Pressure is mounting on President Bashar al-Assad, with growing foreign condemnation of his repression of the Syrian uprising and attacks by armed rebels that his forces appear unable to stamp out.

Morocco's king asked the head of a moderate Islamist party to form a government on November 29, after the party claimed victory in the country's first parliamentary elections since constitutional reforms this summer.

Pakistan's prime minister ruled out "business as usual" with the US on November 28 after a NATO attack killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and the army threatened to curtail cooperation over the war in Afghanistan.

The number of people confirmed killed in the collapse of a bridge in central Indonesia has climbed to 11, with more than 30 missing and feared dead, searchers said on November 28.

A senior Chinese military official said on November 28 that China cherishes friendly relations with Myanmar and hopes to enhance their military relationship.

US President Barack Obama has hosted European Union leaders in a wide-ranging summit overshadowed by the EU debt crisis.

Vote counting is under way in the Democratic Republic of Congo where presidential and parliamentary elections have been taking place.

At least 13 people were killed on November 28 when a suicide bomber drove his vehicle into a security checkpoint at a prison in the Taji district of Baghdad, police officials said.

Several rockets fired from Lebanon hit northern Israel on November 29, and the Jewish state returned fire across the border in response, military officials said.

The Arab League has approved sanctions against Syria, including an asset freeze and an embargo on investments.