UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay has warned of war crimes occurring in Iraq, as militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) released images of the shooting of dozens of captured Iraqi soldiers.

The images, released on a militant website appear to show the killings, reportedly taking place north of Baghdad, with the Iraqi Army’s Lieutenant General Qassim al-Moussawi confirming their authenticity.

A Ukraininan military plane was shot down by Pro-Russian separatists, killing all 49 crew and troops aboard.

Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko has vowed to retaliate, saying that "all those involved in cynical acts of terrorism of this magnitude must be punished."

Despite denials from Moscow, the United States believes that the separatists are being armed by Russia. State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said in a statement on Friday:

The United States has announced it is sending an aircraft carrier into the Gulf, to increase its options to deal with the conflict in Iraq.

The USS George HW Bush, capable of carrying dozens of fighter jets, was ordered into the Gulf by Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, alongside a guided-missile cruiser and a destroyer.

With ISIS advancing closer to the Iraqi capital, Iran has said it did not rule out working with the US in fighting the militants.

Tens of thousands of Cambodian migrants have left Thailand, where there are fears that the military government may crack down on illegal workers, with reports of forced deportations emerging.

“President Obama met with his senior foreign policy team yesterday afternoon. We had a comprehensive meeting regarding the events in Iraq. We discussed a range of options including military action.”

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has announced it will treat the loyalist union flags in mixed area in Belfast as a breach of peace.

In a statement to the BBC, the PSNI said that tensions were ‘particularly heightened’ in Ballynafeigh, south Belfast, by the erection of British flags.

"As a result, police have directed that any future erection of flags on this part of the Ormeau Road will be treated as a breach of the peace. Community representatives have been spoken to and advised of this," the statement said.

Sinn Féin assembly member Alex Maskey, who led discussions with the PSNI, said that the police brought themselves into disrepute, as they watched the flags being put up.

"Police officers did see and did stand by when people were putting flags up and I certainly don't want to see that repeated again because the PSNI themselves have brought themselves into disrepute because of their behaviour around the flags.

A Burmese parliamentary committee has voted to retain a constitutional clause, which bans opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from standing at the presidential elections.

The clause bars anyone with non-Burmese partners or children from running for president, with Suu Kyi’s late husband and children all British citizens.

The Burmese parliament still has to vote on the decision in order to make it final, but this is also widely expected to be in favour of the parliamentary committee ruling.