Italy said Wednesday it was closing its embassy in Damascus and repatriating some staff to protest Syria's "unacceptable" crackdown on the opposition.

"Italy today suspended the activities of its embassy in Damascus and repatriated some personnel," the foreign ministry said in a communiqué.

International mediator Kofi Annan confirmed Wednesday that he has received a response from the Syrian regime, after he made "concrete" proposals earlier to Damascus on ways to halt the crisis.

"The Joint Special Envoy (JSE) for Syria Kofi Annan has now received a response from the Syrian authorities. The JSE has questions and is seeking answers," said his spokesman in a statement.

Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz went to Algeria for a vacation after the results of medical tests he underwent in the United States were "reassuring," the royal palace announced on Wednesday.

Prince Nayef, the kingdom's veteran internal security czar, "has finished previously scheduled medical tests in (the U.S. city of) Cleveland with reassuring results," said the statement carried by state news agency SPA.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday criticized President Bashar Assad for the "big delay" in reform in Syria, saying Damascus was failing to swiftly follow Moscow's advice.

"Unfortunately, our advice is reflected practically in his actions far from all the time and far from in a timely manner," Lavrov told the lower house parliament in a rare show of public frustration with the Syrian leader.

A civilian was killed and two policemen wounded on Wednesday in a bomb attack targeting a police chief in Yemen's main southern city of Aden, police said.

The bomb exploded as police chief Fawzi Saadi's convoy was passing the city's central district of Khor Maksar, killing a passerby and wounding two members of his escort, according to the police official.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a defiant and at times mocking defense of his economic and political management on Wednesday in an unprecedented interrogation by a largely hostile parliament.

"So far no major violation has been proved against my government.... If you rate us at less than 100 percent, it would be unfair and cowardice," Ahmadinejad told lawmakers at the end of a near-hour long reply broadcast on state radio.

The Syrian opposition suffered on Wednesday a setback on the political front with resignations from the Syrian National Council (SNC), an umbrella movement of anti-regime groups.

The opposition, which is heavily outgunned by the regime and has called for its fighters to be armed in the defense of civilians, was hit by resignations from SNC ranks.

Syrian forces have overrun the northwest city of Idlib and rebels have fled, an activist said Wednesday, giving sharp momentum to a push by the Damascus regime to crush an increasingly armed revolt, as 44 people were reportedly killed across the country.

"Since last night there has been no more fighting," said Noureddin al-Abdo, an activist in Idlib, confirming earlier reports by a government newspaper that Idlib had fallen after a four-day assault by regime forces.

Syria condemned on Tuesday Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip that killed 25 Palestinians, calling on world powers to act urgently to put an end to them.

Syria "roundly condemns Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and urges the international community to undertake urgent steps to put an end to these activities and to sanction those responsible," said a foreign ministry statement.

France on Tuesday said it had transferred 10 million euros ($13 million) in budget assistance to the Palestinian Authority and urged the United States and Gulf countries to also send more aid.

The assistance is aimed at helping the Palestinian Authority in its "delicate financial situation", French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said in a statement.