Palestine, UN observer state

• The United Nations General Assembly voted to confer nonmember observer state status on Palestine, in a move that advocates claimed was a stepping stone to full statehood and opponents claimed damaged chances for a new peace process. Read our summary of how the UNGA members voted and what they said.

Syria

• 96 people were killed in fighting in Syria today, including 23 children, according to the Local Coordination Committees. Heavy fighting was reported in Aleppo, around the road to the Damascus airport and in the southern suburbs of the capital.

• Most internet networks were knocked out in Syria at about noon, and land line telephones also went dead. Each side blamed the other for what was called an act of sabotage. Renesys said five networks that remained online had been tied to a previous cyber-attack on the opposition. Rumors abounded of a new government massacre under cover of cyber-darkness.

• The United States is preparing to recognize the Syrian opposition, AP reports.

• Syrian rebels reportedly killed a senior member of the ruling Baath Party in a car bombing in Dera'a.

Egypt

• President Mohamed Morsi assured protesters that he would relinquish his newly declared fiat over the courts if a public referendum passed the new constitution. In a long televised interview the president made what many observers took to be a very short argument: Just trust me. The constitutional assembly began voting on the document Thursday.

• The Muslim Brotherhood moved a "million-man march" originally scheduled to converge on Tahrir Square Saturday, on fears of violent protests with anti-government protesters. The rally will now take place at Cairo University.