Asia

• During a visit to Cambodia, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta emphasized bilateral military ties but also raised concerns about human rights abuses.

• Cambodian authorities arrested eight villagers who had appealed to U.S. President Barack Obama for help ahead of his visit to the country.

• U.S. and Afghan negotiators launched talks on authorizing an American troop presence in Afghanistan after 2014.

Americas

• BP agreed to pay $4. 5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to criminal misconduct over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

• The CIA announced an investigation into the conduct of former director David Petraeus as he prepares to testify before Congress on the Benghazi attack. 

• Lawmakers in Uruguay introduced a law to regulate the production, sale, and consumption of marijuana. 

Middle East

• Turkey recognized the Syrian opposition's new coalition as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian people." 

• Protests against King Abdullah II and rising gas prices continued in Jordan for a third night.

• The Pentagon estimated that it would need 75,000 troops to seize Syria's chemical weapons. 

Europe

• The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal overturned the convictions of two Croat generals for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. 

• Georgian authorities arrested nine former government officials who worked for the country's previous president.

• EU police arrested three former KLA rebel fighters in Kosovo for alleged war crimes.

Africa

• Sierra Leone is preparing for what is expected to be a tight presidential election.

• Five European countries expressed support for a European mission to train Malian forces battling Islamist groups in northern Mali.

• Government forces reportedly killed more than 150 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.