The UN Security Council today toughened its sanctions against Eritrea after the East African country was accused of supporting militants in neighbouring Somalia.

Foreign companies involved in Eritrea’s mining operations must now ensure funds from the sector do not end up in the hands of militants.

The Security Council resolution had been watered down after objections by Russia and China.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, condemned the killing of unarmed civilians by the Yemeni government and asserted the government's obligation to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of all Yemenis.

Calling on the government to grant immediate access to UN staff to enable an independent assessment of the human rights situation on the ground, Pillay reiterated that violations must be made public via an independent investigation.

Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, she said,

Syria has been warned they will face fresh sanctions unless they agree to the Arab League proposal to let observers into the country.

League members said Syria had until Sunday to allow Arab League officials to observe the current situation in Syria.

At a meeting of the Arab League ministerial committee on Saturday, Qatari PM Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Jabr al-Thani said:

Former Ivory Coast President, Laurent Gbagbo, became the first ex-head of state to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday, as Chief ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, vowed that justice would not stop there and all those responsible for atrocities would be held to account.

In a statement, Moreno-Ocampo said,

"In the past, if you were a head of state you could commit massive atrocities and nothing would happen."

"This era is gone."

“Ivorian victims will see justice for massive crimes,”

"We have evidence that the violence did not happen by chance: widespread and systematic attacks against civilians perceived as supporting the other candidate were the result of a deliberate policy,”

He added that investigations into the violence will continue and Gbagbo was "only the first" to face justice.

Meanwhile, Gbagbo has claimed he was "deceived" into being transferred to The Hague.

Gbagbo told the court he had been told he was going to meet a judge in the north-eastern town of Korhogo when an arrest warrant was produced.

"My lawyers were not prepared for that," he said, adding that the he was only made aware of his journey to The Hague upon arrival at the airport.

Syria has agreed to an Arab League demand to allow in observers to monitor its crackdown on anti-government protests.

The Assad regime however placed conditions on the Arab League's protocol, namely the suspension of all sanctions placed by the Arab League last week.

Syria is also demanding the annulment of its suspension from the body.

The Arab League's secretary general Nabil al-Araby responded saying any lifting of sanctions must be agreed to by the bloc's members.

The European Union has mediated a deal between Kosovo and Serbia to jointly manage their border crossings.

"The parties reached an agreement on the EU-developed concept of integrated management for crossing points," the EU said in a statement late on Friday.

"This means that the parties will gradually set up the joint, integrated, single and secure posts at all their common crossing points."

Sporadic clashes have broken out between NATO troops and Serbs in Northern Kosovo, over who manages the border.

The International Criminal Court is compiling evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by the Sudanese Defence Minister, Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussain, along the border between South and North Sudan.

Satellite images taken by the Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP), organised by George Clooner in partnership with the Enough Project, by John Prendergast.

"In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people."

“that the Assad regime is now more isolated and under greater international pressure than ever before."

"It is clear that the Syrian government is willing to do anything to strangle the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people."

"We've set the stage in a very substantive way for strong action by the U.N. if other entities choose to take the opportunity."

"Absolutely, including the ICC if the Security Council chooses to refer this matter."

"The overwhelming use of force has been taken by Assad and his regime. So there's no kind of equanimity here."

A British soldier has been jailed for 18 months and dismissed from the army for stabbing a 10-year old Afghan boy for “no reason”, the Guardian has revealed.

The soldier, Grenadier Guardsman Daniel Crook, was hung-over after consuming a bottle of vodka the night before the attack and could not explain the reason behind it, a military tribunal was told in June.