The Police Service of Northern Ireland has claimed that it has discovered a rocket launcher and a war head during a raid on a house with republican links in West Belfast.

Tensions in the region have risen as the annual marching season approaches.

"The recovery of these items has saved lives," said a PSNI spokesman.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the BBC that Rwanda cannot be blamed on its own for its involvement in the conflict of its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have said that they would “not object” the delaying of the trials of four Kenyans, including Deputy Prime Minister and presidential candidate in next week’s election, Uhuru Kenyatta.

Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has addressed the opening of the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, calling for a strengthening of the international justice system to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account.

The High Commissioner also went on to allege that the Security Council had "failed" in regard to Syria, and highlighted gross human rights violations in several countries, including Sri Lanka.

She also underlined the threat faced by human rights defenders from states, including intimidation of human rights activists within the council in Geneva, as had occured in March 2012.

See our previous post: Tamil NGO delegates intimidated at UN Human Rights Council (02 March 2012)

Extracts from her address have been reproduced below. See her full address here.

"Yet here too, we still have a long way to go. The ICC can only become involved if the State concerned is among the 122 State Parties to the Rome Statute, or if a situation is referred to it by the Security Council. Two important situations – Darfur in 2008, and Libya in 2011 have been referred, but the Security Council has so far failed with regard to Syria, despite the repeated reports of widespread or systematic crimes and violations by my Office, the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, civil society organizations and Special Procedures."

"Again, despite the truly inspiring advances in combating impunity and ensuring accountability both at the international and national levels, including through transitional justice processes, there are still far too many people with command responsibility who escape justice for serious crimes and gross human rights violations. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Palestinian territories are still occupied; massive violations have occurred in Iraq and Sri Lanka; and war crimes continue to be committed in numerous internal conflicts including those continuing in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan and Syria. We must continue to nurture and strengthen the system designed to deal with such crimes and violations, and those who commit them. It is also critical that we in the international community do our utmost to prevent such situations from developing or deteriorating."

Iranian negotiators have met with officials from the P5 +1, comprised of the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany, to discuss its controversial nuclear programme.

A western official said that the talks in Kazhakstan had been “useful” and another meeting will be held on Wednesday.

Burma’s President Thein Sein is embarking on his first European tour, where he is expected to engage in high-level European Union talks.

The Syrian government is ready to hold talks with an armed opposition announced the Syrian Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moualem, on Monday.

However, Moualem added that the government would continue the war "against terrorism".

In a statement released today, Human Rights Watch called on the Sudanese government to release six members of the opposition parties that were detained in poor conditions, witho

The German President Joachim Gauck has called human rights "the foundation of all human co-existence" and said Germany will support the pursuit for universal human rights across the globe, during his speech at the first day of the 22nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Gauck called for a global fight for human rights, irrespective of a country’s size or international standing and said responsible countries should always speak up for the rights of the individual, "even if that sometimes means criticizing neighbors or friends".

"For me, human rights remain the foundation of all human co-existence, the precondition for us to be able to use fulfil our incredible potential as people, to change our lives for the better," he said.

The German president added that human rights were "not just universal, but indivisible as well. Economic, social and cultural rights belong inseparably with political and civil freedoms."

Gauck said that the Council had to “act on behalf of all humanity in cases where States did not live up to their commitments" and that human rights were far too often violated and ignored. He mentioned examples like the death penalty, violence against women, discrimination on the basis of colour or origin, and the intimidation of human rights defenders.

He added that Germany would always support the work of the Council and that four guiding principles were important to Germany; speaking openly about human rights violations, intervening quickly to prevent such violations, taking appropriate action, and helping human rights organisations in their job.

A UN brokered accord has been signed by 11 african states in order to bring peace to the Democratic Re0ublic of Congo, which has been plagued by fighting between rebels and government forces.

The deal was signed in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the Ethipian capital Addis Ababa.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has given US special forces two weeks to leave Wardak province in the centre of Afghanistan.

Afghan soldiers with the US troops are accused of being behind disappearances and torture.

The US said it took all allegations seriously but could not comment on this issue "until we have had a chance to speak with senior government officials".

The Norwegian government has decided to extradite a Rwandan citizen back to the country, after having sentenced him to 21 years imprisonment for his role in the 1994 genocide, marking Norway's first such extradition.

The Cuban president Raul Castro announced that he would retire after his second term ends in 2018.

Castro made the announcement on Sunday during a speech broadcast nationally, saying, "this will be my last term".

The announcement came after the Cuban National Assembly elected him to a second five year term at the opening of the new parliament.

Syria's main opposition alliance, the National Coalition, said it had decided not to attend a summit of the Friends of Syria in Rome next month, and also turned down invitations for talks in Washington and Moscow.

In a statement, the coalition said: