Syrian rebels make gains in Aleppo, Al-Bab (original) (raw)

Top news: Rebel fighters appear to have made gainsin the Syrian city of Aleppo despite heavy shelling by government forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. A notable victory came in the town of Anadan, about six miles north of Aleppo, where rebels captured a Syrian Army outpost andsecureda key artery to the Turkish border. In the process, they acquired two Soviet-era T-55 tanks and other munitions, which they put to work shelling a government-controlled air base outside Azaz, some 25 miles farther north.

The gains come as rebels in the country's rural northern provinces report similar progress. With the defeat of government forces in the city of al-Bab, some 20 miles east of Aleppo, rebels now control all territory northeast of the city, all the way to the Turkish border.

Meanwhile, Syria's highest ranking UK diplomat, Khaled al-Ayoubi resigned his post over his government's "violent and oppressive acts."

India: A blackoutthat began in northern India on Monday has spread to cover more than half the country. More than 600 million people are without power, many for the second day in a row.