How snipers operate in Syria, bogus monks in Beijing, and more

STORY 1: Syria

We begin today in Syria. The truce earlier this month stopped - or at least slowed - the bombardment in many cities. But even if there were fewer tank shells being fired, it was still dangerous to go out. That's because Bashar al-Assad didn't call off his snipers. They were still shooting from rooftops and high buildings, terrifying residents. An Observer we call Mohammad Ali explains how the snipers operate in his city, Zabadani, in the west near the border with Lebanon.

STORY 2: Bangladesh

Now to one of the fastest-growing cities in the world: Dhaka, Bangladesh. With 16 million people, it's the ninth biggest urban area in the world, bigger than London, Beijing and Los Angeles. Housing is a problem, though - the city has huge slums. The authorities want to replace one of them with a technology hub. They were supposed to arrange alternate housing, but a recent demolition drive left 5,000 people homeless. More from our observer Fatima Akter, who lives in the slum known as Karail.

STORY 3: World

Next up, a look at some of the images sent in this week by our Observers.

First stop, Beijing, where two Buddhist monks have been busted as fakes. After they posted pictures of themselves online in robes and prayer beads, a suspicious Web user followed them with his camera. He caught them hanging out with apparent girlfriends, drinking beer on the underground, and handling wads of cash. They were rumbled at a Buddhist convention, when they couldn't recite the proper scriptures, and arrested. No word from police on the charges, but in China, con men often pose as monks to sell bogus medicines and collect donations - for themselves.

Now to the US, and tensions over the killing of black teenager Trayvon Martin. Our Observer was driving along a Michigan highway when she saw this construction sign: "Trayvon" - and the "N-word." The authorities quickly took it down, but it was just one of many heated reactions after neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed teen. Our Observer Teri says she is worried about the safety of her black teenage son.

"We are against the partition of Mali": Songo is from the north of the West African country. Her friend Tenemba is from the south. They joined hundreds of other Malians in responding to a Facebook appeal to share concern about their future. Northern rebels have taken over their half of the country, and declared the creation of a new state, called Azawad. It's so far been rejected by Mali's neighbors and the international community