The US State Department has suggested that it may support Britain and France providing arms to the Syrian Opposition.

In response to questions about Britain wanting to lift the EU arms embargo to Syria, spokesperson Victoria Nuland said:

"We certainly want to see as many governments as possible provide appropriate support to the Syrian Opposition Coalition,"

"This is obviously a decision for the EU to make, but we understand that some governments do want to do more, and we encourage them to continue to have that conversation inside the EU so that they can do more,"

"The kinds of support that the U.K. and France have spoken publicly about wanting to provide to the Syrian opposition, we would certainly support."

Meanwhile, Iran has been proving to be Assad's lifeline as weapons reach the regime pouring in through Iraq and even Turkey and Lebanon.

Iraqi and Turkish officials denied the allegations.

See Reuters for full report.

A co-ordinated attack launched by bombers in central Baghdad has left at least 22 people killed.

The attack comes just days before the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq led by the USA.

In recent weeks analysts have warned that al Qaeda may be regaining strength in Iraq.

See the Guardian for full report.

The Foreign Minister of Botswana apologised on Wednesday for stating that the new Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta would not be allowed to "set foot" in the country if he refused to cooperate with the ICC.

The Kenyan government had accused the minister, Phandu Skelemani of being "contemptuous" towards Kenyatta.

In a statement, Skelemani said:

"I apologise to the Kenyan people for my earlier statement and wish to maintain that Kenya and Botswana have always worked together and nothing will change that,"

"Mr Uhuru Kenyatta is more than welcome to visit Botswana. Botswana is cognisant of a section of the law that says one is innocent until proven guilty."

David Cameron has indicated that the UK may be prepared to bypass the EU arms embargo to Syria if the measure is not lifted in May.

After approving the provision of armoured vehicles and body armour for Syrian opposition leaders last week, Cameron was asked by the chair of the commons foreign affairs select committee whether he was prepared to veto the EU arms embargo when it is reviewed in May.

The Prime Minister responded:

 "I would hope that wouldn't be the case. I would like to continue with an EU approach. We've just amended [the arms embargo] so we can supply non-lethal equipment. I hope we can persuade our European partners, if and when a further change becomes necessary, they'll agree with us. But if we can't then it's not out of the question that we might have to do things in our own way. It's possible."

"We are still an independent country. We can have an independent foreign policy. If, for instance, we felt action needed to be taken to help bring about change in Syria, to help end this appalling bloodshed and we felt our European partners were holding that back then we'd have to change the approach. But that is not what I hope will happen. William Hague did a very good job persuading his colleagues to amend the terms of the arms embargo so we can provide this equipment."

See the Guardian for full report.

Burma's icon of democracy, Aung Sun Suu Kyi has been criticised by former colleagues, including freed deputy 83-year-old Win Tin, for being too compromising with the Burmese military government.

See here for Washington Post's feature.

Extracts reproduced below:

“Some of us would like to push the military into the Bay of Bengal,” [Win Tin] said with a smile. “[Suu Kyi] only wants to push them into Kandawgyi Lake,”

“Although I am a free man, I feel my whole country is still in jail,” he said. “There are no great prison walls, but we are still in chains.”

“[Suu Kyi] thinks she can persuade all the military leaders to become her friends and come to her side,” Win Tin said. “But people suffered a lot [under military rule]. Without pushing the military out, we won’t achieve any democracy, any human rights.”

'37-year-old Aye Aung, who was sentenced to 59 years in jail in 1998 but released last July, says Win Tin is right to stick to his principles. Suu Kyi, he argues, has been losing touch with the people since she joined parliament and is not taking a strong enough line with the army. The military is so rooted in power, he warns, “we need a revolution” to remove it.'

The PKK released eight Turkish soldiers on Wednesday who had been held hostage in Northern Iraq for two years.

The release comes after the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called for prisoners to be released on both sides. 

A Kurdish politician, Husamettin Zemberlioglu confirmed that that the freed hostages had been received safely. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister, Besir Atalay, welcomes their release as "a gesture of goodwill."

"The [peace] process is going just fine. There is big public support, expectation and hope," he added.

President Abdullah Gul said: "We are happy that our citizens who had been away from their country for so long, and from whom we had not received any news, are returning."

A member of the European Union's delegation to Syia has been killed in Darayya, South-West of Damascus on Wednesday. Ahmad Shihadeh, an EU policy officer was killed in a rocket attack.

The EU withdrew international staff in December last year, closing its Damascus office. However, local Syrian staff remained.

In a statement, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said:

"I have learned today with great sadness of the tragic death on 12 March of Ahmad Shihadeh, a policy officer at the EU Delegation in Syria. He was killed during a rocket attack on the Damascus suburb of Deraya, where he lived.

I offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to the colleagues of the Delegation. Ahmad died while providing humanitarian help to the community of Deraya. Ahmad was known for his courage and selflessness.

As we approach the second anniversary of the uprising in Syria, I call again on all sides to take urgent steps to end the violence, which has led to the deaths of some 100,000 innocent citizens and over one million refugees seeking shelter in neighbouring countries."

Falklanders voted unanimously to stay under British rule in an referendum, with the official count on Monday revealing 99.8% voting in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory.

The poll which took place over two days and included 1694 Falklands born and long-term residents had a 92% turnout rate.

The referendum has been dismissed by Argentina as a meaningless publicity stunt.

Roger Edwards, one of the Falklands' assembly's eight elected members, said:

"Surely this must be the strongest message we can get out to the world,"

"That we are content, that we wish to retain the status quo... with the right to determine our own future and not become a colony of Argentina."

The United States condemned use of phosporus as a crowd control measure after a Burmese report found the toxic agent had been used to disperse a rally at a copper mine in November.

The parliamentary report led by opposition leader Suu Kyi claimed that dozens of people were injured in the clampdown and many suffered burns from the white phosphorus.

Spokesperson for the State Department, Victoria Nuland said:

"We have opposed the use of phosphorus as a crowd control agent, and we have urged the government to ensure that its security forces exercise maximum restraint,"

"This phosphorus... can be quite damaging to humans. There are other crowd control elements that are better suited."

The nationwide outrage caused by the burns led to an official apology to senior clerics for the crackdown.

See AFP for full report.

See also Anger over Suu Kyi's report.

An inquiry panel headed by Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has sparked anger after failing to punish police for injuring protesters and suggesting that a controversial copper mine be kept open.

Thein Than Oo of the Upper Burma Lawyers Network said:

“This commission result is not enough and we can’t rely on them,”

“If the protesters violated the law, how about the riot police? They also violated the laws. The government should investigate both sides and mete out the punishments.”

See the Independent for full report.

Seven hostages taken by Nigerian militants are thought to be dead.

The group Ansaru claimed responsibility for the killings as a response to reports of British warplanes in the area. The seven included one Briton, a Greek, an Italian and four Lebanese hostages.

The UK's Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the 'cold-blooded' murders saying:

"Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the terrorists. I am grateful to the Nigerian Government for their unstinting help and co-operation.

"We are utterly determined to work with them to hold the perpetrators of this heinous act to account, and to combat the terrorism which so blights the lives of people in Northern Nigeria and in the wider region."

See the Independent for full report.

After careful investigation, police have stated that the Bomb attack on officers in Northern Belfast last Saturday, was a “sophisticated device with the intent to kill.”

Though it is too early to assign responsibility for the attacks, Detective Chief Inspector, Karen Baxter, said they were treating it as a terrorist attack.

“Had this device exploded as intended we would’ve had fatalities this morning,” she said.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) found that there had been a significant amount of planning involved, as the bomb was a sophisticated device.

A case against a man accused of crimes against humanity, alongisde Kenya's Kenyatta, at the International Criminal Court collapsed on Monday.

Kenyatta and former civil servant Francis Mathaura were charged of perpetrating violence that led to the killing of 1200 and the displacement of over 100,000 following the 2007 election.

Prosecutors were forced to drop their charges against Mathaura after a key witness decided to recant their testimony.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said:

"We no longer believe there is sufficient evidence to prove the charges against Muthaura beyond reasonable doubt,"

"Witnesses who may have been able to provide evidence concerning the events of 2007 and 2008 have either been killed or have died since those events."

See Reuters for full report.