A day of nationwide demonstrations against alleged election fraud began in Russia’s far east on Saturday, in a test of the opposition’s ability to put pressure on Vladimir Putin who has dominated the country for more than a decade.

At least 41 civilians including seven children were shot dead on Friday by Syrian security forces in the capital Damascus and the restive central city of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A Palestinian has been killed and at least 13 injured in an Israeli air raid in the Gaza Strip, medics say, a day after another strike killed two fighters.

Talented Britain’s Muslim boxer Amir Khan could serve as a promising ambassador for Islam who would play an important role in combating growing anti-Muslim prejudice in the west, the British icon’s US promoter told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Thursday, December 8.

More than 60 bodies have been taken to hospitals in the central Syrian city of Homs following a series of kidnappings that began on Sunday, activists have said.

Syria has accepted an Arab League request to send observers to the country in an effort to end its eight-month crisis, a move that could ease Arab sanctions on Damascus, the foreign ministry spokesman said Monday.

“Hamas officials are on planes most of the time, bolstering ties with other countries like Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Sudan, or in contact to explore new bases and not a sole base,” the diplomat said.

Muslims in Worchester have been invited to participate in a police counter-terrorism training as part of enhancing police relations with the religious minority, Worchester News newspaper reported.

Amnesty International has urged African nations to arrest former US President George W. Bush during his visit to the continent this month.

At least three people have been killed in the Yemeni city of Taiz, activists and medical workers said, as thousands gathered for an anti-government rally in the city.