The postponement of ceasefire negotiations between the Burmese government and Kachin rebels on Friday was because China had objected to the presence of Western observers at the talks, Kachin civil society groups say.

See The Irrawady’s report here.

A Burmese government team had been scheduled to meet with representatives of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina on Friday.

Human Rights Watch urged the government of Chad to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir or bar him from the country, in a news release today.

Al-Bashir is expected to travel to Chad today, to attend the Greenbelt Conference of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States, according to news reports.

Al-Bashir has been indicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Israeli-American terror suspect Jack Tytell was given two life sentences with an additional 30 years in prison by the Jerusalem District Court.

Among various other crimes, Tytell was sentenced for the murder of two Palestinians.

According to the indictment, in 1997 Tytell went to Israel with the intention of murdering Palestinians.

Before the sentence was handed, Tytell said he was proud of what he had done and had no regrets.

The new Chinese President Xi Jinping has given veiled warnings to North Korea on Sunday, saying no country should be allowed to create chaos.

Speaking at regional business forum in Boao, China Xi said,

Syria is denying access to a UN inspection team waiting to undertake a chemical weapons probe, which the government had itself requested.

State-run media announced that Syria was blocking attempts by the UN to 'broaden' the probe to cover the whole country.

The UN's Ban Ki-moon said that all claims of chemical weapon usage from all sides should be investigated, declaring:

Former UK Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, died on Monday at the age of 87.

Known variously as 'milk-snatcher', 'Iron Lady' and the woman who changed Britain, the Baroness was the United Kingdom's first and only female Prime Minister.

Although public opinion remains divided, Thatcher's legacy places her among the most influential peace-time politicians in modern European history.

Serbia rejected the EU deal on normalising relations with Kosovo on Monday. Speaking to the press, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said:

"The government of Serbia cannot accept principles verbally presented to its negotiating team in Brussels, since they do not guarantee full security and protection of human rights to the Serb people in Kosovo."

The militant group Mend, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, claimed responsibility for an attack in South Nigeria on Friday which killed 12 police officers.

The announcement came in an email, and went on to say that the group would relaunch attacks after its leader, Henry Okah, was jailed in South Africa for 24 years for the 2010 bomb attacks in Abuja.

After a new round of talks failed to make progress, John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, has warned Iran that talks cannot last forever.

At a start of a trip to the Middle East, Europe and Asia, Kerry said that the process was not an 'interminable' one.

Kerry also called on Turkey and Israel to restore full diplomatic relations at talks in Istanbul.