Members of the European Parliament called Thursday for the immediate departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who, by choosing repression instead of reforms, they said had lost all legitimacy.

In a resolution adopted in Strasbourg, the parliament called on Assad and his regime to "relinquish power immediately."

U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon called Thursday for "coherent" new international action over the deadly crackdown on opposition protests by Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

"When he has not been keeping his promises, enough is enough and the international community should really take coherent measures and speak in one voice," the U.N. secretary general told a press conference.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed Tuesday that his latest stances are not signs of a new political “realignment,” denying that he has requested to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Following talks with visiting Russian presidential envoy Mikhail Margelov, Jumblat said: “What I have said is not a realignment, it is only a reminder of what was agreed around the national dialogue table. It is beneficial for one to remember things every now and then.”

Pro-democracy activists in Syria have called for a "day of anger" against Russia on Tuesday to protest Moscow's backing for President Bashar al-Assad, who for more than six months has tried to stifle an anti-regime uprising.

"Do not support the killers. Do not kill the Syrians with your position" in favor of the regime, the activists urged Russia in a posting on The Syrian Revolution 2011, a Facebook page that has been the engine for anti-Assad revolt.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday held talks with Lebanon’s Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn concerning “cooperation and coordination between the Syrian and Lebanese armies,” Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported.

“Assad expressed appreciation of the Lebanese army's great efforts in coordination with the Syrian counterpart to monitor the borders between the two countries, which helped foil several weapons smuggling attempts targeting the two countries' stability and security,” SANA said.

A woman was shot dead in eastern Syria on Sunday and a teenager died of wounds suffered at a funeral in the capital Damascus on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"A 40-year-old woman was killed at noon on Sunday by a stray bullet as security forces were tracking wanted people in the town of Bukamal," the Britain-based rights group cited an activist in Deir al-Zour province as saying.

Syrian President Bashar Assad urged on Saturday Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi against falling victim to misleading campaigns aimed at creating incitement against Syria, reported the official Syrian news agency SANA.

Al-Arabi affirmed that the Arab League and Arab countries are committed to Syria's security and stability, it added.

Syrian forces killed 16 people Saturday, activists said, as they tried to crush anti-regime dissent as Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi met President Bashar al-Assad to broker an end to the bloodshed.

Arabi carried a 13-point document outlining Arab proposals to halt the deadly crackdown, hold elections and push for reforms in the League member state.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy informed Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi during his visit to France earlier this week that the “regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad is over,” reported An Nahar daily on Saturday.

The patriarch received assurances from various French officials that “Lebanon and Christians minorities will not be sacrificed” for regional interests.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Wednesday asked France and other world powers why doesn’t the international community force “the implementation of resolutions issued by the U.N. Security Council in order to strip Hizbullah of excuses” to possess arms, LBC television reported.

LBC quoted al-Rahi as saying that “Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must be given a chance because he is implementing reforms in Syria.”