The attack on the village of Tremseh by Syrian government forces, which left over 200 people dead, was mainly targeting homes of rebels and activists according to the UN, contrary to initial reports, claiming a massacre of civilians.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her Chinese counterpart have announced on the sidelines of the ASEAN regional forum in Pnomh Penh that the two countries will cooperate on issues concerning Asia.

"I am delighted that we are going to be issuing a joint media note,'

Critical questions about the UK’s arms export licenses have been raised by a cross-party Parliamentary group.

The Commons Committee on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) asked the government whether 600 licenses to Arab countries complied with the UK’s government policy.

The United Nations insisted that Kazakhstan allow an international investigation into deadly riots in oil towns, which exposed human rights abuses and growing inequality in Central Asia’s largest economy.

The ban on U.S investment in Burma has been formally lifted, allowing investment by American companies.

The act was one of the most substantial steps taken by the US on their path of normalising relations with Burma.

These steps come in the midst of calls for caution from human rights groups and Burmese activists.

The US Treasury has announced a further tightening of sanction on Iran, over its controversial nuclear programme.

It said it had blacklisted several companies and individuals connected to the programme, including several companies and banks acting as front organisations to help Iran get around existing sanctions.

More than 200 Syrians, mostly civilians have been killed in a village in the rebel dominated region of Hama according to opposition activists.

Residents told activist that helicopter gunships and tanks had bombarded Taramseh, before militiamen stormed the village and executed several civilians.

The regional opposition group said in a statement:

The Syrian ambassador to Iraq, Nawah al-Fares, has defected from President Bashar al-Assad’s government, declaring that he has joined “the ranks of the revolution of the Syrian people”.

Speaking on a video statement posted on Facebook, Fares is the first senior diplomat to quit the government.

The former Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for recruiting and using child soldiers.

Lubanga pleaded not guilty but was convicted unanimously by judges in the International Criminal Court in March this year.

Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, marked a new phase in the struggle to bring democracy to the land, by making her historic first appearance in parliament.

‘I will try my best for the country’ she told AFP, as she embarked on her first day.

The highest court in Egypt has ruled to overturn a parliament order by President Mursi to reconvene parliament, after a military council dissolved it last month.

Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir Square to protest against the decision.

MPs met shortly for the first time today before the speaker adjourned the sitting.

The Egyptian military council has released a statement warning the new president Mohammed Mursi to uphold a court’s decision to dissolve parliament.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) said it was confident that ‘all state institutions’ would respect the law and constitution.