Malawi has decided not to host the African Union (AU) summit in July, after disputes over the attendance of Sudan’s president, Omar Al-Bashir.

Omar Al-Bashir has been indicted for war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Incidentally, Sudan’s president has visited several African, Asian and Middle Eastern countries despite the ICC arrest warrants for charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, said that the UN observers in Syria have frequently been targeted by heavy weapons, armour-piercing ammunition and surveillance drones, in an address to the UN General Assembly.

Ban Ki Moon said,

Serbia's new president plans to see clarification from the EU on what pre-requisites exist for membership, particularly regarding the recognition of Kosovo's independence.

Speaking to a state news agency on Friday, Tomislav Nikolic, said of his upcoming visit to Brussels:

"Since they will ask me for straight answers to many questions, I also expect straight answers to questions that I'll raise,"

US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, calls for the departure of Assad after UN monitors are blocked from verifying the Hama massacre.

The UN Secretary, General Ban Ki-Moon, told a General Assembly session today, that monitors trying to access the site of an alleged massacre were shot at by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.  

Ban Ki Moon said:

The UK Foreign Office has confirmed that ministers are to boycott the Euro 2012 football tournament over the treatment of the imprisoned Ukrainian opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, reports The Guardian.

According to the newspaper, there will be no British ministers present at England's group-stage matches.

Initially, the Sports Minister reportedly intimated it was due to logistical reasons, stating:

Meeting with Indian officials, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has called on India to play a “more active” role in Afghanistan, according to US officials.

Officials speaking to reporters told the AFP,

"Over the last 10 years, for a variety of reasons, India has not played a particularly active role in Afghanistan. We welcome India playing a more active role in Afghanistan, a more active political and economic role".

Chinese state media warned the US for its recent decision to move majority of its naval fleet into Asia-Pacific region by the end this decade under Obama administration’s “strategic re-balance” in Asia.

Washington continues to insist that recent decision to move its naval fleet into Asia-Pacific was not to contain China, but Communist Party run People’s Daily newspaper has repudiated such claim.

On Monday Liu Weimin, Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that increasing US military presence in the region as “inappropriate.”

The outgoing International Criminal Court prosecutor has called on the UN Security Council and member nations to take stronger action against Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide in Darfur.

Al-Bashir has a warrant for his arrest along with three other other officials over alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. In his 15th and final report on Darfur to the UN Security Council, outgoing prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said,

Writing in the Guardian, Geoffery Robertson QC, who served as an appeal judge for the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone, has commented on the Charles Taylor verdict, noting that as the former Liberia leader is jailed, more "despots" will follow.

Excerpts have been reproduced below. See his full piece here.

The Syrian rebels anonunced on Monday that they could no longer be committed to Kofi Annan's ceasefire amid on-going attacks by the Syrian military on civilian targets.

The rebels' spokesperson, Sami al-Kurdi, told Reuters news agency:

"We have decided to end our commitment to this [plan] and starting from that date [Friday] we began defending our people,"