Syrian Vice-President Farouq al-Sharaa has told Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar that without a settlement, neither side can win the war in Syria.

See here for full interview on al-Akhbar.

Quotes from al-Sharaa reproduced below:

“The drop in the number of peaceful protesters led one way or another to the rise in militants,”

“While it is the duty of the state to provide its citizens with security, this is different than deciding on a military solution to the crisis. The two issues should not be mixed.”

“All of this should have required a discussion of mechanisms and an attempt at a Syrian-Syrian solution. The dialogue we adopted in July 2011 aimed at solving the crisis politically from the start, by Syrian hands,”

“But things did not go in this direction. The crisis was Arabized. Syria, a founding member of the League of Arab States, saw its membership suspended from the league without justification or a pretext that could convince Syrian citizens.”

“There were many mistakes made by the Arab League and the [Syrian] state both, which cannot be forgotten or stepped over,”

“No credible commission of inquiry was set up at the beginning of the crisis. If some were set up, the results were not made public, allowing for the spread of rumors that lost the regime its credibility and stature in the eyes of those who were wronged internally and outside observers.”

“With every passing day, the solution gets further away, militarily and politically. We must be in the position of defending Syria’s existence. We are not in a battle for the survival of an individual or a regime.”

Egypt’s public prosecutor, appointed by President Mohamed Morsi, resigned from his post on Monday, in a move that was seen by Morsi’s opponents as a victory for the independence of the judiciary.

The public prosecutor, Talaat Ibrahim, stepped down after unrest among the judges, who described President Morsi’s decision to sack the former public prosecutor and appoint Ibrahim as an assault on the independence of the judiciary.

The former public prosecutor, Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, who is susceptible to stand trial for violence against protestors during the uprising, was initially sacked by president Morsi to appease protestors demanding trials of officials involved in carrying violence against them.

However, the consequent appointment of a new prosecutor of Morsi’s choosing resulted in dissatisfaction amongst the judges who said the president’s actions threatened their independence.

The French government has come under fire for being a haven for Rwandan genocide suspects after a controversial court ruling earlier this week.

A French court decided to grant residence to Agathe Habyarimana (also known as Agathe Kanziga), widow of former Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana, who is wanted in Rwanda under charges of genocide.

The decision by the  Versailles Court of Appeal followed a long legal battle that saw Kanziga arrested by French authorities and extradition requests by the Rwandan government turned down.

Sharon Courtoux cofounder of Survie said,

"For France to be home to so many Génocidaires, it is primarily because the French government at the time [1994] had strong ties with the Habyarimana regime. Many former Rwandan officials studied in France and kept in touch. And then, there are the links established by the Catholic Church. Father (Wenceslas) Munyeshyaka was picked up in the Congo in 1994, during a visit there by French bishops."

"Some Genocide suspects were directly "extradited" from Congo by French soldiers and transported to an African country first, from where they could then head to France. And then there are a large number of soldiers who are there too. Their presence, perhaps, may be more political than the others."

Head of a France-based rights group, Collectif des Parties Civiles pour le Rwanda (CPCR) Alain Gauthier, also commented,

"The recent injunction by French courts will surprise only those who do not know the complacency demonstrated by some judges for many years when it comes to the issue of those suspected of participating in the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda."

French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius said on Sunday that he believes Assad’s regime is on the brink of collapse and that the new opposition coalition must be supported to keep power out of the hands of extremists.

France was the first Western country to recognise the Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

Talking to RFI radio, Fabius said:

"I think that the end is nearing for Bashar al-Assad ... even the Russians are considering it,"

"The best defence against extremists is the Syrian coalition,"

"The coalition is uniting the opposition. The problem is ensuring that, once Assad's regime falls, there isn't more chaos. We want to avoid the Iraqi phenomenon,"

"The problem is not simply today, but tomorrow. Once Bashar falls, the question will be what happens to these fighters. Will we find them in Mali, or elsewhere?"

Many Western powers have been hesitant about arming the opposition, believing that some rebel groups have links to al-Qaeda and would seek to enforce Islamic law if Assad was toppled.

See here for full report on Reuters.

The Libyan government has closed its borders with its southern neighbours, over fears of an influx of illegal immigrants and goods.

A parliamentary decree declared that the southern regions of Ghadames, Ghat, Obari, Al-Shati, Sebha, Murzuq and Kufra would be "considered as closed military zones to be ruled under emergency law".

Since the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi, the country’s southern regions have suffered from lawlessness.

Suad Ganur, a member of parliament, said to the AFP that there was an "upsurge in violence and drug trafficking, and the presence of armed groups that act with complete impunity".

The EU had recently offered to train Libyans to help tighten their southern borders.

A Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital of Damascus was reportedly struck by airstrikes from Syrian government forces, killing at least 8 people.

The strike on Yarmouk camp, the largest refugee camp in Damascus, reportedly struck the Abdel Qader Husseini Mosque, where more than 600 people had been sheltering.

The EU's humanitarian aid commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva was quoted in the Guardian as saying,

"The Palestinians have been on the move for some time now… Their situation is especially sensitive because they do not have too many places to go."

"We are looking at finding urgent solutions for them. There is limited capacity in the camps in Lebanon and it is an extremely sensitive issue in Jordanian society to take in extra Palestinians."

Approximately 500,000 Palestinians are thought to be sheltering in Syria, with loyalty to the current regime and Syrian rebels even split throughout the community. Georgieva went on to say,

"They are increasingly being asked to take sides… This is a very difficult situation for the Palestinian community and we will do everything we can do make sure that they do not become yet another victim of the terrible events in Syria. One option we will look at is trying to establish safe havens inside the country."

Officials from the Afghan government are to hold talks with the Taliban and other groups, in Paris at the end of this week, aimed at discussing the pullout of NATO troops in 2014.

Speaking on RFI radio, France's foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, said:

"Discreet talks have been taking place between different factions for three years," Fabius said.

"If you want peace, it's usually between people who don't agree, and over there they don't talk to each other. So there will be discussions, but it won't be negotiations."

Riot police arrested four opposition leaders at an anti-Putin rally in Moscow on Saturday.

The rally, techinically illegal, took place at the former KGB security police's headquarters, and were intended to mark one year from the first anti-Putin demonstrations.

Protesters marched shouting, "Free political prisoners!", and "Down with the police state".

Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov, IIya Yashin and Ksenia Sobchak were detained.

Navalny, an anti-corruption blogger, shouted as he was being taken away, "the bloody regime has got to Sobchak".

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, has slammed the UN Security Council for its lack of action against Sudanese war criminals.

She said the ICC had uncovered "ongoing pattern of crimes committed pursuant to the government-avowed goal of stopping the rebellion in Darfur," but the Security Council had not taken sufficient action.

She slammed the UN Security Councils inaction, asking "how many more civilians must be killed, injured and displaced for this council to be spurred into doing its part?"

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Hassan al-Bashir on charges of genocide.

UN estimates say over 300,000 people have died in Darfur.

Hamas supporters took to the streets earlier today, in the first pro-Hamas rally in the Fatah-led west bank, in five years.

Yielding the green flags of Hamas, supporters marched from the Nasser Mosque in Nablus and rallied in the central square, where they eventually called for a return to armed resistance against Israel.

The rally indicated the rising popularity of Hamas in the West Bank, following Israel’s eight day assault last month.

Fatah controls West Bank’s Palestinian Authority and, as a result of Hamas’s recent resilience, are facing pressure to offer Hamas concessions, such as more public rallies.
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) president, criticised Hamas’ leader-in-exile, Khaled Meshaal, for a fierce anti-Israeli speech in Gaza.

Marking Hamas’s 25th anniversary on Saturday, Meshaal vowed never to recognise Israel’s right to exist, reaffirming that Hamas "does not accept the two state solution” to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Rebuking the Hamas leader’s remarks, Abbas said,

“We recognised Israel in 1993. There is an agreement between Fatah and Hamas that recognises the two-state solution. Meshaal approved this agreement.”

Meshaal’s remarks on Saturday conflicts with his recent tone on Israel, where he suggested that Hamas could possibly recognise its resistance, and also supported Abbas’s bid to the UN, which explicitly recognised Israel. Meshaal’s shift to a hard-line stance on Israel has been seen as ploy to regain popular support in the West Bank following Israel’s recent military assault on Gaza.

Egyptian leaders hold high hopes of a win for the new constitution, as voters turned out in large numbers, in what have been described as peaceful polls, on a referendum on the draft constitution.

With a higher turnout than expected, Mr Morsi predicted a win for the ratification of the constitution, shortly after polls closed at 11pm on Saturday.

The Muslim Brotherhood said that so far ballots were running 59% in favour of the constitution in about 86% of polling stations.

However main opposition strongholds of Cairo and Alexandria are yet to be counted.

The proposed constitution has caused renewed protest, violence and riots in Egypt with allegations that the draft allows for too much interference from religious authorities.

See here for full report from the New York Times.
 

The Russian foreign ministry has denied that its position on Syria has changed after comments by deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov were interpreted as such.

"The well-known claim of the Syrian opposition and its external sponsors predicting 'a quick victory over the authorities in Damascus' was quoted," said a ministry spokesperson.

"In this context, Mr Bogdanov reiterated Russia's principal position - that there is no alternative to a political resolution in Syria based on the Action Group for Syria, agreed in Geneva on 30 June."

Ukraine's parliament broke out in a brawl for the second day running, after voting was held to decide whether to reinstate the country's Prime Minister.

Scuffles between government and opposition law makers broke out, after parliamentarians darted around the chamber pressing voting buttons for absent coleagues.

Lawmakers then clambered pver desks as fisticuffs ensued, with world boxing champion and newly-elected parliamentarian Vitali Klitschko, staying well out of the fighting.

See a video from the Telegraph below.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has pushed EU leaders to discuss a commitment to arming or providing logistical military support to Syrian rebels at a European foreign ministers meeting on 31st January.

In what has been described as a major diplomatic victory for Cameron, the EU has instructed its foreign ministers "to work on all options to support and help the opposition and to enable greater support for the protection of civilians" and that the EU should work for "political transition... towards a future without President Assad and his illegitimate regime".

Speaking at a Brussels summit on Friday morning, David Cameron said:

"The situation is truly dreadful and getting worse. Forty thousand people are dead already there's a hard winter coming, there is an extreme humanitarian situation on the ground,"

"This is a desperate crisis that is taking place on our watch. People will ask in future years, what did you do to help deal with this situation, to help bring about a transition, to help get rid of President Assad? There is no single simple answer but inaction and indifference are not options."

"I want a very clear message to go to President Assad that nothing is off the table,"

"I want us to help shape that opposition, advise and work with it, so we can see the speediest possible transition in Syria. It's a very difficult situation, there are no easy answers, these things take time. But as an EU and as a country, Britain, we should be doing everything we can to speed up that transition."

Britain will draw up changes to the EU arms embargo on Syria, which would allow European states to supply weapons to the military wind of the Syrian Opposition Council.

See here for full report on the Telegraph