The bodies of 47 women and children have been found dead in the Syrian city of Homs in a “massacre” being blamed on the Assad regime.

At least 20 people have been killed in the US after dozens of tornadoes tore through several states.

Three people have been killed and dozens injured after a passenger train derailed in Canada.

About 40 students at a university in New Jersey have been taken to hospitals for treatment after an outbreak of what authorities believe is the norovirus.

Western nations deplore the vetoing by Russia and China of a UN resolution condemning the crackdown in Syria, as dozens are killed in Homs.

Occupy activists tossed pipes, bottles, burning flares and other objects Saturday at Oakland police, who responded by using tear gas and smoke grenades and arresting dozens of demonstrators, police said.

At least 68 people have been killed in a spate of attacks as Iraq is rocked by a political crisis just weeks after the withdrawal of US troops.

Los Angeles police have arrested a man who is suspected of setting more than 50 fires in and around Hollywood.