Hoyer: Abbas, Fayyad sent mixed messages on UN bid ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Herb Keinon - August 11, 2011 - 12:00am PA prime minister tells visiting US lawmakers no final decision yet made on statehood bid, while Abbas talks as if deal is done. The Palestinian leadership sent mixed messages to a Democratic Congressional delegation visiting Ramallah, with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad saying that no decision on the UN bid in September has been finalized, while PA President Mahmoud Abbas gave the impression that going to the UN was a done deal. » Read more

Heavy gunfire as Syrian tanks enter Homs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP) August 14, 2011 - 12:00am DAMASCUS — Syrian troops backed by tanks clamped down Monday on the flashpoint province of Homs, a day after gunboats joined an assault that killed more than 20 people in Latakia city, activists said. As the country's anti-regime uprising turned five months old, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said snipers shot dead an old man in the provincial town of Hula and reported another killing in Latakia. "The community of Hula is under siege ... The army is carrying out raids and arrests under the cover of heavy gunfire" in Homs province, said the Britain-based rights group. » Read more

Syria forces use naval power against Latakia ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Borzou Daragahi, Roula Hajjar - August 15, 2011 - 12:00am Reporting from Beirut Syrian forces for the first time deployed naval power in an attempt to quell an anti-government uprising, pummeling a coastal city that one activist described as a fortress of support for the country's rulers until nationwide protests recently grew larger there. The use of gunboats and tanks in Latakia on Sunday is likely to antagonize Western powers and Syria's neighbors, who have been pressing for an end to the violence. Turkish diplomats said they extracted a promise from President Bashar Assad last week to curb the use of force. » Read more