"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.

Addressing the Australian parliament on Thursday, US President Barack Obama, lauded freedom, stating that "prosperity without freedom is just povery", and reiterated the US stands for "an international order in which the rights and responsibilities of all nations and people are upheld." 

Watch his address in full here.

Extracts reproduced below:

"History shows that over the long run democracy and economic growth go hand in hand. And prosperity without freedom is just poverty."

"Every nation will chart its own course, yet it also true that certain rights are universal.

"Among them - freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, the freedom of citizens to choose their own leaders."

"These are not American rights, or Australian rights, or Western rights."

"These are human rights. They stir in every soul, as we've seen in the democracies that have succeeded here in Asia."

"If this vast region [Asia-Pacific] and its people teach us anything, it is that the yearning for liberty and progress will not be denied."

"The currents of history may ebb and flow, but over time they are moving decidedly, decisively in one direction,"

"History is on the side of the free - free societies, free governments, free economies, free people.

"And the future belongs to those who stand firm for those ideals, in this region and around the world."

"This is the work we will carry on together for the security, prosperity and dignity of all people."

Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's international justice program sa

The Arab League gave Syria an ultimatum of three days on Wednesday, to "stop the bloody repression" of protesters and permit observers into the area.

At a meeting in Morocco, the Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim al Thani, threatened Syria with sanctions and stated that diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict were "close to the end of the road".

Pro-government mobs in Syria responded to the Arab League's statement by attacking the embassies of the UAE and Morocco. Morocco has recalled its ambassador to Syria.

Responding to the on-going clamp down on peaceful protesters by government forces, the Free Syrian Army, has vowed to defend civilians.

Earlier on Wednesday, the rebels launched an attack on an air force intelligence base.

Speaking to Channel 4, a rebel commander said,

"The Free Syrian Army attacked the air force intelligence base and they killed the guard and they burnt the place. They occupied the compound before beating a tactical retreat.

"We will conduct such attacks so long as the regim targets civilians."

"The attacks will escalate."

US President Barak Obama and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard have announced plans to station US troops in Australia from next year.

Initially 250 marines will be stationed in the Northern Territory, increasing to 2,500 troops in the next few years.

The move is seen as a more assertive role for the US in the Asia-Pacific, particularly to counter the influence of China in the region.

Mr Obama said the US was "stepping up its commitment to the entire Asia-Pacific", including China.

The Arab League invited the Syrian Opposition, the Syrian National Council, for talks in Cairo on Tuesday, to discuss the planned transition of power.

After meeting officials from the Arab League, Abdel Basset Sedah, of the opposition Syrian National Council's executive office, said,

"The Arab League will announce soon a date for a conference to include many of the Syrian opposition groups to discuss the ways and time needed to move to a transitional period."

Meanwhile, Burhan Ghalioun, the head of the Syrian National Council met Russian diplomats in Moscow. Urging the two sides to start a dialogue, the Kremlin has refused to back calls for the resignation of President Bashar Al-Assad.

Ghalioun said,

"We were unable to change the position of the Russian government, and they also could not change our position."

The UK’s International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell has called on the Burmese regime to release all political prisoners, during the first visit by a British minister in decades.

Mitchell told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that “enough had changed to justify a visit and engagement like this.”

"It is clear that there are grounds for cautious optimism, but the picture is mixed," he said.