Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the US, Saudia Arabia, Turkey and Qatar of backing “terrorists” trying to overthrow his government.

In an interview on Sunday with Germany’s ARD network, Assad said that he does not fear the same fate as Gaddafi or Mubarak, claiming that he was still in power because he had the support of his people and adding:

"[…] to be scared, you have to compare. Do we have something in common? It's a completely different situation ... You cannot compare."

The student activists, who were arrested by Burmese authorities over plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a protest and subsequent crackdown by the government, have been released.

Around 300 people gathered in Rangoon on Saturday to mark the anniversary, despite the arrests.

Activists claim the detentions are proof that the Burmese government still has oppressive tendencies, despite democratic reforms.

Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi has ordered the country’s dissolved parliament to reconvene, a move which the Washington Post has described as “a bold stroke that will test the limits of the fledgling government’s power and provoke a confrontation with the country’s military leaders.”

The International Criminal Court will hand out its first ever sentence to the Congolese warlord, Thomas Lubanga, for using child soldiers in his rebel army in 2002-2003.

Lubanga, 51 was convicted in March of war crimes, it will be the ICC’s first ever verdict since it started work a decade ago. Lubanga was found guilty of abducting children sa young as 11 and forcing them to commit atrocities, in the north east of the DRC.

The status facilitates procurement of defence equipment and military training, without involving any security commitments.

Addressing the media after meeting Afghan president Hamid Karzai, Clinton said,

“We see this as a powerful symbol of our commitment to Afghanistan’s future...”

“This is the kind of relationship we think will be especially beneficial as we do the transition and as we plan for the post-2014 presence.”

"We had been trailing him since March because we had information that he was here, and that he had changed his name and was shifting his addresses here."

A senior general in the Syrian Republican Guard has reportedly defected to Turkey, making General Manaf Tlas is the first of such seniority to defect.

The news was reported by the website Syria Steps, which is believed to have close links to the Syrian security forces.

The website asserted, "His escape does not mean anything."

General Tlas is believed to have fled to Turkey.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the UN to use the threat of sanctions to help implement change in Syria, whilst President Bashar Al-Assad suffered the setback of the defection of his most senior generals.

Addressing the Friends of Syria meeting in Paris, the US diplomat also outlined Russia and China as the main obstacles on the way to peace in Syria.

The French President, Francois Hollande echoed the US calls, while the Syrian opposition pushed for a no fly zone.

Burmese authorities detained over two dozen members of a banned political organisation, during a raid at the headquarters of a student activist group in Rangoon.

The students were preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of a major protest, by students, against the country’s former military regime.

Special branch police detained members of the All Burma Federation of Students unions (ABFSU), an umbrella organisation for student unions in Burma, that also provides a voice for academic freedom and student rights.