WORLD BRIEFS

SYRIA: Rebels claim heavy toll of soldiers

Rebels clashed with soldiers for hours overnight in a northwestern province and inflicted heavy casualties, activists said Wednesday. The fighting came after the head of the UN observers said his forces had come under attack and cast doubt on the future of the mission. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 20 soldiers were killed in clashes with rebels in Latakia starting late Tuesday. In the besieged city of Homs, where hundreds of civilians are caught up in a fierce battle between rebels and government troops, a small group of Christians is making its own desperate pleas. Christians, about 10 percent of the population, are fearful that Syria will become another Iraq, with Christians caught in the crossfire between rival Islamic groups.

ROMANIA: Former leader wounds himself

Prime Minister Victor Ponta said a predecessor, Adrian Nastase, shot himself, hours after a court upheld his two-year sentence on corruption charges. Media reports said he shot himself in the neck after police came to arrest him.

NIGERIA: Curfew fails after church bombings

A curfew in a religious flash point state in the north has failed to stop days of violence, a rescue services official said Wednesday. He said 98 people have died since Sunday after a trio of church bombings.

FRANCE: Intruder in Toulouse bank thwarted

Police stormed a Toulouse bank to capture a gunman who took four employees hostage Wednesday, claiming he was acting for religious reasons. Prosecutors said the suspect had psychiatric problems.