UNITED NATIONS

Syrian forces pounded the battered city of Homs Saturday as they blocked Red Cross/Red Crescent aid from reaching civilians stranded for weeks without food and fuel in the former rebel stronghold -- the country's third-largest city -- activists and aid workers said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had received grisly reports that Syrian government forces were arbitrarily executing, imprisoning and torturing people in the battle-scarred city of Homs after rebel fighters had fled.

The International Committee of the Red Cross calls Syria's actions to block much needed aid to Homs district unacceptable.

Christians fear a radical Islamist government will take over once Assad is gone.

The ICC want Hussein on 20 counts of crimes against humanity, including persecution and rape, and 21 counts or war crimes which include murder and attacks against a civilian population.

Rebel fighters were finally driven out of the Baba-Amro district in Homs when forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad launched a final assault on the beleaguered city Thursday after a siege that had lasted 26 days. Meanwhile, Turkey's president said Russia and Iran will have little choice but to join diplomatic efforts toward Assad's ouster .

A Red Cross aid convoy prepared to enter the shattered Baba Amro district of the city of Homs, Syria, on Friday after a government official declared the area cleansed and the opposition spoke of a massacre by President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Rebels withdrew Thursday in a key moment in the year-old uprising.

Defeated Syrian rebels abandoned their shattered stronghold in Homs, giving way to a 26-day army assault on a city that had become a symbol of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

Defeated Syrian rebels abandoned their shattered stronghold in Homs Thursday, giving way to a 26-day army assault on a city that had become a symbol of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

Defeated Syrian rebels left their shattered stronghold in the city of Homs Thursday after a bloody 26-day army siege aimed at crushing a symbol of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

The future of the uprising in Syria remains unclear after rebels withdrew from the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs in Syria on Thursday. Take a look at photos taken in Syria chronicling the lives of the Syrian people in recent weeks amid the death and destruction of the conflict.

Defeated Syrian rebels left their shattered stronghold in Homs on Thursday after a bloody 26-day army siege aimed at crushing a symbol of the year-long revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia, along with China, has stymied efforts by the West and the United Nations to condemn violence perpetrated by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, a longtime Moscow ally.

Turkey is maintaining the façade of good relations with Iran, while a larger power struggle for domination of the Middle East is brewing between Ankara and Tehran

India's exporters have begun receiving the first rupee payments from Iran, Indian government and trade sources said on Thursday, kicking off a mechanism to skirt Western sanctions which have made doing business with Tehran tougher.

The development comes one day after North Korea agreed to suspend its nuclear program in exchange for massive food aid.

Almost all the fighters battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces withdrew from their stronghold in the Baba Amro district of the city, leaving behind comrades to cover their retreat.

Heavy fighting raged near Baba Amro in Homs Wednesday evening after elite Syrian troops attacked the rebel-held bastion that has endured 25 days of siege and fierce bombardment, activists said.

Israel official said the threat of hunger would force the Iranian regime to weigh the value of their atomic ambitions.

The Black March boycott is Anonymous' newest operation, under which participants will boycott media for the entire month of march in order to fight back against ACTA, SOPA and other threats to Internet freedom and privacy.

At least 100 people a day are now crossing the border, with up to 3,000 fleeing since elections in November.