Russian security forces have killed a top al-Qaida militant in Chechnya who coordinated foreign rebels in the North Caucasus, the national anti-terror committee said on Wednesday.

The militant, named as Doger Sevdet, was a Turkish national who had taken on the nom-de-guerre of Abdullah Kurd and "was an envoy of al-Qaida in the Northern Caucasus," it said in a statement published on Russian news agencies.

Syrian army troops backed by tanks and three helicopters on Saturday took a prominent mosque that had been controlled by residents in a besieged southern city killing four people, a witness said.

The operation in the town of Daraa came a day after President Bashar Assad unleashed deadly force to crush a months-old revolt, killing at least 65 people, mostly in the border town.

The Taliban on Saturday announced the beginning of their spring military offensive against the U.S.-led coalition, a day after a new Pentagon report claimed that the militants' fighting spirit was low after sustaining heavy losses on the battlefield, Associated Press reported.

In a two-page statement, the Taliban said that beginning Sunday they would launch attacks on military bases, convoys and Afghan officials, including members of the government's peace council, who are working to reconcile with top insurgent leaders.

U.S. President Barack Obama has extended the national emergency with respect to the actions of the Syrian government, saying that its support for Hizbullah and Hamas and meddling in Lebanon makes it a threat to national security.

Syria’s ongoing pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, support for anti-Israel groups and interference in Lebanon make it a "continuing unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," said a White House statement.

An elegant, tiara-bedecked Kate Middleton swept down the aisle to marry Prince William at Westminster Abbey as fans packed the streets of London, hoping to snatch a glimpse of a historic royal wedding expected to revitalize the British monarchy.

Some 2 billion people across the globe were believed to have tuned in as the future king and queen of England started their lives as husband and wife with the two simple words "I will." The couple looked nervous but happy and recited their vows without stumbling before Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

A simple checklist that parents fill out in the waiting room may help doctors someday screen for warning signs of autism as early as a baby's first birthday.

San Diego pediatricians tested the tool with more than 10,000 babies at their 1-year checkups, looking for such things as how the tots babble, gesture and interact with others.

With some genetic sleuthing, scientists have fingered a likely culprit in the spread of leprosy in the southern United States: the nine-banded armadillo.

DNA tests show a match in the leprosy strain between some patients and these prehistoric-looking critters — a connection scientists had suspected but until now couldn't pin down.

State television said renegade warlord Ibrahim "IB" Coulibaly, a two-time coup plotter who began the pro-democracy battle for Abidjan, was killed in fighting Wednesday night with one-time allies turned enemy, Associated Press reported.

He died after his top aide said Coulibaly's troops were waiting for U.N. peacekeepers to disarm them.

An explosion rocked a natural gas terminal near Egypt's border with Israel on Wednesday sending flames shooting into the air and forcing the shutdown of the country's export pipeline, said security officials.

It was the second attack in the past month on the al-Sabil terminal near the town of El-Arish just 50 kilometers from the border with Israel. On March 27 gunmen planted explosives at the terminal, that failed to detonate.

Libyan rebel fighter Jaad Jumaa Hashmi cranks up the volume on his pickup truck's stereo when he heads into battle against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

He looks for inspiration from a growing cadre of amateur rappers whose powerful songs have helped define the revolution.