Latest news update of the world

Two strong explosions ripped through the Syrian capital Thursday, killing more than 40 people and leaving scenes of carnage in the streets in an assault against a center of government power, officials said. Syria's state-run TV said 170 people were wounded in what one official said may have been the most powerful of a series of blasts that have hit the capital this year. There was no claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack on a military intelligence headquarters. But an al-Qaida-inspired group has claimed responsibility for several large explosions targeting mostly security facilities since December, raising fears that extremist groups are entering Syria's conflict and exploiting the chaos. The regime has used the bombings to support its claims that terrorists rather than a popular uprising are behind Syria's violence. The relentless violence by both sides of the conflict has brought a U.N.-brokered ceasefire plan to the brink of collapse. Thursday's ex...

The Occupy movement targeted May Day as the day "the people of the planet will take to the streets." Crowds formed in many major cities, joining protesters worldwide on International Workers Day to demand economic equality.  But the day remained mostly peaceful. Promised stoppages of mass transportation and commerce by the Occupy movement largely fizzled across the country. Overall, there were a modest number of arrests and clashes in a handful of cities. Many of the demonstrators reported splinter groups dressed mostly in black who turned demonstrations violent. Here's a roundup of flashpoints in the United States: Seattle   Mayor Mike McGinn authorized a seizure of potential weapons after crowds of vandals dressed in black known as the "Black Bloc"   smashed up banks and other businesses with sticks, batons, and rocks,  reports the Seattle Times. Niketown and American Apparel downtown were hit.  A  half dozen Starbucks closed early a...

French presidential candidates marked a one day truce Saturday on the eve of voting in a first-round poll to whittle the 10-strong field down to two frontrunners. French election rules outlaw both campaigning and opinion polling on the last day of the race, but Socialist challenger Francois Hollande went into the weekend favourite to oust right-wing incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. The two 57-year-old political veterans are expected to win the two spots in the May 6 run-off, and polls suggest that the left-winger will comfortably win the battle to become one of the most powerful leaders in the world. Parisians went about their business without being accosted by pamphleteers, the campaigns' websites, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds were left without updates and broadcasters had to find other subjects to interview. But some hints of the campaigns' moods slipped past the censors. "Lovely day," wrote Socialist Party spokesman Benoit Hamon on his personal Twitter...