The Syrian government has confirmed air strikes by the Israeli air force have attacked targets in Syria, reporting that a "military research centre" was struck.

Britain has agreed to deploy around 350 troops to West Africa to support French forces.

Up to 40 military advisers will train soldiers in Mali and another 200 will be sent to neighbouring countries to assist training there.

10 Downing Street said the UK was doing all it could to support the French intervention.

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said that although it was important the mission in Mali haad British support, it is "not for us to put combat troops on the ground".

Burma has overturned a 1988 ban on public gatherings of more than 5 people in further moves to liberalise the country.

Buddhist monks held protest rallies in defiance of the law in December, after authorities cracked down on another protest in the previous month.

The country has seen widespread democratic reforms, with bans on provate newspapers lifted last month after 50 years.

Rebels from the Free Syria Army have reported a discovery of over 100 executed bodies, in what appears to be one of the largest massacres of the ongoing conflict in the country.

In an unprecedented move, Israel has boycotted a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session by the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, citing unfair criticism from the Council.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Yigal Palmor, said:

"After a series of votes and statements and incidents we have decided to suspend our working relations with that body,"

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has declared a state of emergency in the cities of PortSaid, Suez and Ismalia after days of deadly unrest.

The unrest has come as an expression of public unhappiness with President Morsi’s rule, with the capital Cairo, facing a fourth consecutive day of anti-government protests.

The opposition has accused Mr Morsi of being autocratic and fixing a new constitution that does not protect freedom of expression.

Commenting on the declared state of emergency, Mr Morsi said,

A library containing thousands of manuscripts dating from as early as the 13th century, has been set fire to by rebels in Mali leaving the city of Timbuktu.

Speaking from the capital today, the Mayor Halle Ousmanem, confirmed the incident stating:

“The rebels set fire to the newly constructed Ahmed Baba Institute ... this happened four days ago,”

Burma has received nearly $1bn worth of credit from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

The World Bank granted Burma a $440m credit while the ADB issued £512m, to aid social and economic development in the country.

"Myanmar has come a long way in its economic transformation, undertaking unprecedented reforms to improve people's lives, especially the poor and vulnerable," said Annette Dixon, country director for Myanmar at the World Bank.

U.N Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, will recommend the U.N Security Council that a peace 'enforcement' unit will be deployed to combat the M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a senior U.N official announced.

The official, who declined to be named, said,

"It is not simply peacekeeping, this is peace enforcement. It's a much more robust stance".