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Welcome to Humanity's ...Final Performance...
The fighting in the southern province of Daraa came on a particularly bloody day in Syria, with as many as 90 people killed across the country.
The attack by the army defectors suggests a new confidence among troops who have sided with the protesters and highlighted the potential for an armed confrontation to escalate.
Today Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan joined the international chorus calling for Assad to stand down claiming his brutal crackdown threatens to place him on a list of leaders who 'feed on blood'.
Erdogan's comments will come as a blow to Assad's regime as the two countries once cultivated close ties. Read More
More than 200 people were arrested as police raided Zuccotti Park after Michael Bloomberg finally lost patience with protesters. Some of them have been there since it was set up in September.
The New York City Mayor said the park was evacuated overnight to 'reduce the risk of confrontation', but his move was undermined when a judge issued an order effectively allowing protesters to return.
A New York judge issued the temporary restraining order allowing protesters back and many were seen marching towards the camp this morning as City officials tried to decide what to do.
Justice Lucy Billings set a hearing for 11:30am local time today and said until then authorities would not be allowed to evict protesters or enforce rules over tent use, reported the New York Times. Read More
Basildon Council has announced that all 51 plots on the infamous former scrapyard near the village of Crays Hill, Essex have now been cleared and bailiffs have left.
The six acres of land, which have been described by locals as an '£18m bombsite', in a reference to the cost of clearing it, now stand largely empty, although dozens of touring caravans are lined up around the edge of the land on the remaining hard ground.
New photos taken today have revealed the shocking state of Dale Farm which is now littered with craters where bailiffs have removed the concrete bases where the caravans stood.
One traveller, who gave his name only as Billy, said: 'We are going to be going back on there and it is going to be just like it was before. Read More
"We are supplying them (Syria) with electricity at the moment. If they stay on this course, we may be forced to re-examine all of these decisions," Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Tuesday, according to Turkey's semi-official Anatolian Agency.
Turkey, once a close political ally and strong trading partner of Syria, welcomed a decision by the Arab League last weekend to suspend Syria's membership in the alliance.
Days after the humiliating rebuke, a senior Arab League official told CNN the group was floating a plan to try to send some 500 observers to protect civilians in Syria. According to the United Nations, more than 3,500 Syrians have been killed since anti-government protests first erupted in March. Read More
Syrian National Council chairman Burhan Ghalioun also urged Russia to demand Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's resignation, according to Interfax, after meeting with officials at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Ghalioun, in a news conference held at Interfax's Moscow office, said that he was not asking for military intervention but rather "blue helmet" peacekeepers from the United Nations.
Russia has not changed its position on Syria's political crisis, Ghalioun said, giving Syria a sense of protection from international criticism, Interfax reported. Russia has previously accused the West of inciting opposition to the Syrian government.
Nonetheless, Ghalioun said both sides saw their talks in Moscow as "very positive," and that they had agreed to continue talking, the news agency said. The opposition group does not intend to talk to al-Assad or his family, however, Ghalioun was quoted as saying.
Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that it was calling on all Syrian opposition groups to renounce violence and settle the crisis through peaceful dialogue with the Syrian government. Read More
"Those who ordered the killing of Armando were wrong because those who are left are more seasoned and we are working," said Luz del Carmen Sosa, a reporter for El Diario de Juarez newspaper who took over Rodriguez's crime beat after his death. "Those who believed we were going to take step back, they were wrong."
On November 13, 2008, Rodriguez -- called "El Choco" by his colleagues because of his chocolate skin tone -- was about to take his two young daughters to school when a man approached the garage of his house and fired 11 shots into his chest. His daughters, one of whom witnessed the attack, have not spoken publicly since the incident and did not attend a memorial event for their father on Sunday. Rodriguez's wife declined an interview request from CNN.
His colleagues believe he was targeted because of his coverage of drug cartels in the border town of Ciudad Juarez. Read More
The district health department has sprung into action after learning about the outbreak.
The, disease, which surfaced a month back, has symptoms to those of chikungunya but blood reports fail to confirm the disease. It has affected one member of every family in a village with a population of 1,500.
Pravin Godhia, sarpanch of the village said, "Infected persons complain of high fever and acute pain in joints. The first case was detected in Patel Falia before it spread to the entire village. We have informed health officials, but apart from routine checking and distributing medicines, nothing much has been done." According to Patel, local doctors are unable to trace the disease as blood reports have been inconclusive.
While villagers are worried about the mysterious disease, panic spread after a woman suffering from the disease died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital on Sunday morning. The woman identified as Ila Patel, 34, is a resident of Patel Falia.
She was suffering from the disease for the past two weeks. "Ila was suffering from viral infection with certain symptoms of dengue. Other patients from the village also have the same symptoms. Dengue might have broken out in the village," said Suresh Chabbra, the doctor who was treating Ila.
Following the death, the district health department rushed a team of doctors to the village. Officials from the malaria department also visited the village and took blood samples of infected persons. The samples have been sent to the New Civil Hospital for further tests. At present, antibiotics are being distributed in the village. Source
The southern province of Deraa was the scene of some of the worst violence, with reports that dozens of Syrian soldiers were killed by renegade troops near the Jordanian border.
The attacks, reportedly carried out by an army unit that has defected to the opposition, are the latest evidence of a growing armed rebellion in Syria.
Syrian activists say President Bashar al Assad has intensified his military crackdown in towns and cities across the country in response.
The increasing violence comes amid growing international pressure on the Assad regime.
Jordan's King Abdullah has become the first Arab leader to explicitly call for the Syrian president's resignation, while the White House has re-iterated its calls for Mr Assad to go.
On Wednesday, the Arab League is due to meet in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, to confirm its decision to suspend Syria - a move that has infuriated the regime.
The regional body has also pledged to impose economic sanctions, adding to the measures already in force by the EU and the US. Read More
Eight people were killed immediately in the accident, which happened in Hunan province late on Monday, and another two died of their injuries in hospital, local officials told Xinhua.
The 12 injured are in a stable condition after the accident, which happened as villagers were making arrangements for the funeral of the home owner's uncle, Xinhua said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident. AFP's calls to the local hospital went unanswered. Source
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