(Continued from page 19)

• DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - The violence in Syria has reached unprecedented levels, the head of the country's U.N. observer mission said Thursday, insisting there must be a cease-fire in order for his teams to resume their work.
• About 300 U.N. monitors were sent to Syria to provide an unbiased look at the violence, but they have been confined to their hotels since June 15 because of the bloodshed.
• "The escalation of violence, allow me to say, to an unprecedented level, obstructed our ability to observe, verify, report as well as assist in local dialogue," Norwegian Maj. Gen. Robert Mood told reporters in the Syrian capital Damascus.

• More than 14,000 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011, according to activists. As the conflict grinds on, the violence has become widespread and chaotic. Besides the government crackdown on dissent, rebel fighters are launching increasingly deadly attacks on regime targets, and several massive suicide attacks this year suggest al-Qaida or other extremists are joining the fray.
• Syria severely restricts the media in the country, making it difficult to gain a credible account of events on the ground.
• ___

• CHAMAN, Pakistan (AP) - The first truck carrying supplies to American and NATO troops in Afghanistan has crossed the Pakistani border after a seven-month long closure of the supply routes by Pakistan ended earlier this week.
• The reopening is a rare bright spot in relations between the U.S. and Pakistan, which had closed the routes in retaliation for American airstrikes in November that killed 24 Pakistani border troops. Disagreements over issues like American drone strikes and Islamabad's alleged support for Taliban militants still hamper a relationship vital to stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan.
• During the closure, the U.S. was forced to use more costly and lengthy routes

(Continued on page 21)