WORLD BRIEFS

SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma wins ANC confidence

The African National Congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to keep President Jacob Zuma, 70, as the head of the top political party, more than likely guaranteeing him another five-year term as the nation's president in the coming 2014 general elections.

SYRIA: Jets bomb refugee camp

Fighter jets bombed a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus on Tuesday for the second time this week after rebels fighting to topple Bashar al-Assad made significant advances, seizing large areas within the camp, activists said. Their push in the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus, which began Friday, is aimed at driving out a pro-government Palestinian faction. Airstrikes Sunday killed eight people there.

BRITAIN: Queen joins cabinet session

Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to attend a cabinet meeting since George III in 1781 as part of celebrations to mark her 60 years on the throne. The queen, 86, was greeted by Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday at 10 Downing St. and introduced to ministers from the ruling of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. In the cabinet room, she sat between Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague as Chief Whip George Young updated colleagues on current bills in Parliament.

IRELAND: Law to allow some abortions

The government pledged Tuesday to pass a law soon to allow women to receive abortions if continued pregnancy threatens their lives. The step comes after decades of inaction on abortion in Ireland, and just weeks after the predominantly Catholic country faced international criticism over the death of an Indian in a hospital with an imminent miscarriage.