Assad adviser says war 'nearly over'

BEIRUT • An adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the six-year war is nearly over as foreign states cut backing for rebels, and vowed the government would confront any "illegitimate" forces, Turkish or American.

Ms Bouthaina Shaaban said the fact that Syria was staging the Damascus International Fair for the first time in the war "sends a message that the war has ended".

REUTERS

Peru military men guilty of killings

LIMA (Peru) • Peruvian military personnel were convicted yesterday over the 1983 mass killings of 53 people at a barracks, whom they wrongly claimed were part of the Shining Path rebel group.

The judge's joint rulings included 30 years' house arrest for former lieutenant-colonel Humberto Orbegozo and 23 years for Pedro Paz Avendano, for the crimes in the city of Huamanga.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Over 400 killed in Sierra Leone floods

GENEVA • The death toll from floods in Sierra Leone has passed 400 with 600 people still missing in the capital, the Red Cross said yesterday, as Britain promised £5 million (S$8.8 million) in fresh aid.

On Monday, heavy rain hit Freetown and the partial collapse of a hillside triggered mudslides, engulfing homes and wreaking destruction.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE