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AMMAN - The United States and European Union called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down on Thursday and Barack Obama accused him of ?torturing and slaughtering" his people in what U.N. officials said may be crimes against humanity.
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ZAWIYAH, Libya - Libyan rebels took control of an oil refinery in the western town of Zawiyah and blocked the main highway south of the capital on Thursday, further isolating Muammar Gaddafi's Tripoli stronghold.
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NEW DELHI - India's beleaguered government caved in to popular fury over corruption on Thursday after thousands protested across the country, granting permission for a self-styled Gandhian crusader to stage a 15-day hunger strike in public.
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ISTANBUL - Turkey launched a heavy air and artillery assault on Kurdish guerrilla targets in northern Iraq overnight after a declaration by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan that he had lost patience with separatists fighting in southeastern Turkey.
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JERUSALEM - Gunmen killed seven people in southern Israel on Thursday in attacks along the Egyptian border and Israel responded with an air strike in the Gaza Strip that killed six Palestinians, including the leaders of a group it blamed for the violence.
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BRASILIA - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff reached out to political allies on Thursday to stem a growing rebellion within her coalition after the resignation of a fourth minister pushed the government deeper into crisis.
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BEIJING - China and the United States share a responsibility for boosting global market confidence and the American economy remains fundamentally sound, the Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden who is on a trust-building visit.
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BEIJING - A former Chinese official's manifesto for a new burst of reform mixing Mao, markets and guarded political relaxation has opened a rare window into ideas shaping the country's next generation of ?princeling" leaders.
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WASHINGTON - Rick Perry's ties to well-heeled Texans will help raise cash for his presidential run but he will also be gunning for passionate anti-Washington Republicans whose small donations have fueled rival Michele Bachmann.
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CARACAS - Toronto-listed miner Rusoro appeared unfazed on Thursday by President Hugo Chavez's move to nationalize Venezuela's gold industry, saying it believed the decision only targeted illegal miners.
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HERAT, Afghanistan - A roadside blast killed 20 people and wounded at least 12 travelling in two minibuses in the western Afghan province of Herat on Thursday, provincial authorities said.
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KARACHI - A fresh wave of violence gripped Pakistan's commercial hub of Karachi on Thursday, with officials saying at least 39 people had been killed over two days in gang wars and political disputes, some after being tortured.
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CAPE TOWN - South African mining minister Susan Shabangu described the mounting death toll in the country's lethal mines as ?carnage" on Thursday and said there was a link between the pursuit of profits and the body count.
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