Syrian Diplomats Expelled After Massacre

Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi held "constructive" talks in Syria with President Bashar al-Assad, as Washington warned that his regime's days are numbered. As jihadists seized an area populated by the embattled leader's Alawite community, the opposition National Coalition accused Damascus of committing a "massacre" of dozens of civilians in the bombing of a bakery.

On Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Western countries created the current turmoil in Africa by arming Libyan rebels to topple the Qaddafi regime.

Iran has expelled "several" Kuwaiti diplomats in retaliation for the expulsion of Tehran's diplomats accused of spying in the Gulf emirate, the Arabic-language Al-Alam television reported on Sunday."Iran expelled in retaliation several Kuwaiti diplomats," the station announced, quoting an informed source who did not reveal how many diplomats had been asked to leave the country.The source said the Kuwaiti embassy had been told that the diplomats were to leave Iran "soon", Al-Alam reported.

Syrian troops killed seven civilians on Wednesday when they stormed two villages in the northwest to quash dissent against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a rights activist said.The latest military action came as hundreds of lawyers staged a sit-in in the second city of Aleppo calling for freedom and the release of prisoners and regime loyalists held a counter-protest, activists said.The Aleppo sit-in came as calls mounted on the Internet for a massive rally to take place Thursday in the the northern city -- the country's economic centre.

Afghanistan was once a magnet for eager young men who arrived from around the world to fight Soviet forces. Most later returned home to their every day lives, but some became infatuated with militancy and were drawn into al-Qaeda. Now Syria is attracting significant numbers of foreign fighters, hundreds from Western countries. And while most have joined mainstream rebel groups, some have turned up in extremist factions such as the Al Nusrah Front.

BEIRUT — A U.S.-based rights group on Thursday accused Syria of committing war crimes by indiscriminate and sometimes deliberate airstrikes against civilians, killing at least 4,300 people since last summer. Human Rights Watch said Syrian fighter jets have targeted bakeries, bread lines and hospitals in the country’s north.

The U.N. Security Council condemns the weekend massacre of more than 100 civilians in Syria, including the stabbing and axing of nearly 50 children.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been ruthlessly bombing towns under opposition control since July. This week two reports detail, for the first time, the stunning extent of the indiscriminate death from above.