Burmese courts have given two United Nations workers prison sentences for involvement in promoting hatred between the ethnic communities and participating in arson attacks.

A UN spokesman confirmed that one of those sentenced was an UN refugee agency employee and the other was a member of the UN World Food Programme.

A spokesperson for the world body’s refugee agency in Bangkok, Vivian Tan described the Burmese decisions as “very disappointing”.

A US military spokesperson has denied making a deal was made with the militant Haqqani network in Afghanistan.

A report in the Express Tribune quoted a ‘senior military official’, claiming that the US was prepared to hand over control of three provinces to the militant group if they withdrew their support for the Taliban.

The French president Francoise Hollande has urged the Syrian opposition to form a provisional government and said France would officially recognise it once it was formed.

“France asks the Syrian opposition to form a provisional government — inclusive and representative — that can become the legitimate representative of the new Syria,” Mr. Hollande was quoted as saying during a speech to French diplomats.

“France will recognise the provisional government of Syria once it is formed.”

However the US said that the opposition first needed to coordinate with Syrian citizens and set a democratic path.

"So that's the first order of business -- for them to all agree on what a transition ought to look like. Obviously, it's a matter for them to decide if and when they may be prepared to start naming folks," said US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

Activists have accused the Syrian government of killing over 300 people in Daraya, on the outskirts of Damascus.

Government forces have seized control of the area after 5 days of intense battles against opposition fighters but local activists have reported dozens of summary executions.

“We are in the process of identifying the bodies and documenting how they died,” Mohammed Hur told the Reuters news agency.

“Your visit will grant legitimacy to a regime that is the greatest threat to world peace and security.”

“We think that Iran is going to try to use the event for propaganda purposes and to try to cover up the extreme isolation Iran is feeling politically and economically.”

“That said, if people choose to participate, we believe they should take the opportunity of any meetings that they have with Iran’s leaders to press them to comply with their international obligations without further delay.”

"You never know their names, you never talk with them, they always cry, shit in their pants … There are those annoying moments when you're on an arrest mission, and there's no room in the police station, so you just take the kid back with you, blindfold him, put him in a room and wait for the police to come and pick him up in the morning. He sits there like a dog …"

"Sadly enough this is the moral consequence of prolonged occupation of the Palestinian people,"

“I think that in Israel, in view of … our common history and some similar elements and moments, you will hardly find people who will deny the genocide, who will say, like we unfortunately hear, that all this is fabrications and lies.”

“So I think that unfortunately — I stress, unfortunately — in this area our peoples have quite a lot in common, quite a lot for mutual understanding”.

“Nobody in Israel denies the fact of Armenian Genocide.”

The past week has seen China force at least 1000 refugees back into the combat zone in northern Burma, with alleged plans to deport a further 4000 displaced people, warned Human Rights Watch.

Human rights watch urged the Chinese government to provide temporary protection for the refugees instead of repatriating them to Burma.

A motion, backing the ‘inviolability of diplomatic missions’ has been passed by the Organisation of American States, amidst the ongoing row over Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s avoidance of facing extradition to Sweden by hiding in Ecuador’s embassy in London.

Ecuador called for the vote saying the UK threatened to storm the embassy to arrest Assange, however the resolution was reworded after the UK insisted it made no such threat.

“It’s bullsh**, just spinning. People aren’t doing anything there except writing and reading reports.”

“The entire expensive mission depends upon the individual whims of military prosecutors”