Malawi's refusal to arrest Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes in Darfar, has sparked international condemnation.

Bashir arrived in Malawi for a trade summit on Thursday.

Human rights groups and the European Union have urged Malawi, a signatory to the ICC, to arrest Bashir. An arrest warrant was issued for Bashir, by the International Criminal court, in 2008.

In a statement released on Friday, EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said,

"The European Union is a staunch supporter of the ICC and the fight against impunity."

"The Court is a valuable instrument of the international community to ensure that there is no impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes must not go unpunished and their prosecution must be ensured by measures at both domestic and international level,"

Human Rights Watch has accused the Philippines army of falsely labeling innocent children as members of the rebel New People’s Army and taking them into custody.

In a press release, Elaine Pearson deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said,

Amnesty International has stated that upto 2500 Gaddaffi forces being detained by Libya's National Transitional Council are beign subjected to beating, torture and abuse.

In a report released on Thursday, Amnesty alleges that whipping and screaming could be heard from detention centres and those prisoners who have subsequently been interviewed by the human rights group have confirmed such reports.

Serbia must re-engage with Kosovo and improve relations in order to become a candidate for joining the European Union said the European Commission in a report released today.

Enlargement commissioner for the EU Stefan Fule said he recommended granting candidate status to Serbia "on the understanding that Serbia re-engages in the dialogue with Kosovo and is moving swiftly to the implementation in good faith of agreements reached to date."

Membership talks will commence when further steps are taken to normalise relations with Kosovo, Mr Fule added.

The British Foreign Secretary has summoned the Syrian ambassador and warned that Britain will not allow the intimidation of Syrian dissidents in the UK.

William Hague told Parliament on Thursday,

"The Syrian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office this morning and told that any harassment or intimidation of Syrians in our country is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

Amnesty International has called on the Canadian government to arrest former US President George W. Bush.

Amnesty opines that enough evidence exists in the public domain to give rise to an obligation for an arrest by Canadian authorities if Bush arrives for a planned visit on the 20th of October.

Former President Bush is accused of having authorised the CIA to conduct a secret detention programme where acts of torture were committed and of publicly stating that he himself authorised the use of waterboarding on individuals whose torture has been confirmed.

Recent developments in Burma have been cautiously welcomed by western diplomats, while NGO’s accuse the Burmese government of war crimes.

Burma has seen a shift in policy since the first elections in 20 years and the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in November last year.

Talks between the Nobel Peace laureate and the government are thought to be behind positive steps taken by the government to address concerns of the Burmese population.

“China is highly concerned about the situation in Syria, is against the use of violence, and we hope not to see any more bloodshed and casualties.”

Israel and Hamas have come to an agreement to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit for over 1,000 Palestinian political prisoners.

The deal, brokered by Egypt was met with jubilation on both sides of the border.

25 year old Gilad Shalit was captured in June 2006 in a cross-border raid by Hamas and has been held captive in Gaza since.

1,027 Palestinian detainees are expected to be released, said Hamas leader Khaled Meshal.

The UN Decolonisation Committee reaffirmed its belief that self-determination and independence are the inalienable right of all people on Monday with particular reference to the people of Western Sahara, currently living under Moroccan rule.