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."

Bangladesh called for a formal apology from Pakistan for the 'genocide and atrocities' committed by its military in 1971.

The demand was made by Bangladesh's new foreign minister, Dipu Moni, to the Pakistan's new envoy to Bangladesh, on Monday.

A statement released by the ministry read,

The United States welcomed the conviction of former Rwandan mayor, Ndahinama, by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda on charges of genocide and urged the arrest and trial of remaining fugitive.

Spokesperson for the US State Department, Mark Toner, said,

"The United States welcomes this ruling as an important step in providing justice and accountability for the Rwandan people and the international community."

"[Ndahimana's conviction] is of particular significance, because as mayor of Kivumu he had authority over the police, and yet failed to prevent the massacre"

"Militia, police, civil and religious authorities participated in bulldozing the church, burying the refugees sheltered inside,"

"There are still nine ICTR fugitives at large and the United States urges all countries to redouble their cooperation with the ICTR so that these fugitives can be expeditiously arrested and brought to justice."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague is to meet Syrian rebel leaders in London on Monday, the BBC reports, quoting the Foreign Office.

Mr Hague will meet members of the Syrian National Council and the National Co-ordination Committee for Democratic Change.

The Libyan transational government announced Saturday that they have captured Saif al-Islam, the fugitive son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have unanimously agreed on Burma as the next chair of the regional bloc.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told the BBC, the 10 member states believed Burma had made significant progress towards democracy.

"We have called on Assad to change but the regime did not want to know, which is not acceptable. We are ready to strengthen the sanctions."

"It is not normal that the [United Nations] Security Council has not made any decision so far... I hope those blocking any resolution will be aware of the reality of the situation."

Sudanese rebel groups expressed surprise and regret at the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon's condemnation of the formation of a rebel alliance - the Sudanese Revolutionary Force - on the 11th November.
 
On Monday, Ban Ki Moon expressed concern at the growing tension between Khartoum and Juba, and argued that the establishment of the rebel alliance would only serve to further escalate the conflict in the region.
 
The groups, hailing from the Blue Nile, Darfur and South Kordofan regions, situated along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, and include Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Liberation Movement factions of Abdel Wahid Al-Nur (SLM-AW) and Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) and the SPLM-N (Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North).
 
Yasir Arman, the Secretary General of SPLM-N and the former presidential candidate of the SPLM last year, said he was "surprised" at Ban Ki Moon's statement and argued that it showed that Ban Ki Moon was supporting "the aggressors and war criminals" instead of "supporting the victims and the right of the Sudanese people to democracy and the respect for human rights and the rule of law".
 
The rebel groups asserted that the solution to the conflict, lay in a political and armed struggle to overthrow the government in Khartoum.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has handed down a sentence of 15 years to a former mayor, after he was found guilty on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Gregory Ndahimana was mayor of the Kivumu district in 1994 when a church was bulldozed by police, killing more than 2,000 people trapped inside.