A Serbian court sentenced 11 ethnic Albanians to a total of 116 years in prison on Wednesday, after finding them guilty of committing war crimes.

The men were found guilty of illegally detaining and torturing at least 147 people, according to the verdict, during the war in Kosovo. Of the 17 charged with the offences, 6 were acquitted.

Senior officials in the White House have said that the State Department is going to remove the Iranian dissident organisation, Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MeK) from the US list of terrorist organisations.

The officials said the decision would be announced formally next week.

The group has renounced violence, while still calling for regime change, and is thought to have provided the US with intelligence on Iran's nuclear programme.

US Iranians spent millions of dollars to enlist a wide range of US politicians to support the deproscription of the organisation, but only three years ago the US arrested several pro-MeK activists for raising funds for a banned terrorist organisation.

Now members of congress 'openly praise' the organisation.

The killing of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya has caused a public backlash against Islamist militias, reports the Associated Press.

Tens of thousands of Libyans are reported to have marched in protest against the killing, demanding the disbanding of Ansar al-Shariah, one of the strongest armed Islamic extremist groups in the country.

According to officials and witnesses, the September 11 attack on the Benghazi consulate is believed to have been led by fighters from Ansar al-Shariah.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has urged the EU to lift an arms embargo, in place since the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings.

A Syrian air force plane is thought to have attacked a petrol station near the north-eastern town of Raqqa, killing over 30 people according to rebels.

The opposition group said people were queuing for petrol when they were attacked.

Rebels recently captured the nearby border post of Tal al-Abyad, and pictures showed the rebel flag flying next to the Turkish flag at the crossing.

The Syrian army has been attempting to recapture the border town, with reports of severe clashes emerging.

In an interview with The Times, Major-General Adnan Sillu. the head of the Assad regime's chemical weapons division who defected three months ago, has confirmed the regime had plans of using chemical weapons against its own citizens in Aleppo.

Speaking to The Times, in his first interview (see here) since he defected, he said:

“We were in a serious discussion about the use of chemical weapons, including how we would use them and in what areas. We discussed this as a last resort — such as if the regime lost control of an important area such as Aleppo.”

According to General Sillu, the Syrian regime were advised extensively by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and also had plans of transferring supplies to Hezbollah.

Burmese authorities have embarked on a 'secret programme of ethnic cleansing', by bulldozing the Rohingya Muslims mosques and communities, reports The Times.

With tens of thousands of Rohingya muslims having fled from home fearing further persecution by Buddhist Rakhinis, authorities are demolishing muslim homes, shops and mosques, many of which have considerable historic significance.

The World Bank warned of a worsening of the fiscal crisis in the Palestinian economy on Wednesday, unless Israel eases restrictions on the West Bank, and foreign funding increases.

In a statement, Mariam Sherman, the World Bank's country director for the Palestinian terrorities said, "Donors do need to act urgently in the face of a serious fiscal crisis facing the PA (Palestinian Authority) in the short term."

"sustainable economic growth cannot be achieved without the removal of the barriers preventing private sector development, particularly in Area C".

Whilst the Palestinian Authorities had made "credible efforts" towards addressing the crisis she said, the Israeli restrictions "remain the major impediment", such as the difficulty foreign investors faced in obtaining Israeli entry permits into even the West Bank, and the ban on importing "dual use" items - ie. anything that Israel fears could be used in weaponry.