India has praised Burma’s transition to democracy during a visit by Burmese President Thein Sein to New Delhi.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh welcomed recent developments in Burma, including Friday’s release of 200 political prisoners.

The neighbours, who share a 1,600 km long border, have agreed deals to expand border trade and cooperation in oil and gas exploration.

India extended credit facilities worth £316m for investments in Burmese roads, ports and inland waterways.

Guatemalan officials ordered the arrest of former president, Oscar Mejia, on Thursday, on charges of genocide. 

Police, who have raided 4 houses in an attempt to capture 80-year-old Mejia, have deemed him a fugitive.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has dropped controversial plans to implement a refugee swap deal with Malaysia, after facing almost certain defeat in the Australian House of Representatives.

The plan which involved sending 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for 4,000 UN approved refugees over a four year period, was deemed illegal by the Australian High Court in September as the safety of the refugees could not be guaranteed in Malaysia.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention. 

Gillard withdrew the bill after it was staring parliamentary defeat, which would have made it the first bill since 1929 to have been defeated in the lower house.

Commenting that Australia would still accept the 4,000 refugees from Malaysia, Gillard said,

"It's clear that the migration law of this country will not be amended, and as a result the government is not in a position now... to have asylum-seekers processed in third countries."

Graham Thom of Amnesty International, hailed the withdrawal as very significant but warned Australia still has a long way to go.

“I think we need to remember that this just brings Australia back into line with most Western democratic countries. So, it’s only a first step; an important step, but a first step that brings us into line with other like-minded countries.” 

See him talking to Al Jazeera below.

US President Barack Obama will be sending 100 “combat-equipped” troops to Uganda, to help defeat the Lord’s Resistance Army, a group accused of gross human rights violations.

In a letter to John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House, Obama wrote,

"These forces will act as advisors to partner forces that have the goal of removing from the battlefield Joseph Kony and other senior leadership of the LRA."

He went on to say that the move was “in the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States”.

Obama also stressed that they would not be there to lead the effort but would not engage in combat unless “necessary for self-defense”.

The LRA leader Joseph Kony is accused of war crimes and wanted by the International Criminal Court, which issued a warrant for his arrest in 2005.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the move was part of a broader effort in "pursuing the LRA and seeking to bring top commanders to justice."

Obama's decision was commended by human rights groups and anti-genocide groups, against the group he once labeled "affront to human dignity".

Malawi's refusal to arrest Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes in Darfar, has sparked international condemnation.

Bashir arrived in Malawi for a trade summit on Thursday.

Human rights groups and the European Union have urged Malawi, a signatory to the ICC, to arrest Bashir. An arrest warrant was issued for Bashir, by the International Criminal court, in 2008.

In a statement released on Friday, EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said,

"The European Union is a staunch supporter of the ICC and the fight against impunity."

"The Court is a valuable instrument of the international community to ensure that there is no impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes must not go unpunished and their prosecution must be ensured by measures at both domestic and international level,"

Human Rights Watch has accused the Philippines army of falsely labeling innocent children as members of the rebel New People’s Army and taking them into custody.

In a press release, Elaine Pearson deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said,

Amnesty International has stated that upto 2500 Gaddaffi forces being detained by Libya's National Transitional Council are beign subjected to beating, torture and abuse.

In a report released on Thursday, Amnesty alleges that whipping and screaming could be heard from detention centres and those prisoners who have subsequently been interviewed by the human rights group have confirmed such reports.

Serbia must re-engage with Kosovo and improve relations in order to become a candidate for joining the European Union said the European Commission in a report released today.

Enlargement commissioner for the EU Stefan Fule said he recommended granting candidate status to Serbia "on the understanding that Serbia re-engages in the dialogue with Kosovo and is moving swiftly to the implementation in good faith of agreements reached to date."

Membership talks will commence when further steps are taken to normalise relations with Kosovo, Mr Fule added.

The British Foreign Secretary has summoned the Syrian ambassador and warned that Britain will not allow the intimidation of Syrian dissidents in the UK.

William Hague told Parliament on Thursday,

"The Syrian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office this morning and told that any harassment or intimidation of Syrians in our country is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

Amnesty International has called on the Canadian government to arrest former US President George W. Bush.

Amnesty opines that enough evidence exists in the public domain to give rise to an obligation for an arrest by Canadian authorities if Bush arrives for a planned visit on the 20th of October.

Former President Bush is accused of having authorised the CIA to conduct a secret detention programme where acts of torture were committed and of publicly stating that he himself authorised the use of waterboarding on individuals whose torture has been confirmed.