WORLD-HIGHLIGHTS

Kofi Annan’s peace mission BEIRUT - President Bashar al-Assad said yesterday Syria would spare no effort to ensure the success of international envoy Kofi Annan’s peace mission but warned it would not work without securing an end to foreign funding and arming of rebels opposing him. Workers angry at a labour reform BARCELONA/MADRID - Spanish workers angry at a labour reform the government calls an unstoppable’ necessity staged a general strike yesterday, bringing factories and ports to a standstill and igniting fl ashes of violence on the streets. US Senate blocked legislation WASHINGTON - Republicans in the US Senate blocked legislation yesterday to strip billions of dollars in tax breaks for the biggest US oil companies, calling the bill a political stunt that would not help tamp down surging gasoline prices. US Congress averted a weekend shutdown WASHINGTON: The US Congress averted a weekend shutdown of thousands of transportation construction projects yesterday by passing a stopgap funding bill that buys time for House Speaker John Boehner to resolve Republican differences over long-term fi nancing. Mitt Romney gets ready for Republican presidential nomination HOUSTON - Step by step, Mitt Romney is tightening his grip on the Republican presidential nomination race despite a continued penchant for gaffes on the campaign trail. President return home CARACAS:President Hugo Chavez returned home to Venezuela yesterday after a fi rst session of radiation treatment in Cuba that he hopes will cure his cancer and allow him to win a new six-year term in October. Lawmakers introduce bill BOGOTA: Colombian lawmakers have introduced a bill to decriminalize coca cultivation in the world’s top cocaine producer, a move that would radically alter the Andean nation’s fi ght against drugs by using market forces to deprive traffi ckers and leftist rebels of revenue. Rockets exploded around Baghdad BAGHDAD - Three rockets exploded around Baghdad yesterday despite a massive security operation as Shi’ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki hosted the country’s fi rst Arab League summit in two decades. Fire-fi ghting ships to North Sea LONDON/PARIS: France’s Total sent fi re-fi ghting ships close to the scene of a gas leak from its North Sea Elgin platform yesterday as a large gas cloud led to fears of an explosion. War against enemies LONDON - An angry Rupert Murdoch yesterday declared war against enemies’ who have accused his pay-TV operation of sabotaging its rivals, denouncing them as toffs and right wingers’ stuck in the last century. Hillary Clinton departs to halt Syria’s bloodshed WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton departs yesterday for fresh diplomacy aimed at halting Syria’s bloodshed, but there is little sign the Obama administration is ready to deviate from its hands-off approach.