Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi was approved by the United Nations to replace Kofi Annan as the international mediator on Syria.
Syrian Vice President Farouk a-Shara, whom opposition reported had escaped to Jordan and defected to the rebel side, has still not been seen in Damascus - even at Eid worship attended by President Bashar Assad and his top officials Sunday morning. The government claims he is at work as usual in his office.