Syrian troops captured a famed Crusader castle near the border with Lebanon today, running the two-starred government flag high above the stone ramparts of the 12th century fortress after days of intense clashes with rebel fighters.

Aid workers rushed to prepare for a hurricane that forecasters said could hit Haiti this week.

AFGHANISTAN could slide back under the control of warlords if it fails to receive the aid it urgently needs, a top UN official said on Thursday.

A powerful earthquake devastated villages in the Hindu Kush mountains of northern Afghanistan, where Afghan officials today estimated that 1,800 people had died and thousands more were injured in a region already afflicted by drought, war and food shortages.