BBC News
Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi is the new UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, officials have confirmed. The 78-year-old will succeed Kofi Annan, who resigned earlier this month after his six-point peace plan failed to achieve a meaningful ceasefire. China was the first nation to give its reaction, promising to “co-operate positively” with Mr Brahimi. However, fighting has continued unabated in the northern city of Aleppo and the capital, Damascus. Explosions were heard in a number of parts in the Syrian capital overnight. In Aleppo, government troops repulsed attacks by rebel forces near the airport on Friday, Syria’s state-run media said. Rebel commanders also said they were fighting near the airport, telling the New York Times that their fighters had advanced to within metres of the airport fence.
