– UNITED NATIONS

Resolution would condemn violations by Syrian regime

Egypt circulated a U.N. General Assembly resolution Tuesday strongly condemning human rights violations by the Syrian regime and backing an Arab League plan aimed at ending the 11-month conflict in the country.

The draft resolution was finalized by Arab nations a day after U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay decried Syria’s escalating crackdown on civilian protesters and warned that the Security Council’s recent failure to take action has emboldened President Bashar Assad’s government to launch an all-out assault to crush dissent.

Diplomats said the resolution could be put to a vote in the 193-member assembly as early as Thursday and is likely to be adopted by a wide margin. There are no vetoes in the assembly. While General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding, they do reflect world opinion on major issues.

The proposed resolution makes no specific reference to the Arab League’s call Sunday for the Security Council to authorize a joint Arab-U.N. peacekeeping force for Syria.

It notes past Arab League decisions and makes five demands: that the Syrian government stop all violence, release all those detained during the unrest, withdraw all armed forces from cities and towns, guarantee peaceful demonstrations and allow unhindered access for Arab League monitors and international media.

BANGKOK

Israel blames Iran for series of explosions in Thailand

Israel accused Iran of waging a covert campaign of state terror that stretched this week from the Middle East to the heart of Asia after a bungled series of explosions led to the capture of two Iranians in Bangkok.

Authorities in Israel ratcheted up security at home and abroad following Tuesday’s explosions in the Thai capital, escalating a confrontation over Iran’s suspect nuclear program and raising fears of war.

On Monday, an Israeli diplomat’s wife and driver were wounded in New Delhi when a bomb stuck to their minivan exploded, and another device was defused on an Israeli Embassy car in Tbilisi, Georgia. Israel blamed Iran for those attacks as well.

Israel has threatened military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, and Iran has blamed the Jewish state for the recent killings of Iranian atomic scientists.

COLUMBUS, Ohio

Doctor gets life sentences in oxycodone overdose deaths

A Chicago doctor who prosecutors say dispensed more of the powerful painkiller oxycodone from 2003 to 2005 than any other physician in the country was sentenced Tuesday to four life terms in the overdose deaths of four patients.

Dr. Paul Volkman made weekly trips from Chicago to three locations in Portsmouth in southern Ohio and one in Chillicothe in central Ohio before federal investigators shut down the operations in 2006, prosecutors said. He was sentenced in federal court in Cincinnati.

“This criminal conduct had devastating consequences to the community Volkman was supposed to serve,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Wright and Tim Oakley said in a court filing ahead of Tuesday’s hearing.

“Volkman’s actions created and prolonged debilitating addictions; distributed countless drugs to be sold on the street; and took the lives of numerous individuals who died just days after visiting him,” they said.

The 64-year-old Volkman fired his attorneys earlier this month and said he acted at all times as a doctor, not a drug dealer.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

Diving horse attraction won’t be making comeback

The Diving Horse has finally been put out to pasture for good.

The owner of Atlantic City’s Steel Pier says he’s dropping a plan to bring back the legendary attraction, which featured a horse and a rider plunging into a 12-foot-deep water tank from a platform 40 feet in the air, after animal-welfare activists lodged fierce criticism. The act ran on the pier from the 1920s to the 1970s.

Anthony Catanoso, whose family owns the historic pier, said Tuesday that he’s no longer interested in reviving something that helped make the pier famous in the last century.

“We just felt that since Atlantic City is moving forward, we should move forward with it,” he said. “We should create new memories for visitors instead of recreating old ones.”

— From news service reportsThe Associated Press

NEW YORK – This Peke was at his peak.

Malachy the Pekingese wobbled off with best in show Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club, becoming America’s top dog to the delight of an adoring crowd that called his name.

The 4-year-old bobbing pompom won his 115th overall best in show title. He beat out a Dalmatian, German shepherd, Doberman pinscher, Irish setter, a Kerry blue terrier and wire-haired dachshund at Madison Square Garden.

Handler David Fitzpatrick gave Malachy a little help — he carried him a short way onto the green carpet for the final lineup, shortening the long walk into the ring. Malachy’s pink tongue popped up from his silver-and-white fur, his eyes sparkling like black diamonds as he soaked in the cheers.

Judge Cindy Vogels picked the winner as fans hollered for their favorites. The No. 2 show dog in the nation this year was clearly the most popular, and Malachy won after taking the toy group here last February.

The champion at Westminster wins a coveted silver bowl, but not a cent of prize money. Instead, the prestige of this title lasts a lifetime for any owner, and brings a wealth of opportunity in breeding potential.

This was the fourth time a Peke won at Westminster, and the first since 1990.

Right before the champion was picked, a woman was stopped by security as she appeared to try to reach the ring. A few years ago, a PETA protest took place in the center area.