Hundreds of Syrians have fled a coastal village in the country, after a reported massacre of civilians by forces loyal to besieged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for HUman RIghts posted a video onlne, showing at least 10 bodies lying in the street, covered in pools of blood. Activists reported that 77 people were killed in Baniyas after 72 were killed at the nearby village of al-Badya.

The United States condened the attacks, with the State Department commenting,

The US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel as admitted that the government is reconsidering its opposition to the arming of the Syrian opposition.

"Arming the rebels - that's an option," he said to reporters at a press conference alongside Britain’s Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond.

"You look at and rethink all options. It doesn't mean you do or you will. These are options that must be considered with the international community: what is possible, what can help accomplish [our] objectives."

The M23's political leader, Bertrand Bisimwa told AFP on Thursday:

"Our delegation will return to Kampala if -- and only if -- the government agrees to sign a ceasefire with us immediately."

Up to 100 people are feared to have been killed by Syrian government forces in the coastal village of Baida on Thursday.

At least 50 people are reported to have been killed, yet with no clear picture having emerged, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights warning that the death tolls could be even higher – with the numbers exceeding 100 dead.

The US State Department has announced the extension of some targeted sanctions against the Burmese government, while lifting visa restrictions on Burmese officials.

State Department officials said that continuing human rights concerns and the detention of political prisoners are factors in the extension of the sanctions.

The son of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, has appeared in a Libyan court earlier on Thursday, charged with plotting escape from detention in Libya.

Libyan authorities accuse Gaddafi of "undermining state security" after he met with envoys from the International Criminal Court in June 2012. Libya alleged that the ICC officials had attempted to pass coded messages to Gaddafi, keeping them in custody for 4 weeks, sparking a diplomatic row. Eventually all the ICC members were released.

The US has said it regrets Bolivia’s decision to move against USAID programmes in the country.

President Evo Morales had accused the organisation to conspire against Bolivia.

US state department spokesman Patrick Ventrell denied the accusations.

"We think the programmes have been positive for the Bolivian people, and fully co-ordinated with the Bolivian government and appropriate agencies under their own national development plan," he said.

Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the expulsion of USAID representatives from the country, which he accused opf meddling in the country’s internal affairs and conspiring against him.

Speaking at a May Day rally in La Paz's Plaza de Armas, Morales stated to crowds,

US President Barack Obama has said that the continuing existence of the prison facilities at Guantanamo Bay is a “recruitment tool” for extremists and not in the “best interest of the American people”.

"I am going to go back at this. I am going to get my team to review everything that is currently being done in Guantánamo … everything that we can do administratively. I am going to re-engage with Congress to try and make the case that [Guantánamo] is not in the best interests of the American people,

The UK will end its aid programme in South Africa by 2015, said International Development Secretary Justine Greening.

The secretary will announce the move at a conference of African ministers and business leaders in London on Tuesday.

"South Africa has made enormous progress over the past two decades, to the extent that it is now the region's economic powerhouse and Britain's biggest trading partner in Africa," she will say.