US president Barack Obama has urged China to improve its human rights record.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Obama did not answer questions about the case of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who is thought to have sought refuge in the US embassy in Beijing, but said that China would be stronger if it improves on its human rights issues.

The British Government has announced measures to exclude individuals who are thought to have committed human rights abuses.

The new rules were announced in the Foreign Office’s annual Human Rights Report, which was released today.

At the moment, only individuals who are viewed as a threat to national security are refused entry.

The Bahraini foreign minister, Khalid Al Khalifa, urged the people of Bahrain to vote against an Al Jazeera film - 'Shouting in the Dark' - in an online poll for the UK's Bafta Television Awards this year.

Declaring that the Indian central government is becoming less relevant to governance today, Manu Joseph writes in the New York Times, that “the very idea of “national” is also fading in a de-centralised India:

The Secretary General of the United Nations is making a landmark visit to Burma.

Mr Ban is due to meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and pressed the government for more democratic reforms.

The Secretary General was denied a meeting with Ms Kyi during his last visit in 2009.

The Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is safe in US custody according to a human rights group.

US-based ChinaAid confirmed that high-level talks between Chinese and US officials are underway.

A former peace envoy has said that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad could face war crimes charges over the brutal crackdown by his security forces on opponents of the Syrian regime.

Britain has announced restrictions on exports to the Argentine military on Thursday.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said in a statement to the House of Commons that the export controls will take effect immediately.

China and the Philippines have been involved in a standoff for two weeks at the Scarborough Shoal over territorial rights, raising concerns that miscalculation by either side could result in severe consequences to that region.

German president Joachim Gauck has called off a visit to the Ukraine over the alleged mistreatment of former Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko.

German opposition politicians and some senior figures in German football have called for a boycott of the European Championships in June, which is jointly hosted by the Ukraine and Poland.

The Ukraine has ordered an investigation into the alleged beating of Tymoshenko by prison guards, after increasing pressure by the EU and Germany.

However, the investigation called by Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is seen as meaningless by observers, as a previous investigation, which concluded this week, found that Tymoshenko was not abused in prison.

Tymoshenko claimed she was beaten and transported to a hospital against her will. She suffers from a severe spinal condition, which according to German doctors who examined her, needs urgent treatment at a specialist clinic.

Germany has offered to treat the former prime minister who has also been on hunger strike for nearly a week. Prison officials have indicated that she may be force fed.

Pressure is increasing on the European football association UEFA to take action.

German opposition politicians have called for a boycott of the tournament in June; however UEFA President Michel Platini rejected any intervention.

“UEFA is not and will never be a political institution" said Platini.

Charles Taylor was found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes during Sierra Leone's civil war at The Hague today.

Taylor was convicted on 11 counts including murder, rape and terror, after a trial that has lasted almost five years.
 
Welcoming the judgment, prosecutor Brenda Hollis said,

"[This] judgment reinforces the new reality, that heads of state will be held to account for war crimes ... With leadership comes not just power and authority, but also responsibility and accountability. No person, no matter how powerful, is above the law."

The conviction was hailed as the first former head of state to be convicted by an international court since the Nuremburg trials of Nazi leaders.

In a statement, Amnesty International said,

"While today's conviction brings some measure of justice to the people of Sierra Leone, Taylor and the others sentenced by the Special Court are just the tip of the iceberg."

The US State Department said,

"[it sent] a strong message to all perpetrators of atrocities, including those in the highest positions of power, that they will be held accountable".

France says it will seek UN intervention, including the possibility of a military intervention, if Syria does not follow special envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said that France could press for Security Council action under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, although Russia and China would most certainly veto any move against Bashar al-Assad.

US President Barack Obama has signed an executive order for sanctions against regimes that use technology to perpetrate human rights abuses.

In a speech at the US Holocaust Museum, Mr Obama said,

The Canadian Prime Minister Michael Ignatieff, described the creation of an independent Quebec as inevitable, in an interview with the BBC.

Commenting on the upcoming referendum over Scottish independence, Ignatieff said that regardless of the outcome the UK will change.

Ignatieff said,