South Korea says it has fired warning shots toward six North Korean fishing boats that crossed the disputed Yellow Sea border between the two countries.

Seoul's defense ministry, which confirmed the incident, says two South Korean navy patrol ships fired multiple rounds near the North Korean boats. Officials say none of the shots hit the fishing boats, which quickly returned to their side of the de facto western sea border.

Russia has given the United States Agency for International Development until October 1, 2012 to close its operations and leave the country. Human rights groups in Russia say the Kremlin order will hurt their work.

The expulsion order comes with an accusation from the Kremlin that USAID has been trying to influence Russian politics.

Russia's Foreign Ministry says it had been concerned that USAID has been working to influence various elections, in addition to funding civil society institutions.

Syrian rebels have seized control of a third border crossing with Turkey after fierce battles with government troops, as fighting raged in the key cities of Aleppo and Damascus.

VOA correspondent Elizabeth Arrott reported from the Syrian capital Wednesday that thick, black smoke was rising from contested suburbs there.

At the Tal Abyad crossing near Turkey, rebels tore down the Syrian flag as Turkish authorities quickly closed the area and prevented a crowd of people from attempting to storm the border and cross into Syria.

Algeria is a key military power in the Sahel region and could play a decisive role in the outcome of the crisis in Mali, where al-Qaida-linked Islamist militants control the northern half of the country. Questions remain as to what exactly is Algeria's position in this crisis.

Mali has officially requested military assistance from West African regional bloc ECOWAS to help retake the country’s north, which fell to heavily-armed militant groups in April, shortly after a March 22 military coup in the capital, Bamako.

Nobel Prize-winning Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Monday begins a two-week tour of the United States, where she is to receive Congress' highest honor.

Aung San Suu Kyi will spend the first four days of her visit in Washington - meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and receiving the Congressional Gold Medal.

She also is expected to meet with President Barack Obama and make appearances at the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

All six Chinese surveillance ships have left Japanese-controlled waters after briefly conducting a patrol mission near a group of disputed islands.

Japan's Coast Guard say the ships left the area surrounding the uninhabited archipelago Friday after both sides exchanged warnings in the contested waters.

Japan had organized an emergency task force and summoned the Chinese ambassador in response to the move, which it called "regrettable" and "unprecedented."

Rebels fighting Syrian government forces have been urging the West to establish a no-fly zone over the country, but are getting little international support.

Western defense experts see difficulties in a no-fly mission, including troubles securing the skies over Syria, as Syrian air defenses must first be destroyed.

A no-fly zone is defined as airspace in which certain aircraft, especially military ones - such as warplanes and helicopter gunships - are forbidden to fly.

The recent arrest by Turkey's security forces of nine people accused of spying for Iran has increased tensions between the former close allies. Bilateral relations have soured over the two countries' support of opposing sides in the Syrian conflict.

Kerem Balci, a columnist for the Turkish newspaper Zaman, says the arrests may be part of a deeper probe.

Tensions between China and Japan continued to rise Tuesday as Tokyo sealed a deal to purchase islands that Chinese authorities say belong to them.

China responded by sending two patrol ships to the hotly contested waters. According state-run Xinhua news agency, the two marine surveillance ships were deployed to assert what it called the country’s undisputed sovereignty in the area.

The islets, known in China as Diaoyu and in Japan as Senkaku, lie near strategic shipping and fishing grounds, as well as potential oil and gas reserves.