World Affairs Overview

Halt Syria regime change efforts -Russia tells West

RUSSIA: Russia said on Monday it did not support the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad but urged world powers to work for the peace plan of UN envoy Kofi Annan and not regime change.

“We do not support the Syrian government. We support the plan of Kofi Annan,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint news conference with his British counterpart William Hague.

But he added that world powers had to “play the game of fulfilling the Kofi Annan plan and not the game of regime change.” Hague for his part warned there will be “chaos and civil war” if the Annan plan is not implemented.

Their meeting came after The New York Times reported the administration of US President Barack Obama is considering working with Russia on a plan for Assad's departure under a proposal modelled on the transition in Yemen.

AFP

India firms Myanmar ties during historic visit

INDIA: India's prime minister signed a raft of deals with Myanmar Monday in a historic visit aimed at boosting trade and energy links and contesting the influence of regional rival China.

Manmohan Singh, the first Indian premier to visit in a quarter of a century, met President Thein Sein in the capital Naypyidaw as energy-hungry New Delhi woos Myanmar after dramatic reforms ended its international isolation. AFP

Iran condemns ‘terrorist action’ in Syria’s Houla

IRAN: Iran on Monday condemned killings in the Syrian town of Houla, blaming them on “terrorist actions” rather than its Damascus ally and calling for the perpetrators to be punished.

Iran “condemns the terrorist actions in the Houla area in Homs in Syria. The killing of a number of innocent people in the area has distressed the Islamic nations,” the foreign ministry said in a statement relayed by official media. AFP