The UN has started to deliver airdrops of food aid to refugee camps in the South Sudan border region, where refugees from Sudan have sought safety.

Over 170,000 people are believed to have fled Sudan according to the UN World Food Program (WFP).

The Country Head of WFP in South Sudan, Chris Nikoi told Reuters,

"As we speak, we've started an airdrop operation into Maban (camp). The planes have started flying today from Gambella, Ethiopia, with food dropping into Maban,"

"They have arrived in very poor nutritional condition. The children need nutritional support to quickly boost up their resistance to opportunistic diseases."

Whilst Khartoum has agreed to UN aid delivery in rebel held areas, the aid has been stalled as Khartoum insists on supervising all deliveries.

A former Israeli soldier has been sentenced to 45 days in prison for the killing of a Palestinian mother and her daughter, after avoiding manslaughter charges.

The ex-soldier, named only as S, reached a plea bargain reducing his charges to the illegal use of a weapon. The Israeli military stated that the bargain was reached ''following a mediation process and upon examination of the evidence with the recommendation of the military court''.

The soldier was accused of killing Raya Abu Hajaj, 64, and her daughter Majda, 37, whilst they waved white flags during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09. According to reports, both women were amongst a group of 30 people, which included children, taking shelter in a house.

At the time of the indictment, the Israeli military stated that there was evidence the soldier had,

"deliberately targeted an individual walking with a group of people waving a white flag without being ordered or authorised to do so".

“I was shocked in the beginning from the statement of the court since the soldier killed two harmless women holding a white flag in one hand and a child in the other. It seems as though none of what they were holding could have prevented them from being killed.”

“This statement killed them once again because of its injustice. The Israeli soldier who killed them is supposed to have got a life sentence.”

US officials have informed reporters that they expected changes in the military after the election of President Mursi.

"We had expected President Mursi at some point to co-ordinate changes in the military leadership, to name a new team," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.

"The United States and the Department of Defence in particular look forward to continuing a very close relationship with the Scaf (Supreme Council of the Armed Forces)."

"The new defence minister is someone who is known to us, he comes from within the ranks of the Scaf and we believe we'll be able to continue the strong partnership that we have with Egypt,"

Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, a close ally of the US for decades, was dismissed on Sunday, in a move that took most observers by surprise.

The Egyptian military receives more than $1bn in aid from the US.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has agreed to suspend Syria from the body, according to an OIC source.

The source told Reuters that foreign ministers agreed to the suspension at a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday.

"The session just ended. The ministers adopted the resolutions, including the suspension of Syria," the source told Reuters.

Iran opposed the suspension from the 57-member body.

"By suspending membership, this does not mean that you are moving toward resolving an issue. This means that you are erasing the issue. We want to really resolve the issue," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters before the meeting.

See Reuters for full report.

The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged for a continued ‘flexible UN presence in Syria’ after the end of the current observer mission.

"A continued UN presence in Syria that goes beyond our important humanitarian work would allow systematic and meaningful engagement with the Syrian stakeholders, inside the country," the UN chief said in a letter on Friday to the 15 members of the UN Security Council.

"Furthermore, a flexible UN presence in Syria would provide the UN impartial means to assess the situation on the ground.

"The UN cannot discontinue its support" while the crisis continues, he emphasized. "Rather, we must adapt to the situation while pursuing our efforts."

"It is one thing to talk about all kinds of potential actions, but you cannot make reasoned decisions without doing intense analysis and operational planning,"

"Our intelligence services, our military have very important responsibilities and roles to play so we are going to be setting up a working group to do exactly that."

"What would that mean in terms of response, humanitarian and medical emergency assistance and, of course, what needs to be done to secure those stocks from ever being used or falling into the wrong hands?"

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will investigate recent violence in the north-eastern state of Assam.

77 people died after violence erupted between indigenous Bodo tribes and Bengali Muslim settlers.

Tension between the native Bodo and Bengali migrants has been simmering for years and erupted into full-scale riots after four Bodo youths were killed last month.

Bodos then attacked Muslims in retaliation, accusing them of being behind the killings.

The CBI will now probe whether there was a ‘conspiracy’ behind the violence, which saw over 300,000 people fleeing their homes.

The Home Ministry issued a statement on Saturday, saying that the situation was now under control and 170 people were arrested, after the deployment of army troops and thousands of paramilitaries.

"104 fixed police pickets have already been established. At present, the security situation in Assam is peaceful and under control. 65 additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been deployed. In addition, Army has also been deployed in the violence-affected areas," it said.

"Mr. Sosa is not facing extradition to Guatemala to face murder charges. The extradition is to the United States where the U.S. authorities allege that Mr. Sosa lied to them when he answered 'no' to the question whether he had committed any crimes for which he had not been arrested."

"I have carefully reviewed the extradition judge’s decision, and it is my view that Mr. Sosa’s appeal is hopeless. Nor is there any injustice in requiring him to answer the perjury charges in the United States."

"It looks like the court agrees there is evidence on the record about Sosa being involved in the massacre, and it's certainly good that he's in front of a court, but it's disappointing that the charges he's going to face are much weaker charges than what he actually should face".

"The disappointment is that Canada to this point hasn't shown any interest in prosecuting Sosa in Canada on charges that would actually fit the crimes he's accused of."

“medical supplies such as trauma kits, surgical equipment, medicines and water purification and to assist local doctors with the means to gather forensic evidence for any potential trials in future."

"We will help build local capacity among Syrian doctors to collect forensic evidence of torture that can be used in future trials. We will provide more training to support the documentation by Syrian activists of human rights violations and abuses, and to support steps to help Syrian opposition groups to uphold human rights.

"All nations have, in our view, a responsibility to act together to stop the bloodshed, and none more so than the members of the United Nations Security Council… I of course hope, as always, that we, Russia, China, the United States and all the members of the Council can settle our differences and agree steps to advance the political solution that Syria so desperately needs.

"But the people of Syria cannot wait indefinitely. People are dying and are often trapped without food and shelter. They are at the mercy of a regime that is hunting down its opponents, an army that has turned its weapons against civilians, and militias that are committing barbaric crimes."

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, welcomed the recent agreements between Sudan and South Sudan, that have allowed humanitarian aid agencies into the liberation movement’s territory. However, she reiterated the need for both parties to formulate a deal resolving the pending issues along the border promptly.

Rice said,

“There clearly are issues, critical issues like the security along the border, demilitarisation, the disputed areas, Abyei, that remain unresolved. And we are looking to the two parties to resolve those issues in very short order and we will be ready to respond to their actions."

Reminding the two nations that the United Nations Security Council and African Union were ‘dead serious’ about the implementations of agreed resolutions and decisions, Rice piled on the pressure, stating that, “The council has been very clear in underscoring its intention to consider additional measures including economic sanctions if their accords are not fully implemented”.

Initially, the UN Security Council gave the two nations until August 2nd to settle their disputes. However, it was a day after the deadline before the first agreement on oil reserves was reached. The Security Council said it will not set a new deadline, although the UN secretary General, Ban Ki-moon is due to produce a report on the situation by September 2nd.

The United Nations stresses that there is still a humanitarian crisis in the recently separated states.

Hundreds of people who died during the civil war in Ivory Coast last year were summarily executed.

Fighters who backed the current president are accused of committing many of the killings, according to a report commissioned by the government.

"The CNE notes that, among the 3,248 victims registered, figure 2,241 cases of individuals summarily executed for apparent political and/or ethnic reasons," read the report, which has not yet been published.

The report states that 1,009 of the people executed were killed by forces loyal to former president Laurent Gbagbo.

Investigators also found that the current president, Alassane Ouattara's forces, carried out 545 executions.

Ouattara stated in an interview to the BBC that individuals from all sides will be prosecuted.

"Once the results are in, anyone who has been involved in crimes will be prosecuted. No one will be protected," he said in an interview with the BBC last week.

"I want the rule of law in (Ivory Coast). We will be letting the courts do their job. I will not interfere. And I think this is the only way to heal things," he said.