The UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi  has held talks with besieged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in efforts to stem violence in the country, whilst alleged attacks by government forces continued.

After meeting with Assad on Monday, Brahimi said,

"I had the honour to meet the president and as usual we exchanged views on the many steps to be taken in the future,"

"Assad expressed his views on the situation and I told him about my meetings with leaders in the region and outside."

He went on to express hope that “all parties are in favour of a solution that draws Syrian people together".

The meeting comes as opposition activists said dozens of people were killed by a government air strike in the  rebel-held town of Halfaya. Activist Samer al-Hamawi said more than 1,000 people were queuing up at a bakery when the government jets struck.

He told reporters,

"We hadn't received flour in around three days so everyone was going to the bakery today, and lots of them were women and children."

See Human Rights Watch’s documentation of previous attacks by the Syrian government of civilian bread lines here.

Syrian state TV meanwhile blamed the attack on “armed terrorist groups”.

Russia and India have signed new weapons deals worth billions of dollars, during a visit to Delhi by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Indian Premier Manmohan Singh and Putin signed a $1.6billion deal for 46 Sukhoi fighter jets, which will be assembled in India from Russian parts. The two leaders also signed a $1.3billion dollar for 71 Mil Mi-17 military helicopters.

"We agreed to further strengthen the traditions of close co-operation in the military and technical areas," Mr Putin said in New Delhi.

While Russia has been the largest supplier of arms to India, in recent years India has increasingly turned to western countries for their military hardware.

Trade between the two countries has increased six-fold since 2000, and although growth has slowed in recent years, trade is still worth around $10billion a year.

Writing in The Hindu ahead of his visit, President Putin said that they aim to reach $20billion worth of trade by 2015.

“I will take the liberty to outline joint prospects for strategic partnership between India and Russia in the 21 century,” he said.

“These are deepening of cooperation in knowledge-intensive fields based on strong historic traditions, advancement of joint products to international markets, further increasing of the share of high value added products in the trade turnover, enhancing the role and effectiveness of Indian-Russian interaction in international affairs, and the widest possible realization of the potential of cultural and humanitarian contacts.”

Putin also praised the construction of the controversial Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.

“The construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant with the use of the most reliable and up-to-date technologies and standards became a major breakthrough project in that field.

“The beginning of operation of the first power unit of that plant will allow to significantly reduce the energy deficiency in southern States of India, and eventually eliminate it completely, after the launch of the second and other power units. We expect that the implementation of our arrangements on the construction of new NPPs in India will begin in the nearest future.”

Some activists in Tamil Nadu have been protesting against the plant over security risks and environmental concerns.

Palestinian militants in Gaza violated laws of war when launching rockets during their conflict with Israel, asserted the US based human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch (HRW).

HRW's Middle East Director, Sarah Leah Whitson, said,

“Palestinian armed groups made clear in their statements that harming civilians was their aim. There is simply no legal justification for launching rockets at populated areas,”

Human Rights Watch research found that certain militant groups in Gaza repeatedly fired rockets into densely populated residential areas and unnecessarily putting civilians at risk. A militant group in Gaza, The Nasser Salahaddin Brigades, stated that it had launched four rockets as a “revenge invoice” in response to Israeli shelling that killed civilians in Gaza.

Human Rights Watch reiterated that all attacks against civilians, regardless of unlawful attacks by the other side, were considered as war crimes.

Human Rights Watch went on to note that, Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza, is obligated to uphold the laws of war and were expected to punish those in Gaza that were responsible for violations.

“We urge all countries to redouble their cooperation with the ICTR so that fugitives can be arrested. Those who harbor fugitives obstruct justice and stand on the wrong side of history.”

“The United States welcomes this ruling as an important step in providing justice and accountability for the Rwandan people and the international community"

"Yesterday’s conviction sends a strong signal that the international community will not rest until the remaining fugitives are brought to account.”

An air strike in Syria's Hama province on Sunday has killed dozens of people queueing for bread from a bakery, reports Reuters.

If the initial death toll of 90 is confirmed, the attack would be one of the deadliest air strikes in the Syrian civil war.

Activists uploaded videos showing dozens of blood-stained bodies among piles of rubble and shrapnel.

Rami Abdelrahman, of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said:

"It is still very unclear what the casualties are ... From looking at the videos I expect the death toll to be around or above 50, and not higher than 100. But for now I am keeping my estimate at dozens killed until we have more information."

The attacked town of Hafalya was seized by rebels last week in ongoing clashes between the Bashar al-Assad's military forces and opposition groups.

The Central African Republic’s third largest city has fallen to rebels who are fighting to overthrow President Francois Bozize.

The southern city of Bambari was taken by a coalition known as Seleka, a day after regional leaders called on the rebels to withdraw from cities recently taken and start talks with the government.

Seleka’s campaign started a month ago, with the rebels pushing for a release of political prisoners and payment for former fighters, as per a peace deal signed by the government and armed groups in 2007.

Amnesty International has condemned the execution of six Taiwanese prisoners as “cold-blooded killings”.

The six men had been convicted of murder and were executed in three prisons across the island.

"How can the government credibly claim it wants to see an end to the death penalty when it continues to conduct such actions," said Amnesty International in a statement.

"It is abhorrent to justify taking someone's life because prisons are overcrowded or the public's alleged support for the death penalty."

Taiwan has now executed a total of 15 prisoners since 2010, after an informal halt on the death sentence was established in 2005.

Public calls for executions have recently increased after a high-profile murder of a young boy in a video arcade.

The Russian government has called on South Sudan to punish those responsible for the downing of a UN helicopter, staffed by Russian crew.

"We call on the government of South Sudan to carry out the necessary investigation, punish the guilty and take every measure to guarantee that this never happens again," a statement by Russia's foreign ministry said.

South Sudan has expressed regret for the shooting down, but it is not yet clear who is responsible for the attack.

Egypt’s Vice President, Mahmoud Mekki, announced his resignation today as the country completes its voting process on the controversial referendum on a draft constitution.

Mahmoud Mekki, appointed in August, said the Vice President role did not suit his background as a judge.

Though President Mursi has said the referendum on the constitution will secure democracy, opponents argue the document betrays the revolution that overthrew Mubarak last year.

Explaining his resignation Mekki said,

“I realised a while ago that the nature of politics does not suit my professional background as a judge.”

Mekki’s statement also indicated that he had no prior knowledge of Mursi’s decree, that is said to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

Mekki’s resignation adds to a list of 7 other senior official resignations, who all indicated that they had not been consulted about the President’s drafting of the constitution, which opposition leaders describe as going against the human rights that the revolution looked to uphold.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, made clear today that Moscow would not mediate on behalf of countries offering Bashar al-Assad asylum, in a push to make him quit Syria.

Speaking to journalists, Lavrov said:

“Some countries in the region have turned to us and suggested, ‘Tell Assad we are ready to fix him up. And we answered, ‘What do we have to do with it? If you have such plans, approach him directly.’ ”

“If there are people wishing to give him some kind of guarantees, be our guest. We will be the first to cross ourselves and say, ‘Thank God, the carnage is over.’ Whether this will end the carnage — that is far from obvious. It is not obvious at all.”

Although Russia has consistently been opposed to international intervention in Syria, Moscow recently observed a shifting balance of military power between the regime and rebel fighters.

Renewed clashes between rival communities in Kenya's Tana river region have killed at least 39 people.

While some say the latest attack by Pokomo farmers on the Orma village of Kipao was political, police have claimed that it was a retaliation for the killing of over 100 villagers earlier this year.

Police say that although houses were burnt and villagers cut down with machetes, there were casualties on both sides, as the Orma villagers seemed prepared.

See here for full report on BBC.

South Sudan’s armed forces have admitted to shooting down a United Nations helicopter killing all four crew members, earlier on Friday.

South Sudanese army spokesperson Philip Aguer stated that one of their artillery units had spotted the aircraft, suspecting that it would  resupply rebels led by David Yau Yau. Aguer said,

"We regret the incident,"

"The artillery unit unfortunately fired on the plane [believing] that this is an enemy plane because there was no prior information from the UN about this plane being in the area,"

"We saw a white plane landing and asked UNMISS whether they had any flight in the area but they denied it. The army opened fire because it thought it was an enemy plane supplying Yau Yau with weapons."

"We later heard UNMISS had a flight there. They should have informed us."

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said,

"The secretary-general strongly condemns the shooting down today of a clearly marked UN helicopter by the Sudan People's Liberation Army near Likuangole, in Jonglei State of South Sudan."

He further went on to call on South Sudan to "immediately carry out an investigation and bring to account those responsible for this act".

The UN Security Council also said it "strongly deplores" the "grave violation" of UN accords, and the US State Department also said that it "deplores" the attack, with both calliong for a full investigation.