Top news: Rebel fighters appear to have made gains in the Syrian city of Aleppo despite heavy shelling by government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. A notable victory came in the town of Anadan, about six miles north of Aleppo, where rebels captured a Syrian Army outpost and secured a key artery to the Turkish border. In the process, they acquired two Soviet-era T-55 tanks and other munitions, which they put to work shelling a government-controlled air base outside Azaz, some 25 miles farther north.
The gains come as rebels in the country's rural northern provinces report similar progress. With the defeat of government forces in the city of al-Bab, some 20 miles east of Aleppo, rebels now control all territory northeast of the city, all the way to the Turkish border.
Meanwhile, Syria's highest ranking UK diplomat, Khaled al-Ayoubi resigned his post over his government's "violent and oppressive acts."
India: A blackout that began in northern India on Monday has spread to cover more than half the country. More than 600 million people are without power, many for the second day in a row.
Middle East
- U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta urged Israeli leaders to give sanctions more time to work in Iran.
- As Pakistan's spy chief prepares for a U.S. visit, the Haqqani network poses a new threat to U.S.-Pakistan relations.
- Turkey sent additional forces to secure the Syrian border.
Asia
- U.N. officials will visit North Korea to assess the damage caused by recent flooding.
- A Japanese white paper raised concern over the increasingly "complex" relationship between China's People's Liberation Army and the ruling Communist Party.
- Australian police seized $500 million worth of drugs in Hong Kong.
Africa
- Islamists stoned a couple to death for allegedly having premarital sex in northern Mali.
- Uganda denied aiding the M23 rebels fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
- The U.N. Security Council expressed concern over increased drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau following the April 12 coup d'etat in that country.
Americas
- Striking railway workers in Colombia remain at an impasse with their employer, Fenoco.
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez travelled to Brazil for a regional trade summit.
- Survivors of the car crash that killed Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya said the wreck was an accident.
Europe
- U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney met former Polish President Lech Walesa in Poland, the last stop on his foreign policy trip.
- President Vladimir Putin pledged that Russia will remain "one of the leading naval powers," as the country began work on a new fleet of nuclear submarines.
- U.S. President Barack Obama predicted that the euro zone will remain intact.
AFP/Getty Images
Read More
(0)
HIDE COMMENTS LOGIN OR REGISTER REPORT ABUSE