The US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, welcomed the recent agreements between Sudan and South Sudan, that have allowed humanitarian aid agencies into the liberation movement’s territory. However, she reiterated the need for both parties to formulate a deal resolving the pending issues along the border promptly.

Rice said,

Hundreds of people who died during the civil war in Ivory Coast last year were summarily executed.

Fighters who backed the current president are accused of committing many of the killings, according to a report commissioned by the government.

Almost a year after Muammar Gadaffi was ousted, power has been handed over to a newly elected Assembly.

The National Transitional Council, formed as an interim body during Libya’s revolution, has now been dissolved.

The chief of the NTC, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, admitted the NTC’s failure in bringing stability to Libya, but said they governed in “exceptional times”.

The US has started a project to clean Agent Orange left over from the Vietnam War 40 years ago.

The £30 million joint project will clear a former US air force base, which was used to store and mix the chemical weapon.

Sudan’s election to the UN Human Rights Council is all but certain, after it emerged that the Sudanese candidate has the full backing of the African Group in the UN.

Although Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, a war lord from his regime is set to take a seat on the panel.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, has compared it to putting “Jack the Ripper in charge of a women’s shelter,”

The Geneva based NGO has called on High Commissioner Navi Pillay to denounce the near-inevitable election of Sudan to the council.

The United States has said it remains “deeply concerned” about the tensions in the western Burmese state of Rakhine, but rejected allegations of “ethnic cleansing” made by the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC).

The Syrian army has attempted to wrest back control of Aleppo as rebels are reported to be withdrawing from their positions.

The army claims it has seized the Salaheddin district from rebel forces, but however human rights organisations have claimed that fighting is still ongoing.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered that victims of the Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, must receive reparations.

Commenting on the historic order for reparation, which includes a victim’s trust fund, an ICC spokesman said that “this is the first time the court has ordered reparations for victims”

Iran has sent the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, to Damascus in a show of support for Bashar al-Assad and his rule.

Aiding Assad’s survival, Iran has been providing the regime with funds, arms and expertise in its campaign to crush Syria’s expanding rebellion.

Burmese authorities have lifted suspensions that were placed on two weekly magazines, after journalists protested for greater press freedom.

As a result of the protests, the editors of two magazines were beckoned to the country’s media censorship bureau, also known as the Press Scrutiny board and informed that publishing could be resumed from the 18th of august.