Syrian army drops leaflets in north

Syrian army drops leaflets in north

BEIRUT

The Syrian military dropped leaflets on opposition-held territory in the country’s north Wednesday, urging rebel fighters to surrender as the two sides fought for control of a major highway.

The psychological tactics are part of a relentless regime offensive against rebel forces that recently have acquired shipments of badly needed advanced weaponry from Gulf Arab states. Similar campaigns in the past by the regime to reach out to rebels through leaflets and SMS messages failed to achieve results.

The battle for Idlib province in the north is one of a series of flashpoints as government forces wage a fresh campaign against the rebels on several fronts. Regime forces are in firm control of the city, while dozens of rebel brigades hold rural areas outside.

Body of senator’s brother found

CHEYENNE, Wyo.

The family of Colorado Sen. Mark Udall says searchers looking for his brother in western Wyoming’s Wind River Range have found his body.

James “Randy” Udall had left June 20 for a weeklong solo backpacking trip and was due back a week ago.

Sen. Mark Udall’s office released a statement from the family Wednesday night saying the 61-year-old’s body had been found. The family says that although an autopsy is forthcoming, it appears he died of natural causes.

Expert: Martin DNA not on gun grip

SANFORD, Fla.

Trayvon Martin’s DNA was not found on the grip of George Zimmerman’s gun, and Zimmerman’s DNA was not found under the unarmed teen’s fingernails, a law-enforcement expert said Wednesday in testimony that prosecutors hope will refute the neighborhood-watch volunteer’s self-defense claim.

Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and says he shot the 17-year-old in the chest to protect himself as Martin reached for his firearm during a fight.

Judge Debra Nelson dismissed jurors without the prosecution’s having rested its case as it had hoped to do by day’s end. Nelson won’t resume testimony until Friday morning, giving jurors the Fourth of July off. They will remain sequestered during the holiday break.

Mandela grandson must rebury bodies

JOHANNESBURG

In a macabre family feud fought as Nelson Mandela remained in critical condition, a South African court ruled Wednesday that the former president’s grandson must return the bodies of the 94-year-old’s three deceased children to their original burial site.

Mandela is in “perilous” condition and on life support, according to an affidavit filed Friday and made public in the ruling Wednesday, according to a South African newspaper.

The judge’s order means that grandson Mandla Mandela must reverse the action he took in 2011, when he moved the bodies from Mandela’s hometown in Qunu to his birthplace of Mvezo, about 15 miles away.

Hundreds protest NC abortion bill

RALEIGH, N.C.

The North Carolina Senate gave its final approval Wednesday to legislation adding new restrictions for abortions in North Carolina, even as hundreds of angry protesters descended on the Legislature to express their displeasure.

The Senate voted 29-12 for the measure that would direct state health regulators to change abortion- clinic rules so they’re similar to those for ambulatory surgery centers.

Associated Press