US Secretary of State John Kerry declared that any military or government official who conducted or oversaw wartime sexual violence would be refused a US visa, at a discussion held at Washington DC yesterday.

Speaking alongside UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, who has been campaigning on sexual violence, Kerry stated,

“Today, we’re making certain something additional; even though we’ve been aware of it, we haven’t sent yet an embassy-wide message, which I am sending today, that no one, and I mean no one at the highest level of military or governance, who has presided over or engaged in or knew of or conducted these kinds of attacks, is ever going to receive a visa to travel into the United States of America from this day forward.”

“We’re not going to allow that. (Applause.) And every embassy will engage – every embassy and post will be alert to this and to report any of these kinds of incidences, but most importantly there has to be a price attached, and that’s one of the things we need to do.”

The panellists were joined by United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura and Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Catherine M. Russell, who was recently refused a visa herself, to enter Sri Lanka earlier this month.

See the full discussion and transcript of the event here.

The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, urged states to use ‘every ounce of leverage’ in pressurising the Syrian government and all other involved parties to allow aid to Syrian civilians, as outlined by the recently passed UN Security Council resolution.

Commenting on the resolution, she said,

The US will unveil plans to cut the country’s army as part of cost-cutting measures, reported the New York Times.

The Pentagon is expected to reveal cuts that will downsize the US army to the smallest size it has been since after World War II.

Over a hundred demonstrators protesting against the imprisonment of seven opponents of President Vladimir Putin were detained by Russian police today.

The demonstrators were arrested whilst demanding the release of the opposition activists put in custody last year for organising anti-government protests.  The activists that were detained last year were on the verge of receiving prison sentences for their involvement in protests last year.

This weekend saw a renewed eruption of clashes between the South Sudanese government and opposition forces, with reports of over 100 dead according to UN peacekeepers.

Reports indicate that Duk County and Gadiang saw heavy fighting, with more than 100 bodies scattered around the roads of Malakal according to UN peacekeepers.

The White house this evening, warned Russia to keep its troops out of Ukrain, amidst roumours that Moscow may step in with military force following the ousting of the Ukrainian president.

 Russia accused the Ukrainian opposition of breaking the piece deal to seize power in Ukraine. The Russin foreign minister , Sergio Lavrov said that the opposition had ousted the president, “having in effect seized power in kiev, refused to disarm and continued to place its bets on violence.”

The United Nations Security Council, for the first time, unanimously approved a resolution on access to humanitarian aid in Syria today.

The resolution called on the Syrian government and opposition forces to allow aid convoys to reach civilians across the country.

Welcoming the resolution the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, said,

“If this resolution is implemented quickly and in good faith, at least some of the suffering can be eased.”

North Korea has rejected the findings on a UN HRC Commission of Inquiry, which found that crimes against humanity had been committed and called for criminal investigations to be initiated.

The North Korean foreign ministry stated that the report was,

“peppered with sheer lies and fabrications deliberately cooked up by hostile forces and riff-raffs such as some ‘elements with ambiguous identities who defected from the north’, criminals who escaped from it after committing crimes against the country to earn money”.

The Ukrainian opposition has taken control of the Presidential Palace in Kiev, forcing besieged President Yanukovych to flee the capital, according to the latest reports.

The BBC reported that Yanukovych has refused to resign, describing the events as "vandalism, banditry and a coup".

Meanwhile the chiefs of four Ukrainian security bodies, including the Berkut anti-riot police and military intelligence, have reportedly appeared in parliament stating they will not take part in any conflict with the people.

Key intersections across the city have come under the control of the protestors.

A historic day in Ukrainian parliament, saw a parliamentary vote impeach President Viktor Yanukovych of his powers and order the release of the imprisoned former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko.

Speaking to the protestors after being released from prison this evening, the former Prime Minister, Tymoshenko, said,