(CNN) -- The Syrian government launched a major military operation Monday, sending thousands of troops into the town where the country's uprising began, to carry out what witnesses described as a brutal, wider-scale crackdown.

Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has approved the use of his country's air force in Nato's Libya mission. Italy was ready to allow its jets to take "targeted military action", he said in a statement. Earlier, a Nato air strike badly damaged buildings in Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli.

More than 470 inmates at a prison in southern Afghanistan have escaped through a tunnel hundreds of metres long and dug from outside the jail. Officials in the city of Kandahar said many of those who escaped from Sarposa jail were Taliban insurgents.

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- An opposition leader on Sunday denounced Libyan government claims that the regime is working with local tribes to deal with rebels in the port city of Misrata. The regime has said that it is calling on the tribes to either negotiate with the rebels or use force.

An independent inquiry must be held into the recent killings of Syrian protesters by security forces, rights activists say. US-based Human Rights Watch led the call for an inquiry after 94 people were reported killed since Friday. The group urged international sanctions against those ordering the shootings.

Yemeni opposition parties have welcomed a plan under which President Ali Abdullah Saleh would stand down after 30 days, but protesters are still pressing for his immediate departure. President Saleh agreed to leave power under a transition plan aimed at ending violent unrest over his 32-year rule.

(CNN) -- A storm slashed through metropolitan St. Louis, damaging scores of homes and closing the airport, where planes were rocked or moved by an apparent tornado, authorities said Saturday. Daybreak gave workers at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport an opportunity to survey the devastation, including smashed windows and roof damage.

Security forces in Syria have shot dead at least six people at funerals for anti-government protesters killed on Friday, reports say. They opened fire on mourners gathering in a suburb of the capital Damascus and near the flash-point southern town of Deraa, witnesses said.

The US military has confirmed the first strike by an unmanned Predator drone aircraft in Libya. The Pentagon did not provide details of the target, but said that it occurred in the early afternoon local time. Drones can hit military targets more easily in urban areas, minimising the risk of civilian casualties. Earlier, Libya's government warned that tribes loyal to Col Muammar Gaddafi might take over the fight against the rebels in the western city of Misrata.

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- The death toll from the most recent protests against the Yemeni government in Sanaa grew from two to five Wednesday and the number of injured more than doubled to more than 65, according to eyewitnesses and field medical staff.

The US soldier accused of leaking a trove of secret government documents later published by the Wikileaks website is to be moved to a military prison in Kansas, officials have said.

Libya's foreign minister says a British plan to send a military team to advise rebels fighting Col Gaddafi would harm chances of peace in the country.

Thousands of people have fled their homes in northern Nigeria after riots prompted by the election of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. In some towns residents slept in police stations for safety. The Red Cross says there have been significant numbers of casualties.

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The European Union is prepared to launch a military operation for humanitarian assistance in Libya if requested by the United Nations, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Syria's government says unrest in the country's third-largest city, Homs, and in the northern city of Baniyas amounts to an armed insurrection. The warning came after thousands of demonstrators occupied the centre of Homs on Monday, vowing to stay until the president was ousted.

(CNN) -- Virginia and North Carolina emergency and clean up crews on Monday continued their work assisting the displaced, restoring power to hundreds of thousands of customers and confirming the storm-related deaths of dozens of people.

Two soldiers have been killed and seven people hurt after a man in army uniform opened fire inside the Afghan defence ministry in Kabul, officials have said.

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- As fighting continued in the Libyan cities of Ajdabiya and Misrata Sunday, a rebel spokesman questioned the commitment of NATO's mission there.

Authorities in France have blocked trains from Italy in an attempt to stop north African migrants from entering the country. Trains carrying migrants and political activists have been stopped at the border - prompting Italy to launch an official complaint with its neighbour. Italy has angered France by giving out temporary resident permits to thousands of Tunisian migrants. The permits allow them to travel freely in many European countries. The Italian foreign ministry said the French move was "illegitimate and in clear violation of general European principles". Schengen infringement? Maurizio Furia, a spokesman for the Italian rail company, said that trains were not being allowed to pass into Menton, France, from the Italian border station of Ventimiglia. France says migrants have to prove they can support themselves financially and has set up patrols on the Italian border. But Italy says that France's actions are in violation of the EU's Schengen passport-free travel zone. "We have given the migrants travel documents, and we gave everything (else) that is needed, and the European Commission recognised that, it has said that Italy is following the Schengen rules," Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said in an interview on Italy's Sky TG24 TV. Italy and other European countries have been increasingly concerned about migration from north Africa following the political turmoil in the region. Earlier this month, Italy and France agreed to launch sea and air patrols to try to prevent the influx of thousands of people from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Hundreds of chanting supporters waved green flags and pledged loyalty to Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi after thunderous explosions believed to be NATO airstrikes pounded targets in the capital.

Tokyo (CNN) -- Engineers will need six to nine months to bring the damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant to heel, the plant's owners said Sunday in their first public timetable for ending the crisis.