"Russia wants as much as the other countries for Syria to end the bloodshed and demands that the Syrian leadership conduct the necessary reforms.

If the Syrian leadership is unable to undertake these reforms, it will have to go.”

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) have written to the Belgium Prime Minister, Yves Leterme, urging Belgium to stop the Urban Development Minister, Kamal Nath, from entering the country and be arrest for his alleged role as leader of a mob that massacred a large number of Sikhs during the November 1984 Sikh riots.

In the letter, SFJ writes,

The 58-nation executive board of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) voted in favour of full Palestinian membership to the organisation, by 40 to 4.
 
The US, Germany, Latvia and Romania opposed the move, whilst fourteen members, including Belgium, France, Italy and Spain abstained. 
 
It is believed that the UNESCO membership would facilitate the Palestinians seeking greater protection of their historical and cultural sites - no doubt a source of contention with Israel, particularly with regards to sites in East Jerusalem.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a visit to New Delhi.

Karzai’s visit comes as ties with Pakistan have deteriorated rapidly over the last few weeks, after the assassination of peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani. Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of aiding the perpetrators of the attack, who they say was a Pakistani citizen.

"When we (anti-apartheid activists) used to apply for passports from the apartheid government, we never knew until the last moment what the decision was," Tutu said.

A UN Security Council resolution threatening sanctions against Syria has been vetoed by Russia and China.

The resolution, proposed by Britain, Portugal, Germany, France and the US, had been watered down three times before its proposal, to address concerns by Russia and China that, if passed, it might pave the way for another military intervention.

Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa have argued that the resolution passed on Libya was used as a pretext to aid the removal of Gaddafi, although the resolution only authorised the use of force for the protection of civilians.

"I was a human being. I was a doctor. I was doing my duty as a professional.

What we did is our duty as doctors, human beings, mothers. If I knew this would sentence me to life... I would still do it, again and again and again."

Iraq's political leaders announced on Tuesday that American troops may remain in Iraq next year, however, any remaining troops would no longer be granted immunity from Iraqi law.

The move is expected to be welcomed by the Iraqi public, who have long protested against perceived impunity granted to US troops particularly after the Abu Ghraib affair.

US officials have previously said such a decision by the Iraqis would end American support for the training of Iraqi troops. 

Amnesty International accused Syrian diplomats of launching a 'systematic' campaign of harassment and threats against expatriate dissidents protesting outside their embassies in eight countries - Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the United States.

Protesters state that they were initially filmed or photographed by officials, before receiving phone calls, e-mails and Facebook messages warning them to stop the protests.

Syria’s opposition forces have formally established a united front for the first time at a meeting in Turkey on Sunday.

The formation of the Syrian National Council (SNC) represents a serious challenge to President Assad’s regime as it continues to crackdown on pro-democracy protests across the country.