ARMY BOMBS DAMASCUS SUBURBS
DAMASCUS: Syrian troops battered rebel positions in and around Damascus in an assault aimed at securing the capital, as Russia and Turkey prepared for talks in Istanbul on Monday on their differences over the conflict.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that artillery gunners targeted the districts of Hajar al-Aswad and Tadamun as well as the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk in southern Damascus. The army also bombarded Yabrud to the north, Yalda to the south and the Eastern Ghouta towns of Douma, Harasta, Irbin and Haran al-Hawamid, in the area of the road linking Damascus to its international airport, it said.

US SPYING ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR REACTOR
WASHINGTON, D.C.: US intelligence agencies have significantly stepped up spying operations on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor prompted by concerns about the security of weapons-grade plutonium there, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the increased US surveillance of Bushehr has been conducted in part by US unmanned drones operating over the Gulf. The effort resulted in the interception of visual images and audio communications coming from the reactor complex, the report said. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful but many in the international community suspect its real aim is to develop nuclear weapons.

MURDOCH’S NEWSPAPER CHIEF TO LEAVE
NEW YORK CITY: Rupert Murdoch’s top newspaper lieutenant in Britain is to leave his post at the end of the year, it was announced on Sunday, heralding the start of a major shake-up at parent company News Corp. The sudden departure of Tom Mockridge, chief executive since July 2011 of News International, which encompasses The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times in London, was made public by Murdoch himself. The move came in the wake of heavy criticism, about the company’s handling of a phone hacking scandal that erupted in Murdoch’s media empire in Britain. Mockridge’s decision to leave also comes amid much speculation that he was to miss out on the top job at News Corp’s new publishing division. AFP