Turkey is still finding survivors, following Sunday's 7.2 earthquake. As hopes dim, however, of finding more alive, Turkey is now accepting aid.
As reported earlier today, Libya is asking the NATO mission to continue.
In Yemen, 19 more killed today, despite a declared cease-fire.
Pakistan on Wednesday extended the detention of two Sunni militant leaders for an additional 60 days. Meanwhile, Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf criticized a recent comment by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that Afghanistan would side with Pakistan in the event of war with the United States, calling it 'preposterous.'
An Egyptian court sentenced 2 policeman in the death of an activist. Israel approves a deal to swap 25 Egyptian prisoners for a a U.S.-Israeli citizen jailed in Egypt on charges of spying.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is warning Iran not to take advantage of the pending U.S. troop pullout from Iraq to stir up trouble there.
In Syria, the violence continues, with at least 26 killed today in military operations across Syria, as President Bashar al-Assad met with an Arab League delegation seeking to end months of bloody unrest.
Car bombs in northern Iraq have killed at least five people and wounded 22 others.
Details after the break.
Turkey
Rescue workers in southeastern Turkey have saved at least two more people and continue to search for survivors of Sunday's devastating earthquake that killed at least 461 people and injured more than 1,300.
On Wednesday, workers rescued a 27-year-old teacher and a university student from collapsed buildings.
The International Federation of the Red Cross says its Turkish chapter is working to assist survivors and reach those trapped in the rubble. The Red Cross says more than 7,500 tents and 22,000 blankets have been distributed, as well as stoves, food and clean water.
Officials say the quake did the most damage in the town of Ercis, 90 kilometers north of the city of Van, shutting down electricity and water in several areas. Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the area since the quake hit, including a moderately strong one on Tuesday, measuring 5.4, that sent people rushing into the streets.
The government has now accepted offers of help from 30 countries around the world, including Israel. Relations between Israel and Turkey have been strained since Israeli commandos raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last year, killing nine Turkish activists.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul welcomed the help. He says nearly 50 presidents called with offers of help and that the Foreign Ministry will reach out as soon as it is determined there is a need. President Gul says Turkey did not initially make a call for the international community's help but later reversed its decision.
Criticism has been steadily growing over the government's rejection of most international help. Turkey had initially accepted offers of help only from Iran and Azerbaijan, which border the quake-stricken region. Following the quake, Ankara had at first said it was capable of dealing with the crisis on its own.
Libya
A senior Libyan diplomat has asked the U.N. Security Council to delay adoption of a resolution ending the NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Libya. That mission is due to end on Monday.
Libyan U.N. Deputy Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi said Wednesday that the Libyan people are opposed to any foreign presence in their country, especially after declaring the country liberated on Sunday.
He said Libya looks forward to terminating the need for the no-fly zone which was protecting citizens from forces loyal to former leader Moammar Gadhafi, but conceded that the security situation may not be stable enough to do so just days from now. He also noted that the national armed forces have not been reactivated, and there is some question of Libya’s current capacity to monitor its borders.
Yemen
Violence in Yemen has killed at least 19 people, despite a cease-fire declared by the government and forces loyal to a dissident general.
Medical officials said Wednesday the victims of clashes in the cities of Sana'a and Taiz included civilians, tribal fighters and government soldiers.
In the southern city of Taiz, shelling by government troops killed two people, including a woman.
In the capital, Sana'a, security forces fired on protesters calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Government troops also clashed with dissident soldiers. At least 40 people were wounded.
Hundreds of women in the Yemeni capital set fire to full-body Islamic veils to protest the government's bloody crackdown on protesters. Some held signs saying, "Saleh the butcher is killing women" and "Who protects Yemeni women from the crimes of the thugs?"
The cease-fire was announced late Tuesday but was quickly broken by gunfire and explosions. Several previous cease-fire agreements have failed to hold.
Pakistan
Pakistan on Wednesday extended the detention of two Sunni militant leaders for an additional 60 days.
Officials said Malik Ishaq, who was arrested last month under a public order aimed at preventing sectarian unrest in the country, and Ghulam Rasool Shah, will spend an additional 60 days behind bars.
Ishaq is a founder of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni militant group banned by the Pakistani government. He spent 14 years in prison on charges of inciting sectarian violence, including the killing of minority Shi'ites, before being released in July.
In an unrelated development, Pakistan's former President Pervez Musharraf criticized a recent comment by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that Afghanistan would side with Pakistan in the event of war with the United States.
While Mr. Musharraf thanked the Afghan leader for making what he called a “pro-Pakistani statement,” he called his comment “preposterous.”
Since making the statement, Mr. Karzai's spokesman has been trying to explain it and has even suggested it was “misinterpreted” by the Pakistani media.
Egypt
Egyptian judicial sources say a court Wednesday sentenced two policemen to seven years in prison each for their role in the 2010 death of Egyptian democracy advocate Khalid Said.
Activists say the two officers beat Said to death in June 2010 after dragging him out of an Internet cafe in Alexandria. Police say he choked after swallowing a packet of drugs. Photos of the activist showed he was severely beaten.
His death sparked massive protests across the country. The Facebook page set up in his honor, "We are all Khalid Said" helped spark the uprising that toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February.
In other news out of Egypt, 25 Egyptian prisoners held in israel are set to be swapped in exchange for a U.S.-Israeli citizen jailed in Egypt on charges of spying.
Government officials say the cabinet unanimously endorsed the prisoner swap on Tuesday.
The exchange is expected to take place on Thursday.
Ilan Grapel, who apparently entered Egypt in January, has been jailed since June. Egypt alleges he engaged in espionage activities in connection with the popular revolt that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak, although formal charges were never filed.
Israel insists Grapel, 27, is not a spy and has no ties with Israeli or U.S. intelligence services.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says none of the 25 Egyptians being released is considered a security risk.
The exchange, announced on Monday, is seen as an attempt to improve relations between Israel and Egypt that have been strained since President Mubarak's ouster in February. Egypt and Israel established diplomatic ties in 1979.
The swap comes after an Egyptian-mediated deal between Israel and Hamas that freed captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Grapel, a student at a U.S. law school, was interning for a non-profit group in Egypt when he was arrested.
Iran
U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is warning Iran not to take advantage of the pending U.S. troop pullout from Iraq to stir up trouble there. The warning comes after Iraqi security forces arrested over 200 former Ba'ath Party political and military commanders, accusing them of “trying to topple the government.”
Iraqi media this week announced the arrests of over two hundred former members of Saddam Hussein's once-ruling Ba'ath Party. A statement on Iraqi television accused them of trying to overthrow the government.
The arrests came as U.S. Secretary of Defense Panetta on Wednesday warned Iran, during a visit to Japan, “not to miscalculate” the U.S. “commitment” to Iraq, despite the withdrawal of American troops scheduled for year's end.
Syria
At least 26 people were killed Wednesday in military operations across Syria, as President Bashar al-Assad met with an Arab League delegation seeking to end months of bloody unrest.
Syrian state media quoted the head of the delegation, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, as saying the talks were “cordial and frank.” He said Arab officials will meet again with Mr. Assad October 30.
The 22-nation Arab League is trying to facilitate a dialogue between Syria's government and the opposition's newly formed Syrian National Council. But activists say talks are “impossible” to consider, given the current security crackdown.
A banner carried by protesters in northern Syria Tuesday read “Russia gives Bashar international protection, Iran gives him weapons, and Arabs give him time. No dialogue with the killer of children.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 15 civilians died Wednesday in shootings by security forces nationwide, including 12 in the rebellious city of Homs. Eleven soldiers also were killed in the central Hama region, a hotbed of opposition to President Assad.
Iraq
Iraqi officials say two car bombs in northern Iraq have killed at least five people and wounded 22 others.
The first attack in the northern city of Mosul Wednesday targeted an army patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding at least three civilians.
A second car bomb went off in the same neighborhood minutes after the first, killing two people and wounding several others.
Violence in Iraq has fallen since the height of sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007, but militants still regularly carry out bombings and shootings.
The latest bombings are similar to a series of explosions in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, earlier this month that killed 16 people and wounded 40 others.
The Sunni militant group Ansar al-Islam claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement issued Tuesday.
The statement said two bombs went off within 20 minutes of each other, and a third targeted an ambulance carrying wounded people to the hospital.
All content based on VOA News reports.