Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has cast doubt over a planned upcoming peace conference in Geneva saying "factors were not yet in place" for peace talks.

Speaking to Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen television, AFP quoted Assad as stating,

"No time has been set, and the factors are not yet in place if we want (a US-Russian peace initiative dubbed Geneva 2) to succeed,"

The United Nations humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, has called for an “immediate pause in hostilities” in the Damscus suburb of Moadamiyeh, in order to allow safe passage to civilians trapped in rebel-held areas.

In a statement released on today she said,

The United States relaesed a statement on Saturday, strongly condemning the Syrian regime's seige of Damascus suburbs and calling for 'unfettered humanitarian access'.

Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the US State Department delivered the statment slamming the siege, especially in the town of Mouadimiya, noting,

"This siege has led to unprecedented reports of children dying of malnutrition-related causes in areas that are only a few miles from Bashar al-Assad's palace in Damascus."

Arab League Chief Nabi al-Arabi has said on Sunday that the date for the much awaited Syrian peace conference has been set for the 23rd of November in Geneva.

Speaking to reporters in Cairo after meeting with international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, al Arabib said,

"I discussed the Syria file with Lakhdar Brahimi and it was decided that the Geneva meeting would take place on November 23 and arrangements are being made to prepare for this conference".

Police are preparing investigations into the massacres of Bloody Sunday, over 40 years ago.

Up to 26 British soldiers could face murder charges for the shooting of unarmed Irish marchers, reported The  Sunday Times.

The Ministry of Defence is reported to have hired lawyers to represent the soldiers, who are now in their sixties and seventies.

Eight Serbian men suspected of  taking part in looting, expulsions and killings of civilians between 1992-1995 were detained by Bosnian police today.

Saudi Arabia has rejected a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, saying the body needed to reform first.

The gulf state was voted on to one of the 10 rotating seats but turned it down over the organisations failure to act appropriately in Syria.

"Work mechanisms and double-standards on the Security Council prevent it from carrying out its duties and assuming its responsibilities in keeping world peace," the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.

Chancellor George Osborne has announced that Chinese companies will be allowed to invest in nuclear plants in Britain and may eventually be able to own majority stakes.

"Today is another demonstration of the next big step in the relationship between Britain and China, the world's oldest civil nuclear power and the world's fastest growing civil nuclear power," Osborne said.

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More than 60 people have been killed in bomb attacks across Iraq in mainly Shia areas, as the Eid al-Adha holiday was being celebrated.

No one has yet to claim responsibility for the attacks, with violence reaching the highest levels in the country since 2008. Almost 1,000 people were killed in September alone.

Also hit by the wave of attacks was the Nineveh province, bordering the relatvely secure autonomous Kurdish region of Northern Iraq. The UN envoy to Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov, said in a statement,

Convicted Liberian war criminal Charles Taylor, arrived in Britain on Tuesday morning, to serve out the remainder of his 50-year sentence for war crimes in prison.

The former Liberian President is the first head of state to be convicted of war crimes since World War II, having been found guilty of 11 charges from Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 conflict.

The BBC's Mark Doyle commented that Britain will hail the jailing as "the successful culmination of a long-term development strategy in Sierra Leone".

He went on to add,