Outcry has erupted in the Philippines over a recently passed internet freedom law that exposes users to prosecution related to libel.

The new law deems that even posts on social networking sites that have been deemed libellous can be taken to court, curbing freedom of expression.

Harry S. Roque, president of Media Defense South East Asiaamd law professor at the University of Philippines commented,

“It exposes Internet users to prosecution ... You can be sued. You can be forced to post a bond. You will need to get a lawyer. You can imagine the mayhem this can cause.”

“The Philippines has been a leader in Internet freedom... This law makes the Philippines at par with other oppressive regimes in Southeast Asia that imprison and intimidate bloggers.”

The law has sparked a barrage of protests, bloggers blanking out their photos online and at least 9 petitions filed in the Supreme Court calling for a temporary restraining order preventing the prosecution of anyone under the law.

Philippines was recently ranked 6th in the world for Internet freedom, by the US-based NGO, Freedom House.

Peace talks between the Colombian government and Farc will commence in Oslo on 15th October, with a joint news conference on 17th October.

Last week, the Colombian President Juan Manueal Santos, said he was "cautiously optimistic" that a peace deal could be reached.

Four Nigerian peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in Darfur.

Eight more soldiers, from the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission Unamid, were injured when their convoy was attacked on Tuesday.

"They were providing administrative and logistic support and they were moving from one of our camps to the other," said the spokesperson for Unamid, Chris Cycmanick.

"From what I can remember I think this is probably one of the deadliest days that we've had in terms of losing peacekeepers."

The US has condemned the attack and said it was “appalled” by the violence.

"The United States is deeply concerned by the sharp deterioration in security in North Darfur and adjacent parts of Jebel Marra, Sudan," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Over 16,000 Unamid troops are currently deployed in the region and tasked with protecting civilians.

Around 78 of the peacekeepers have been killed since they were first deployed in 2007.

"Everything will be in danger, the existence of the Muslims who returned to Srebrenica, our memorial centre. We could even see a Serb mayor banning the yearly genocide commemoration."

"The international community has abandoned us now ... Srebrenica should be given back to the Muslims,"

"Serbs will never accept the truth of what happened here. They know very well but their politics will not allow them to admit it”.

"Here we should have a council that does not deny genocide, which is a sacred issue for Muslims and every normal human being.”

The number of Syrian refugees fleeing into neighboring countries has doubled since June to 300,000, said the UN Refugee Agency, warning that the number was likely to double again by the end of the year.

The spokesperson for UNHCR Adrian Edwards said,

“The latest figures show a total registered population of more than 311,500 Syrian refugees in the four countries (Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.”

Edwards also emphasised the need for extra funding to provide adequate resources and said they hoped to raise $487.9 million in order to assist 710,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year.

A Chinese firm has initiated legal action against US President Barak Obama, after he issued a presidential order, blocking the construction of wind farms on land owned by the firm.

Ralls Corp bought land near US navy facilities in the state of Oregon and planned to build wind farms.

However Obama blocked the construction and ordered the company to dismantle their facilities and sell the land.

Chinese-owned Ralls Corp said the president violated constitutional protection granted to land owners, and said the US government had "acted in an unlawful and unauthorised manner".

The company said that Obama had not provided proof for his claim that there is “credible evidence’ that the company’s plans could ‘impair the national security of the United States.”

The US, Russia and the European Union, welcomed Georgia's election result on Monday, which has seen the country's first democratic transfer of power from the President Mikheil Saakashvili to the opposition leader, Bidzine Ivanishvili.

In a statement the White House described it as "another milestone in Georgia's democratic development", whilst the EU said the results showed Georgia had "a healthy respect for fundamental freedoms".

Meanwhile, in Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said it "probably means that more constructive and responsible forces will appear in parliament".

Human Rights Watch urged the Burmese government to drop charges against activists, following their peaceful demonstrations on International Peace Day on September 21.

Over a dozen protesters face charges for violating the governments public assembly law, following the organisation of a march, consisting of over 1000 people, calling for peace in the conflict ridden Kachin state.

According to Human Rights Watch, two ethnic Kachin participants have already been charged for the alleged offence.

Commenting on the government proceedings, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Phil Robertson, warned,

“The Burmese government will quickly lose its new reformist label if it acts like past military governments by arresting and prosecuting peaceful protesters”

“The charges against peaceful protesters should be dropped immediately,”

Human Rights Watch described the failure to uphold the public assembly law, which was signed by President Thein Sein in 2011, as further evidence of the Burmese governments use of law to prosecute peaceful protesters.

Though the new assembly law accepts the right to peaceful assembly, its provisions make it a criminal offense to give speeches that ‘contain false information.’ Therefore making the right to assembly subject to restrictions that are at the discretion of the authorities.

“President Thein Sein should demonstrate his commitment to rights reform by making it clear that his government welcomes peaceful protests,”

“The Burmese government’s new friends in places like Washington and Brussels should challenge Naypyidaw to uphold basic freedoms. This is a test case not only for the Burmese authorities but for the international community,” said Robertson.

General Dogbo Ble, the former chief of the Republican Guard, has gone on trial over the killing of a colonel during violence after elections nearly two years ago.

General Ble and seven other members of the security forces are accused of the killing, during clashes between former president Gbagbo’s supporters and those of current president Ouattara.

The general was one of the few senior military officials who did not switch allegiance to President Ouattara as the clashes drew to an end.

Mr Gbagbo is currently facing trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

"These charges, they absolutely have no base and no proof at all... These are all political verdicts against the doctors and medics in Bahrain in order to punish them for treating the patients."

"The opposition says that there are over 1,000 political prisoners... The government for its part says that there is not a single one."

"One of the problems is that one year on from the Bahrain independent commission of inquiry, there is very little in the way of objective, reliable sources of information that are believed by both sides."

“History can follow a capricious path, sometimes meandering slowly for decades only to accelerate abruptly and take a vertiginous turn. The immediate cause of Catalonia’s sudden outbreak of secessionist fever is so-called fiscal looting.”

“But money isn’t the only cause of secessionist sentiment. We Catalans have long been attached to our distinct identity and never accepted the loss of national sovereignty after being defeated by the Spanish monarchy in 1714. For three centuries, Catalonia has striven to regain its independence. Most attempts to establish a state were put down by force.”

“At the core of Catalonia’s unique identity is the Catalan language, which is distinct from Spanish. Since the re-establishment of Spain’s democracy in 1977 and Catalonia’s autonomy in 1979, Catalan has been revived in the region’s schools. However, a recent ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court threatens this policy. To most Catalans, our language is a red line. If the current system of autonomy can’t guarantee protection of it, independence is the only solution.”

“The growth of the secessionist movement is also a reaction to a renewed wave of Spanish nationalism... Once mutual trust was lost, other possible solutions, like a federal state, lost their appeal. The fact that the Spanish government is now seeking to curb the powers of autonomous regions by blaming them for the economic crisis doesn’t help.”

“Opponents of secession often argue that Catalan independence doesn’t make sense in a globalized world where state sovereignty is progressively being eroded. However, the opposite is true: it has never made more sense — at least for small European nations.”

"Unfortunately, the Catalan demands for self-determination have so far been met with threats and contempt by the Spanish government. This attitude differs starkly from that of the British prime minister, David Cameron, who has been negotiating with Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, over a scheduled 2014 referendum on Scottish secession from the United Kingdom."

"Spain’s Constitution may not permit regions to secede, but the principles of democracy and justice necessitate finding a political solution to Catalonia’s demands. In a world where deep-seated national grievances often lead to violence, Catalans offer the example that peaceful change is possible. Denying Catalans the right to self-determination would be an affront to the democratic ideals that Spain, and Europe, claim to embrace."

US President Barack Obama has stopped a Chinese-owned company from investing in wind farm projects on land it had acquired in Oregon.

Obama issued a presidential order, asking Ralls Corp to clear equipment of the sites, which are located near a naval facility, within 14 days and to sell the land within three months.

“There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that Ralls Corporation (Ralls), a corporation organized under the laws of Delaware, and its subsidiaries, [...] might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States; and provisions of law, other than section 721 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [...] do not, in my judgment, provide adequate and appropriate authority for me to protect the national security in this matter,” said the order issued on Friday.

Ralls is planning to sue the president, saying he violated the constitutional proitection granted to property owners.

"The selective and arbitrary singling out of Ralls' project drives our effort to seek redress in US courts.

"[...] We are confident that the courts will vindicate Ralls's rights under the law and the constitution and we intend to pursue the remedies that the law makes available," it said in a statement.