An Arab delegation led by Qatar was headed for Damascus on Wednesday for mediation between the Syrian government and its opponents, even as activists rejected dialogue and called for a general strike.

"We will begin our meeting with Syrian officials in Damascus at around 3:00 pm (12:00 GMT) to inform them of the initiative, agreed upon by 21 foreign ministers," Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi told Agence France Presse.

A United Nations panel has given governments a target of connecting half the world's poor citizens to broadband Internet by 2015.

The U.N.'s Broadband Commission for Digital Development also says at least 40 percent of households in developing countries should be hooked up to broadband within four years.

Embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad's exiled uncle has arrived in Riyadh to offer his condolences over the death of Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Saudi news agency SPA said Tuesday.

"Rifaat Assad, uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Riyadh to offer his condolences to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz," said SPA.

A Nicaraguan naval vessel on an evacuation mission went missing Monday in the Caribbean with 27 people on board as nearby Hurricane Rina took aim at the tourist resort beaches of Belize and Mexico.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega had ordered the ship to remove people from flood-prone coastal areas but contact was lost after four sailors had picked up 23 fishermen, the nation's military said.

The United States on Monday condemned the Syrian army's incursions into Lebanon and suggested that dissidents of the Damascus regime had either been killed or taken prisoner at the border.

"Over the course of the last few weeks, it appears Syrian forces have entered Lebanese territory," a State Department spokesman told reporters, denouncing the move and calling on Syria to respect Lebanon's sovereignty.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon celebrated on Monday the 66th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations in a ceremony at its headquarters in Naqoura.

During this global observance of the U.N. Day, UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas presented certificates of recognition to eight Lebanese staff members who have completed 30 years of service with UNIFIL.

The Israeli military said on Monday it had dismissed from command an officer implicated in the death of a Palestinian in the West Bank last month.

The officer, who was not named, was reportedly in command of the unit that opened fire on Palestinians in the West Bank village of Qusra, killing one, as they clashed with settlers who had attacked the area on September 23.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said he would push for statehood at the United Nations even if he resumes peace negotiations with Israel, Egyptian state media reported on Saturday.

Abbas, who was in Cairo for meetings with Egypt's leadership, said he would "immediately" resume talks with Israel if it accepted a Middle East Quartet statement from last month, MENA said.

Syrian security forces killed three civilians and arrested dozens more on Saturday, activists said, while state media was mum about the death of ex-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, the third Arab leader overthrown by popular revolts this year.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned the "killings and massacre" in Syria in an interview with CNN, in the Islamic republic's strongest criticism of its neighbor’s deadly repression of protests calling for greater freedom and the fall of the Assad regime.

Fierce clashes erupted in the Yemeni capital between troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and rival forces on Saturday, a day after the U.N. urged the embattled leader to hand over power.

Witnesses and AFP correspondents in Sanaa said explosions were heard throughout Sanaa from early hours and massive plumes of smoke and fire seen rising from several neighborhoods where opposition forces are stationed.