Headlines from around the world: 4-9-12

According to Turkish reports, Syrian military attacks have increased near the Turkish border, resulting in large numbers of refugees leaving Syria seeking a more stable living situation. The development could hinder plans of a ceasefire set for next week.

Chinese officials have released a list of six men who they say are involved with a terrorist group that uses Asian countries neighboring China to stage attacks on Chinese nationals. The government has said that the group was responsible for the deaths of 18 people last July. The group is composed of Islamist separatists that are calling for the independence of a small part of the Xinjiang province.

Last week marked the twentieth anniversary of the Bosnian war, which started with the siege of Sarajevo. The Bosnian residents of Sarajevo commemorated the day by placing 11,541 red chairs along one of the main streets running through the city. Each chair represented one of the men, women, and children killed during the siege that lasted 1425 days between April 1992 and February 1996.

The Egyptian presidential race has started to heat up, with longtime rivals going head to head. Former Mubarak regime members are now running against Islamists who have been backing the people since the Arab Spring first took hold in Egypt last year. The people are still protesting the military-run government. The belief is that when a new leader is elected, the military will concede power.

In light of reports that the late president of Malawi died of a heart attack, U.S. officials are concerned that there may be conflicts over who should succeed him as the leader of the African nation. The news of the president’s death did not come from the Malawi government, which leads many to question the motives for the government keeping the information a secret.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese political party that has championed the causes of many Islamists, is losing many of its Syrian supporters because of its supportive stance of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad. Many of the people who were supporters of Hezbollah are speaking out against the group. The primary base of Hezbollah is Shia muslims.