In brief: Six arrests linked to phone hacking

London – Former News International executive Rebekah Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband, Charlie, were arrested Tuesday in dawn raids that also netted four other suspects in the spreading phone hacking scandal.

Police said the six people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The charge is an indication that investigators may be focusing on a possible cover-up of the scope of phone hacking rather than the illegal hacking itself.

It was the most arrests in a single day since “Operation Weeting” – as the police investigation into phone hacking is known – began arresting reporters, senior news executives, police officers and others suspected of criminal acts.

The early morning police swoop brought the scandal to Prime Minister David Cameron’s immediate social circle. Cameron said at a press conference earlier this month that Charlie Brooks, Rebekah Brooks’ husband who has now been arrested, was a longtime friend.

Assad forces push Syrian rebels out

Beirut, Lebanon – Syrian troops pressed an offensive Tuesday in rugged northwest Idlib province after forcing a rebel retreat from the strategic regional capital, opposition officials said.

The government assault in Idlib – which follows an advance in central Homs province, another major rebel stronghold – suggests that the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad may be making progress against insurgent fighters who remain outgunned against tanks and armor. Rebels say they have no shortage of recruits but lack weapons.

Rebel fighters have repeatedly been forced to retreat from their enclaves in the face of overwhelming government force.

However, insurgents have been able to trickle back into Homs, Hama and other strongholds once regime troops moved on to fight other battles. Whether the same process will play out in Idlib remains to be seen.