WORLD BRIEFS

YEMEN: Troops kill 56 in two days

At least 56 people were killed over two days in the deadliest crackdown yet on pro-democracy protesters in San'a, triggering fierce gun battles Monday between soldiers who had defected to the opposition and those loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The military confrontation between opposition forces loyal to defected Gen. Ali Moh-sen and government troops was triggered by the crackdown on protests, threatening a new and even more violent phase in Yemen's eight-month standoff.

SYRIA: Five protesters shot down

Syrian forces killed five people Monday in raids on anti-government protesters determined to bring down the autocratic regime, according to a rights group. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said military forces conducted deadly raids in Houla, an area of several villages in central Homs province, killing five people. The UN human rights office said security forces have killed at least 100 people during the past week.

PAKISTAN: 8 killed in Taliban attack

A Taliban suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives Monday outside the home of a senior police officer tasked with cracking down on militants in Karachi. The blast killed at least eight people, police said. The target of the bombing, Chaudhry Aslam, escaped unscathed.

GUATEMALA: Three killed in four quakes

Four earthquakes struck southern Guatemala on Monday within 2 1/2 hours, shaking buildings in the capital and killing three people. The quakes struck near the southwestern coast in the sugar cane-growing region around Santa Rosa, forcing the evacuation of about 400 people and cutting electricity and telephone services, emergency services said. A woman was killed when her house collapsed in the town of Cuilapa, near the epicenter of the quakes, and two others died after their cars were buried in a landslide on the highway.