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.

The statement is likely to infuriate the Muslim Brotherhood, according to a BBC correspondent Jon Leyne.

International envoy, Kofi Annan said he agreed with President Assad for a reworked political approach to end the 16 month conflict in Syria.

In his third visit to Syria, the former UN chief, whose on the ground observers have been grounded due to escalating violence, said that he “stressed the importance of moving ahead with political dialogue, which the president accepted.”

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the US, Saudia Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of backing “terrorists” trying to overthrow his government.

In an interview on Sunday with Germany’s ARD network, Assad said that he does not fear the same fate as Gaddafi or Mubarak, claiming that he was still in power because he had the support of his people and adding:

"[…] to be scared, you have to compare. Do we have something in common? It's a completely different situation ... You cannot compare."

The student activists, who were arrested by Burmese authorities over plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a protest and subsequent crackdown by the government, have been released.

Around 300 people gathered in Rangoon on Saturday to mark the anniversary, despite the arrests.

Activists claim the detentions are proof that the Burmese government still has oppressive tendencies, despite democratic reforms.

Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi has ordered the country’s dissolved parliament to reconvene, a move which the Washington Post has described as “a bold stroke that will test the limits of the fledgling government’s power and provoke a confrontation with the country’s military leaders.”

The International Criminal Court will hand out its first ever sentence to the Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, for using child soldiers in his rebel army in 2002-2003.

Lubanga, 51 was convicted in March of war crimes, it will be the ICC’s first ever verdict since it started work a decade ago. Lubanga was found guilty of abducting children sa young as 11 and forcing them to commit atrocities, in the north east of the DRC.

The status facilitates procurement of defence equipment and military training, without involving any security commitments.

Addressing the media after meeting Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Clinton said,

“We see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to Afghanistan’s future...”

“This is the kind of relationship we think will be especially beneficial as we do the transition and as we plan for the post-2014 presence.”

"We had been trailing him since March because we had information that he was here, and that he had changed his name and was shifting his addresses here."

A senior general in the Syrian Republican Guard has reportedly defected to Turkey, making General Manaf Tlas is the first of such seniority to defect.

The news was reported by the website Syria Steps, which is believed to have close links to the Syrian security forces.

The website asserted, "His escape does not mean anything."

General Tlas is believed to have fled to Turkey.