A report by Human Rights Watch released earlier on Wednesday found that Myanmar troops shot at Muslims, committed rape and failed to protect Muslims from mobs during deadly ethnic clashes in June.

Labelling the figure of around 80 dead from the violence as “grossly underestimated”, the New York-based human rights organisation also concluded that the forces "unleashed a campaign of violence and mass roundups against the Rohingya".

The report, entitled “The Government Could Have Stopped This”, is based on 57 interviews with Rakhine Buddhists, Rohingya Muslims and others in both Myanmar and Bangladesh where some Muslims have fled to.

“The government claims it is committed to ending ethnic strife and abuse, but recent events in Arakan State demonstrate that state-sponsored persecution and discrimination persist.”

“If the atrocities in Arakan had happened before the government’s reform process started, the international reaction would have been swift and strong,”

“But the international community appears to be blinded by a romantic narrative of sweeping change in Burma, signing new trade deals and lifting sanctions even while the abuses continue”.

"To demonstrate its seriousness in addressing abuses, the government should grant the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Quintana, full access to investigate abuses on all sides and take action to hold perpetrators accountable''.

See our earlier post: Myanmar rejects abuse claims as UN envoy investigates violence (31 July 2012)

The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on Iran’s energy sector and some financial companies.

President Obama said the existing sanctions had been made more difficult to evade “by making sanctionable the purchase or acquisition of Iranian petrochemical products".

Iran has been trying to get around sanctions, including by using gold instead of cash as payment.

Mr Obama added that the US remains committed to find a diplomatic solution but that it is Iran’s responsibility to meet international obligations.

He said that firms dealing with the National Iranian Oil Company, the Naftiran Intertrade Company or the Central Bank of Iran, or firms that help Iran buy US dollars or precious metals will be subject to the sanctions.

The new sanctions mean that China's Bank of Kunlun and Iraq's Elaf Islamic Bank will be cut off from the US financial system, as they are seen to have assisted Iran to evade sanctions.

"If the Iranian government continues its defiance, there should be no doubt that the United States and our partners will continue to impose increasing consequences," he said.

Amnesty International held the Syrian government responsible for crimes against humanity in the largest city, Allepo and surrounding areas, in a report - ‘All-Out Repression’ - released on Wednesday.

Despite the obstacles imposed by the Syrian authorities the report outlined that Amnesty had been able to independently investigate the allegations of human rights violations on the ground in Syria and had established that, “the Syrian government is responsible for widespread, as well as systematic violations amounting to crimes against humanity.” 

The report concluded: “it is manifestly evident that the Syrian government has no intention of ending, let alone investigating, these crimes.”

In early July, Assad’s forces advanced into Aleppo with tanks and helicopters that shelled residential areas with battle field weapons, which are imprecise and should not be used in civilian areas.

The report states that President Assad reacted to peaceful demonstrators with “characteristically reckless and brutal use of force” that lead to fatalities and injuries.

Commenting on the current situation Amnesty said,

“The Syrian authorities have gone to great lengths to shield themselves from scrutiny; notably they have denied or greatly restricted access to the country, to international media and human rights organisations. However, even the most stringent restrictions can no longer obscure the gravity of the human rights situation, which has continued to deteriorate for many months. Syrian human rights defenders and citizen journalists have taken great risk- and in many cases paid a very high price- to report violations. And protesters continue to take to the streets even as they face the risk of extrajudicial execution, arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance and torture.”

The report went on to urge governments to accept the responsibility of conducting an international investigating into these crimes to improve chances of arrest and effectively co-ordinate prosecutions.

The report urged the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), along with other recommendations such as imposing an arms embargo, freezing assets, extending and strengthening the UN observer mission, and demanding access to humanitarian, human rights and media organisations in Syria.

“We haven’t had any access to them... We are still unaware of what they’ve been charged with.”

“They were not concerned with U.N. responsibilities… They themselves were involved in setting fire to villages. We have the evidence and we have witnesses and they are being put on trial.”

“The Myanmar government strongly rejects the accusations by some quarters that abuses and excessive use of force were made by the authorities in dealing with the situation… The situation is now returning to normal.”

“They are not included among our more than 130 ethnic races".

A criminal court in Switzerland has ruled that former Algerian military chief Khaled Nezzar cannot claim immunity and can be tried outside Algeria for war crimes committed while he was in power in the early 90s.

The court ruled that "it would be both contradictory and futile to, on the one hand, fight against these gross violations to the most fundamental human values and, on the other hand, to accept a large interpretation of the immunity rules [...]".

Mr Nezzar was arrested last October under a Swiss law which allows prosecution of some violations of international law.

TRIAL, an organisation fighting impunity based in Geneva, sought his arrest for war crimes and were backed by two Algerian refugees in Switzerland told Swiss officials about torture and abuse by soldiers while Mr Nezzar was in command.

Mr Nezzar was released after promising he would cooperate with the inquiries; however it is thought he has now returned to Algeria.

According to Philip Grant, director of TRIAL, "this decision sets a ground-breaking precedent that will have a significant impact beyond our borders and gives a very strong signal to executioners: in the future, they can no longer hide behind their official position to commit atrocities."

Grant told Reuters that it was now up to Swiss prosecutors to indict Mr Nezzar.

"If he declines to come back to Switzerland as he promised, there could be a question of an international arrest warrant,"

He said the decision "sets a ground-breaking precedent that could well be followed by many other countries in handling cases like this".

A high court in Kenya has lifted the ban on the Mombassa Republican Council (MRC) - a group fighting for independence from Nairobi, and autonomy for Mombassa along with a strip of coastline - prompting celebrations along the streets of the city.

Stating there was no evidence of criminal activity, Justice Francis Tuiyot ordered that the group register as a political party, and ensure they do not incite violence or hatred.

The government, which has said it will appeal against the ruling, banned the group in 2010 as an "organised criminal group".

International diplomats have previously urged Kenya to address the grievances of the region's largely Muslim population, including high youth unemployment.

The UN secretary-general Ban-Ki Moon confirmed that Syrian tanks attacked a convoy carrying the head of the UN observer mission.  Although there were no injuries, a dozen armoured vehicles used as part of the observer mission have been destroyed by blasts and shelling.

Speaking to reporters, Ban Ki-Moon said,

“It’s important, again, that the Syrian government must fully cooperate with the UN mission and must cease these violent measures. We are deeply concerned that they are using all kinds of heavy equipment, including military airplanes, attack helicopters and heavy weaponry,”

Ban Ki Moon also took the chance to comment on the Syria regime’s recent acknowledgement of possessing chemical weapons. Echoing the US' stance on the issue, he said,

“The use of these arms is prohibited under international law. Any use of such weapons would be an outrageous crime and a major concern for the entire international community,”

The UN observer mission’s 30-day mandate is set to expire in August. Much of the mission's work has been affected by intense violence.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is producing an Arab backed draft General Assembly resolution to support political dialogue and transition, emphasising the need for Syria’s chemical weapons to be held secure.

The most senior Syrian diplomat to the UK has resigned in protest against his government’s “violent and oppressive acts”.

Khaled al-Ayoubi was the Charge d’Affaires and the highest ranking Syrian official in the UK after Bashar al-Assad withdrew the Syrian ambassador in March this year.

He has not defected to the opposition and is said to be in a safe location in the UK, according to the Foreign Office.

A Foreign Office spokesman said:

"Mr al-Ayoubi has told us that he is no longer willing to represent a regime that has committed such violent and oppressive acts against its own people, and is therefore unable to continue in his position.

"His departure is another blow to the Assad regime. It illustrates the revulsion and despair the regime's actions are provoking amongst Syrians from all walks of life, inside the country and abroad.

"We urge others around Bashar al-Assad to follow Mr al-Ayoubi's example, to disassociate themselves from the crimes being committed against the Syrian people and to support a peaceful and free future for Syria."

Prime Minister David Cameron said Mr al-Ayoubi was "basically defecting from the Syrian regime."

"We want this regime to crumble and fold as fast as possible. Look what it's doing to its own people in Aleppo. Absolutely appalling behaviour. So this is another step on the way to Syria having a proper transition."

Speaking to The Times during the London 2012 Olympics, Russian Prime Minister Medvedev, insisted that the differences between Russia and the US were not as vast as people considered them to be.

Medvedev said,

“Despite differences in emphasis, the positions of Russia, the US and Britain are not as sharply different as sometimes suggested. We all start from the position that the worst outcome would be a full civil war in Syria.”

“I don’t know how exactly the political balance will look in the future, and what sort of position Assad would have in it.”

“That must be decided by the Syrian people. Our partners are urging us to support more decisive action. But then the question arises: where do resolutions end and military actions begin?”

“It’s true that we are continuing work on providing the navy with basing outside the Russian Federation,”

"Issues concerning international relations are not part of the responsibilities of the commander-in-chief of the navy,"

"fantasy of their author, who preferred to prioritise sensationalism above competency and professional ethics".

“The witnesses live in Slovakia; there are actually none in Hungary.”

“there is a bigger supposition that justice will be finished in real time in the Slovak Republic.”

"The National Memory Institute (UPN) archives in Bratislava possess a legal dossier from the death sentence of Laszlo Csatary".

CIA officials consider Israeli intelligence units to be their foremost counter-intelligence threat in the Middle East, the Associated Press reports.

CIA officers in Israel have reported having their homes broken into and the tampering of sensitive communication equipment.

The Associated Press remarks,

'Despite strong ties between the countries, officials see Israel as a frustrating ally at best and, at times, an adversary looking to steal secrets.'