Syrian President Bashar al-Assad insisted he will not resign before the end of his mandate in 2014 as a car bomb exploded in the capital Damascus on Saturday killing at least three people. "To resign would be to flee," Assad said in an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarin when asked if he would consider stepping aside as called for by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Seoul, May 18 (EFE).- North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles Saturday from its east coast into the Sea of Japan, South Korean officials said. Two launches were detected in the morning and a third after midday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing Defense Ministry representatives. The officials said the South Korean armed forces have stepped up efforts to monitor their northern neighbor; the two nations are still technically at war because the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Yemen's air force has been the target of "sabotage", the country's military aviation chief said in a televised interview, days after a fighter jet crashed in the capital Sanaa. "The air force is the target of systematic sabotage," General Rashed al-Janad told the private channel Al-Saida in the interview broadcast late on Friday. He said the Sukhoi SU-22 that crashed in Sanaa last Monday, killing the pilot, was caused by "shots hitting the aircraft" as it prepared to land at a base next to the capital's airport.

Result from a match between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates in the Asian Five Nations rugby tournament on Saturday: Philippines 24 UAE 8 Ht: 12-8 Scorers: Philippines - Tries: Chris Hitch, Gareth Holgate, Graeme Hagan, Matt Saunders; Conversions: Alexander Aronson (2) UAE - Try: Reinier Els; Penalty: Andrew Russell cgm