U.N. to consider resolution on Syria

The U.N. Security Council is considering a European-drafted proposal that would condemn Syria's crackdown against anti-government protesters. The resolution would threaten "targeted measures" against President Bashar Assad's government if it does not end its assault on the protesters, Voice of America reported Tuesday. Diplomats said the Security Council could vote on the measure Tuesday. Envoys said it wasn't clear whether Russia, which opposes imposing sanctions on Syria, would veto the resolution or abstain from voting. In Syria, activists said four people were killed Tuesday in clashes between government security forces and military defectors in Talbiseh, near Homs. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least one those killed was a civilian. The fighting Tuesday follows days of security operations in Rastan, during which activists say government forces arrested up to 3,000 people to track down dissident soldiers.