Syrian rebels free inmates from prison
BEIRUT – A suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of a Syrian prison Thursday and rebels stormed in behind him, freeing hundreds of inmates as part of an offensive aimed at capturing key government symbols around the northern city of Aleppo.
Government forces, meanwhile, dropped crude “barrel bombs” in deadly airstrikes as both sides escalated their fight for the strategic city ahead of a second round of peace talks set for next week. Opposition leaders threatened to suspend the talks over the barrel bombings.
In the past six days alone, the makeshift weapons containers packed with explosives, fuel and scrap metal have killed more than 250 people in Aleppo, including 73 children, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
They include at least 11 who died Thursday six of them from the same family in the opposition-held neighborhood of Masaken Hanano.
Hungary approves deal to build nuclear plants
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Hungary’s parliament on Thursday authorized a deal with Russia to build two reactors at the country’s only nuclear power plant in the southern city of Paks.
Russia will loan Hungary up to $13.5 billion, around 80 percent of the construction costs, and 40 percent of the job will be carried out by Hungarian suppliers and subcontractors.
The deal was approved 256-29 Thursday by lawmakers from the governing Fidesz party and the far-right Jobbik opposition party. Most left-wing lawmakers voted against it.
The government says the expansion of the Paks plant, which provides some 40 percent of the country’s electricity supply, will lessen Hungary’s dependence on foreign sources.
Associated Press
