Multinational force (Fomac) are to be deployed to CAR.

Talks are to be held in Libraville, in Gabon, and are said to be free of any pre-conditions.

The Burmese government has announced it will allow privately owned newspapers for the first time in 50 years.

The information ministry said it will take applications by Burmese citizens from February 2013 and would permit the publication in any language from April.

Burma abolished government censorship earlier this year, in a continuation of moves to liberalise the country.

Only two years ago Burmese journalists were subjected to severe censorship and the government regularly shut down papers that fell foul of its strict rules.

British Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt, has criticised Israel’s announcement of new settlements, stating that they are in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

In a statement released earlier this week Burt said,

"Last week Foreign Secretary William Hague made clear our condemnation and deep disappointment at the approval of the East Jerusalem Ramat Shlomo plan. We also condemn the Jerusalem District Planning Board’s approvals for over 3150 units in Givaat Hamatos and 1242 units in Mordot Gilo South. These are further profoundly provocative actions that run contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention. By taking these steps, despite the international community repeatedly raising our profound concerns, the Israeli Government is damaging Israel’s international reputation."

"We are also deeply disappointed in the decision to upgrade Ariel’s university centre. Ariel is beyond the Green Line in a settlement that is illegal according to international law. This decision will deepen the presence of the settlements in the Palestinian territories and will create another obstacle to peace. We reiterate our call on Israel urgently to reverse these decisions and take no further steps aimed at expanding or entrenching settlement activity."

See the full statement here.

Israel’s announcement that they would build over 1,200 new settler homes in Jerusalem this week, as part of a increased wave of settlement expansion.

Protesters in Delhi on Thursday (The Hindu)

A poll by TrustLaw, a Thomson Reuters news service, has found that India is the worst of the Group of 20 countries to be a woman in.

Canada was found to be the best place by the global survey of experts, with Germany, Britain, Australia and France completing the top 5.

The brutal rape and subsequent death of a woman in India’s capital New Delhi, and apparent lack of political will to adress the issue, has caused outrage across the country and abroad, shining a spot-light on how women are treated in the world’s largest democracy.

Massive protests in India were initially ignored by political leaders, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promising to take action to ensure security of women a full week after protests first started.

Recent research by economists in India has found that over 2 million women go missing in India each year.

Another report, released last week, says that dozens of candidates put forward by political parties, including elected officials, have rape charges pending against them.

How India treats its women (BBC) - 29 Dec 2012

The Russian government is urging Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to engage with the opposition.

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia still refuses to support calls for Assad to step down but pressed Assad to consider all options to end the conflict.

"We actively encouraged... the Syrian leadership to maximally put into action its declared readiness for dialogue with the opposition," Lavrov said to reporters on Thursday, after a meeting with Syria’s deputy foreign minister Faisal Muqdad.

"I hope that the inside Syria will prompt reasonable members of the opposition to search for way to start a political dialogue,

"The international community must not incite either side toward violence or pose preliminary conditions."

Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters that Moscow had sent an invitation for talks to the opposition and Lavrov said that "as far as we understand, they (the National Coalition leaders) are not against this offer".