Top story: A day after the U.N. Security Council unanimously expressed "deep disappointment" at Syria's refusal to allow U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos into the country, a Red Cross and Syrian Red Crescent convoy has entered the long-besieged Baba Amr district of Homs to deliver food and medical aid and evacuate the wounded. Residents lack electricity and are facing heavy snow and freezing weather.
On Thursday, the rebel Free Syrian Army announced that it was leaving the district -- where only a few thousand people remain out of a population of 100,000 -- in a "tactical withdrawal." An official with Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates declared that Baba Amr had been "cleansed" of "foreign-backed armed groups of terrorists."
As two French journalists who had been trapped in Homs escaped to Lebanon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy closed his country's embassy in Syria, following the lead of Britain and the United States. "What is happening is a scandal," he said.
European debt crisis: Every European Union member but the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom signed a "fiscal compact" to enforce budget discipline on eurozone states. British Prime Minister David Cameron has expressed opposition to financial service regulations in the treaty.
Middle East
- Iranians are voting in parliamentary elections that may reflect a battle for influence among the country's conservatives.
- Israel announced that it will conduct its first test of a new antiballistic missile system that can intercept missiles coming from countries such as Iran and Syria.
- Fifteen foreign pro-democracy workers flew from Egypt to Cyprus after their NGOs posted bail of $330,000 per employee in a case that has threatened U.S.-Egyptian relations.
Europe
- Serbia has formally become a candidate for European Union membership.
- The government in Azerbaijan dismissed a provincial governor in response to a rare protest.
- French President Nicolas Sarkozy had to take cover in a bar after confronting protesters in the Basque region of the country.
Asia
- Ten Pakistani soldiers and 23 militants were killed in clashes near the Afghan border, as elections get underway for the Pakistani Senate.
- A Chinese environmental official says two-thirds of China's cities will not meet new air quality standards.
- New Zealand will demolish Christchurch cathedral, which was damaged in an earthquake last year.
Africa
- Somali troops and African Union forces captured a major al-Shabab base outside Mogadishu.
- The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's defense minister as part of an investigation into crimes committed in Darfur.
- Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan are building a port, oil refinery, and rail network near Lamu, a world heritage site.
Americas
- Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner suggested establishing direct flights between Buenos Aires and the Falkland Islands amid an escalating dispute with the United Kingdom over the islands.
- New polling indicates that Mexico's presidential race is tightening.
- A Guantanamo Bay prisoner and former Maryland resident pleaded guilty to helped al Qaeda plot attacks.
Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
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