Iranian MP’s have passed a bill to downgrade ties with the UK in response to sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.

The bill would give President Ahmedinejad two weeks to expel Birtish Ambassador to Tehran, Dominick Chilcott, if approved by the Guardian Council.

"We have known for five years that the Mexican army is committing sexual abuse, executing people, torturing people and kidnapping, and there have been no sanctions"

"The violence in Mexico is bigger than the violence in Afghanistan, and bigger than the violence in Colombia"

"We want the prosecutor to tell us if war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Mexico, and if the president and other top officials are responsible".

He went on to argue the government doesn't have the will to prosecute drug war crimes saying,

"The Mexican legal system does not specifically define these crimes, so there is no way to prosecute those who commit them. Moreover, there is no political will to investigate the widespread violence"

While most cases are referred by states or the UN Security Council, the ICC can also start investigations on their own on the basis of information received from individuals or organisations.

To date they have only occurred in Africa but examinations have begun Afghanistan, Colombia, Honduras and Korea.

Richard Dicker, an international justice expert with Human Rights Watch said,

"There are a large number of boxes that the prosecutor would need to check off before he could actually open an investigation."

"It's possible ... but I think you want to be clear on what the challenges and obstacles are."

"The crimes would have to be widespread or systematic, carried out by a state or organization in attacks on a civilian population."

China has said it will carry out naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean, after last week’s announcement by President Obama that 2,500 US marines will be stationed in Australia.

The Chinese Defence Ministry said in a statement the exercises were ‘routine’ and not targeted at a specific country.

After meeting in Cairo on Thursday, the Arab League have issued an ultimatum to Syria, giving them less than 24 hours to allow monitors to enter the country or face economic sanctions.

The discovery of the bodies of two Guatemalan men by a former military base may lead to new investigations into possible war crimes, say experts.

The men were captured by security forces in 1984 during Guatemala's civil war, and were one of the 40,000 people who disappeared during that time.

A Bosnian Serb man has been charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes relating to his participation in Bosnia 1992-95 war.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, signed an agreement on Wednesday, relinquishing power to his vice president,  Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, with immediate effect.

The agreement, facilitated by Saudi Arabia and supported by the US, will signal the end of Saleh's 33 year rule of Yemen, following months of protests.

The agreement allows Saleh many face-saving measures, including the retention of his title and certain privileges until new elections are held in three months. It also grants him immunity from prosecution.

Many of the youth activists who led recent protests have criticised the agreement as an elitist pact. Highlighting the immunity offered, youth activists warned that the protesters, who demand adequate investigation and justice for the deaths of fellow demonstrators, would not be placated.

Last month, youth activists wrote a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, demanding that Saleh be referred to the International Criminal Court for the crimes committed by his military.

The letter addressed to UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon said,

"We call on the UN to refer Saleh, his sons and his gang to the International Criminal Court for their crimes against peaceful protesters."

In a statement, US President Barack Obama said,

“The United States welcomes President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s decision to transfer executive powers immediately to the Vice President in accordance with the agreement.”

"The Yemeni people deserve the opportunity to determine their own future.”

Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has condemned the conduct of the military in Egypt since it took over from the ousted leader, Hosni Mubarak.

In a damning report (Broken Promises: Egypt's military rulers erode human rights), released Tuesday, Amnesty asserted that Egypt's Egypt's Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) had "completely failed" to live up to their promises of returning power to the people and had committed human rights abuses that exceeded that of the Mubarak regime.

Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa acting director, Philip Luther said,

"The SCAF has continued the tradition of repressive rule which the January 25 demonstrators fought so hard to get rid of."

"Those who have challenged or criticise the military council - like demonstrators, journalists, bloggers, striking workers - have been ruthlessly suppressed in an attempt at silencing their voices ... The brutal and heavy-handed response to protests in the last few days bears all the hallmarks of the Mubarak era."

"The Egyptian military cannot keep using security as an excuse to keep the same old practices that we saw under President Mubarak."

"If there is to be an effective transition to the new Egypt that protesters have been demanding, the SCAF must release their grip on freedom of expression, association and assembly, lift the state of emergency and stop trying civilians in military courts."

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi could face trial in Libya as long as the trial complied with the standards of the ICC.

Jose Luis Moreno Ocampo said to reporters in Tripoli:

"Saif is captured, so we are here to ensure co-operation,

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign for the sake of his people.

"Without spilling any more blood, without causing any more injustice, for the sake of peace for the people, the country and the region, finally step down," Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said, in his first direct call for Assad to go.

Syrian rebels have struck at the heart of Damscus, firing grenades at the ruling Ba’ath party’s headquarters.

The attack in the capital city caused little damage to the building but was a hugely symbolic blow to President Assad’s regime, in a sign that the rebel army was growing in confidence and support.

Burma’s democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi is going to stand in upcoming elections in the country, her spokesperson confirmed.

Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) only ended their boycott of the political system a few days ago.

The trial of three former Khmer Rouge leaders has begun Monday, more than 30 years after they ruled Cambodia, where they face charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

In a packed courthouse the prosecution’s opening statements were read out, accusing the three former leaders of causing the death of more than 1.8 million people during the late 1970s.

Prosecutor Chea Leang gave a detailed account of the massacres, causing some of those in the courthouse to shed tears. She told the UN-backed tribunal,

"The forced evacuations of Cambodian cities, the enslavement of millions of people in forced labour camps, the smashing of hundreds of thousands of lives in notorious security centres and the killing fields, and the extermination of minorities, the countless deaths from disease, abuse and starvation – these crimes ordered and orchestrated by the accused were among the worst horrors inflicted on any nation in modern history."

Court spokesman Lars Olsen hailed the trial, saying that "many people never thought it would happen."

International co-prosecutor Andre Cayley also told reporters that the opening of this case was a milestone achievement.

“I also think it is important in the interests of international justice generally because it’s certainly part of the fight against impunity.

We are looking at crimes that are 30 years old.

I’m quite certain that at the time the leaders of the Khmer Rouge never believed they would be held to account for what happened, and here we actually have the most senior living members of the Khmer Rouge who will be standing trial."