News stories by Correspondents* - IPS/Al Jazeera, page 5

Syrian activists say troops have made sweeping arrests in the flashpoint province of Hama as President Bashar al-Assad faces a growing challenge to his rule.

Syrian activists say troops have made sweeping arrests in the flashpoint province of Hama as President Bashar al-Assad faces a growing challenge to his rule.

Crowds supporting President Bashar al-Assad have vandalised at least two Arab embassies in the Syrian capital Damascus as Arab League foreign ministers gathered in Rabat to discuss formalising their suspension of Syria from the league.

Greek party leaders have agreed to name Lucas Papademos, a former European Central Bank vice-president, as prime minister of a new interim government until early elections, the president's office said.

Union workers at Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg copper mine said they could extend their strike by another month, which would make it the longest mining stoppage in the country's history.

The government in Greece is on the verge of collapse as opposition to the Greek prime minister's proposed referendum on more eurozone bailout funds grows.

The Syrian government has accepted several measures suggested by the Arab League aimed at halting the violence in the country, including the removal of tanks and armoured vehicles from the streets.

Hundreds of Yemeni women have set fire to traditional female veils in protest against the government's brutal crackdown on the country's popular uprising, as overnight clashes in the capital and another city killed 25 people, officials said.

Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after National Transitional Council fighters overran loyalist defences in Sirte, the toppled Libyan leader's hometown and final stronghold.

Thousands of Greeks, furious at the government's austerity measures, gathered outside parliament in the capital Athens, as the second day of a general strike and mass protests began.