The UN has published global guidelines on ‘land grabbing’, the purchase of land by rich nations and foreign companies in developing countries.

The guidelines, which are non-binding, call on governments to safeguard the rights of the indigenous population which uses the land.

200m hectares, an area eight times the size of Britain, are estimated to have been bought or leased over the past ten years.

“Giving poor and vulnerable people secure and equitable rights to access land and other natural resources is a key condition in the fight against hunger and poverty,” said the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, José Graziano da Silva.

“It is a historic breakthrough that countries have agreed on these first-ever global land tenure guidelines,

“We now have a shared vision. It’s a starting point that will help improve the often dire situation of the hungry and poor.”

Tens of thousands of people are thought to have been forcibly moved from their lands in order to make way for foreign companies.

The new guidelines are designed to ensure that people have access to their ancestral land, fishing grounds and forests, however as the guidelines are not obligatory, it will be difficult to ensure implementation by countries.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemned Sudan's "indisciminate" aerial bombing of South Sudan on Friday, and warned that such actions could be considered "an international crime".

Speaking to reporters during a visit to South Sudan this week, Pillay said,

"I am saddened and outraged to learn that such attacks which place civilians at great risk - and have already killed and injured some and caused many thousands of others to flee - have been taking place again in recent days."

"Deliberate or reckless attacks on civilian areas can, depending on the circumstances, amount to an international crime."

Urging both sides to abide by the UN-backed ceasefire that was to have begun on Saturday, Pillay added,

"Human rights are not negotiable and cannot be cherry-picked. There are no excuses, not even the youthfulness of the state, for ignoring or violating them,"

A bank has become the first Chinese firm to be given approval by the US to acquire a US bank.

State owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s (ICBC) plans to take over the US subsidiary of the Bank of East Asia have been approved by the US Federal Reserve.

"It is a pretty significant step. There has been a lot of backlash about Chinese state-run companies acquiring overseas assets," Stephen Joske of Australia Super, an institutional investor in Beijing, told the BBC.

"The permission [given] to ICBC is a clear message that things may be returning to normal and that fears about Chinese state-run firms may be moderating.”

The move comes days after high-level economic talks between the US and China and a recent visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Bomb blasts in the Syrian capital Damascus, which have killed at least 55 people and wounded another 400, have drawn international condemnation.

The UN Security Council condemned the attacks and urged all sides to 'immediately and comprehensively' implement UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan for Syria.

Syrian officials blamed the car bombs near a military intelligence office on ‘foreign-backed terrorists’.

The Ministry of Interior said the attacks were perpetrated by suicide bombers, who drove cars laden with explosives near the government building, which houses one of the most notorious of the secret police organisations in the country and is infamous for interrogations and torture.

The opposition however accused the government of carrying out the attacks in order to discredit rebel groups fighting the regime.

The Syrian ambassador to the UN accused Arab and other countries of supplying and arming rebel groups and urged the UN to put an end to such activities.

A total of 105 observers are currently in the country, to try and implement a ceasefire that is supposed to be in place, however violence has continued unabated with Syrian forces again shelling Homs.

Ukrainian officials announced that Friday's summit of EU state leaders would be postponed, after a widespread boycott by leaders across Europe in protest at the treatment of Ukraine's opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko.

Thirteen leaders across the EU have pulled out including from Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy.

See related articles:

Pressure increases on Ukraine over Euro 2012 boycott (03 May 2012)

German President cancels visit to Ukraine over treatment of ex-Premier (26 Apr 2012)

Official figures obtained by the Yorkshire Post show that the UK Border Agency has recommended ‘adverse immigration action’ against 207 individuals in Britain, suspected of committing war crimes in their native countries.

Individuals from countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are accused of torture, genocide and crimes against humanity.

Last year the UK repealed a law, allowing private individuals to initiate prosecution against foreign war crimes suspects. It is unknown whether police are investigating any of the suspects.

Human rights group Redress said:

“A major concern is what is happening to those suspects. Does the UKBA refer them all to the Metropolitan Police for investigation with a view to seeing if they can be prosecuted here?

“Unless and until there are a significant number of prosecutions for these types of crimes suspects will continue treating the UK as a safe haven.”

13 suspects have been granted asylum, as there are fears they will face violence on deportation.

Only three have been deported, with others still under ‘ongoing’ enforcement action.

A UKBA spokesman said:

“We are determined to ensure the UK does not become a refuge for war criminals and have robust processes in place to identify and seek to remove anyone suspected of such a crime.

“If it is not possible to remove them immediately - for example, if we have been overruled by the courts - these individuals can now be subjected to stringent reporting and employment restrictions while we continue to seek their removal.”

Turkey has confirmed it will not be arresting or extraditing Iraq’s Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi.

The Turkish deputy prime minister said al-Hashemi was in Turkey for medical treatment and the government would not hand over someone it had supported.

Interpol issued an international red notice for Mr Hashemi’s arrest, who is accused of running death squads targeting Shia officials, on Monday, following a request from the Iraqi government.

The Vice-President is linked to a total of 150 killings, including ministry officials, a lawyer and six judges.

Interpol's Secretary General Ronald K Noble said Mr Hashemi's ability to travel across international borders would now be "significantly restricted".

"They put a Kalashnikov to my head and threatened to kill us all if my husband did not come home. Then an officer told a soldier to get petrol and told my children that he would burn them, just as he would burn their father, because he is a terrorist."

“While diplomats argued over details of Annan’s peace plan, Syrian tanks and helicopters attacked one town in Idlib after another. Everywhere we went, we saw burnt and destroyed houses, shops, and cars, and heard from people whose relatives were killed. It was as if the Syrian government forces used every minute before the ceasefire to cause harm.”

After meeting with India’s Minister for External Affairs S M Krishna, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has praised the country for cutting down on its crude oil imports from Iran.

Commenting on steps taken by Indian refineries to seek other sources of crude oil other than from Iran, currently India’s second largest supplier, were commended by Clinton, as Iran becomes increasingly targeted by sanctions over its nuclear programme. India is also currently Iran’s second largest customer of crude oil.

Speaking after a three-day visit to the country, Clinton called India a “strong partner", commenting,

"We commend India for the steps its refineries are taking to reduce imports from Iran and we have also been consulting with India and working with them in some areas on alternative sources of supply,"

''We believe, at this moment in time, the principal threat is a nuclear-armed Iran. We need India to be part of the international effort.''

“We also look to India as a partner in the broad international effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The best way to achieve this is...for the international community to stay united and keep the pressure that has brought Iran back to the negotiating table until we reach a peaceful diplomatic resolution.”

India, which used to import around 12%-13% of its crude oil needs from Iran, says it has cut the imports to around 8-9%.

Krishna, however, was careful not to portray the steps as a disciplinary step against Iran, stating that,

"Given our growing demand, it is natural for us to try and diversify our sources of imports of oil and gas to meet the objectives of energy security. Ultimately it reflects the decision that refineries make based on commercial, financial and technical considerations."

He went on to say,

"Iran is a key country for our energy needs but we have to look at the Iran issue beyond the issue of energy trade. In the first place, we have to see security and stability in the Persian Gulf region, India has vital stakes in Persian Gulf region.”

The minister was quick to note that “the issue (Iran) was not a source of discord" between the US and India.

See our earlier post: Sanctions on Iran an opportunity to increase trade – India (10 Feb 2012)

A South African court has ordered prosecutors to investigate Zimbabwean officials accused of torturing opposition figures in 2007.

The judge said South Africa has a duty under international law to investigate crimes against humanity.

Prosecutors and the police previously refused to investigate Zimbabwean officials travelling to South Africa, citing ‘political considerations’.

South African Judge Hans Fabricius ruled that the police force and the National Prosecuting Authority had acted "unconstitutionally and unlawfully" - and ordered them to conduct an investigation.

"In my view it is clear when an investigation under the ICC Act is requested, and a reasonable basis exists for doing an investigation, political considerations or diplomatic initiatives are not relevant," Judge Hans Fabricius said.

Human rights groups have welcomed the judgment.

"This judgment will send a shiver down the spines of Zimbabwean officials who believed that they would never be held to account for their crimes but now face investigation by the South African authorities," said human rights lawyer Nicole Fritz of SALC.

However, Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa dismissed the ruling.

"We have done nothing wrong in this country that would justify bringing us under the jurisdiction of the ICC, even if we were a state party," he said.

"The ICC is there for serious crimes against humanity - not ordinary crime, which is what these exiles are trying to suggest." Chinamasa told the BBC.

The RAF (Royal Air Force) is to use a Russian base in the transfer of military hardware from Afghanistan as British soldiers pull out, reported The Times.

The military hardware, estimated to cost billions of UK pounds and including 3000 vehicles, aircraft parts, rocket launchers, engines for Tornado bombers and body army, will be transported via cargo planes from Helmand province to the Russian base in Ulyanovsk on the Volga.

The plan, approved by president-elect Vladimir Putin, was devised to avoid the danger of transporting the hardware overland to the Pakistani coast or to Afghanistan's railway station along its northern border.

According to The Times, whilst the troops can be flown out, senior officers in the British army fear that without a safe route of exit for hardware there could be a "Dunkirk in central Asia", where the troops leave but the equipment must be left behind as was the case in France in 1940.

The Eurozone's austerity measures came under scrunity this weekend as markets reacted to elections in France and Greece.

In France, the socialist François Hollande who campaigned pledging to re-negotiate the austerity measures and stimulate economic growth, was elected to succeed Nicholas Sarkozy. Following his victory, Hollande said, “Austerity need not be Europe’s fate.”

Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel responded promptly, insisting that the fiscal pact, endorsed by out-going President Sarkozy was "not negotiable".

Merkel said,

“We in Germany are of the opinion, and so am I personally, that the fiscal pact is not negotiable. It has been negotiated and has been signed by 25 countries,”

“We are in the middle of a debate to which France, of course, under its new president, will bring its own emphasis,”

“But we are talking about two sides of the same coin — progress is only achievable via solid finances plus growth.”

Meanwhile CAC 40, France's blue chip index, and the Euro fell sharply in early trading, before recovering to negate losses.

In Greece, stocks fell by 7.7% in early trading as Antonis Samara, head of the New Democracy party remains unable to form a stable coalition government.

Germany and the EU have urged Greece to abide by the austerity programme and the EU-IMF bailout plan.