Top stories from around the world

Despot housewives

Syria: A cache of emails reportedly sent by Bashar al-Assad and his wife revealed the privileged life led by Syria’s ruling couple even as government forces have been brutally crushing the country’s rebellion, killing more than 8,000 people. As many as 3,000 emails were intercepted and leaked to a British newspaper by a rebel Syrian group, although they have not been fully verified.

The emails show the dictator’s British-born wife, Asma, spending money on expensive interior furnishings and fondue sets, and instructing a friend to bring back a Harry Potter DVD from a trip to Lebanon. The president demonstrated his predilection for 1980s pop by downloading New Order and Right Said Fred on his iTunes account. The email cache also shows that Assad took advice from Iran on how best to handle the uprising against his rule.

Striking Goldman

America: A former Goldman Sachs executive caused a stir on Wall Street when he wrote an article for The New York Times claiming the investment bank is increasingly focused on making money for itself and refers to clients as “muppets”. Greg Smith, who was head of US equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, had quit after 12 years at the company.

In his article he described the Goldman Sachs environment as being “as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it”. At meetings, “not one single minute is spent asking questions about how we can help clients. It’s purely about how we can make the most possible money off them”.

Deadly attacks

Afghanistan: The American staff sergeant accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in a shooting spree did not want to return to the front line and had seen his friend seriously wounded hours earlier, according to his lawyer. The 38-year-old father of two has not been named, but he is known to have been on his fourth tour of duty, and to have received two injuries including a head trauma during his time in Iraq. He was thought to have been drinking with friends on his base in Kandahar before he walked into the local village last Sunday and began the attack.

Four days after the massacre, the US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, was at the centre of an apparent suicide attack at Camp Bastion, the British base in Afghanistan. A man is thought to have set fire to a stolen lorry and driven at high speed towards officials gathered to greet Panetta’s plane. The vehicle crashed into a ditch and troops were able to quell the fire and take the driver into custody. He later died of his injuries.

An unflustered Panetta said: “This is a war area. We’re going to get these kind of incidents.”

Bo deselected

China: The Communist party was embarrassed when one of its best-known politicians was dismissed from his post in the wake of a political scandal. Bo Xilai, a charismatic figure tipped for high office, was removed as party secretary of Chongqing province. His position had been called into question after Wang Lijun, his top aide and former police chief, allegedly attempted to defect to America following a corruption investigation.

Bo’s fate appeared to be sealed when the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, made a thinly veiled reference to him in a speech the day before his dismissal, saying the country must “learn lessons” to avoid another “historical tragedy” like the cultural revolution.

Oil ‘is ours’

Argentina: The government said it will take legal action against any companies involved in oil exploration around the Falkland Islands. It argues that exploration and drilling in the oil-rich area, which has attracted interest from British companies, is illegal because the area’s sovereignty remains contested.

Argentina’s foreign minister, Hector Timerman, said: “The south Atlantic’s oil and gas are the property of the Argentine people.” The Foreign and Commonwealth Office responded by arguing that the right to develop the area’s oil was “an integral part” of the islanders’ right to self-determination. “These latest attempts to damage the economic livelihoods of the Falkland Islands people regrettably reflect a pattern of behaviour by the Argentine government,” it said.

Charlize adopts

America: The Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron announced she was adopting a baby boy, joining the ranks of other single Hollywood stars such as Sandra Bullock and Madonna who have also adopted children while single. Theron also announced that she will be raising the child as a single parent, having split from her boyfriend of nine years, the Irish actor Stuart Townsend.

Theron’s publicist said: “Charlize Theron . . . is the proud mom of a healthy baby boy named Jackson.”

Holy reliable

Israel: A man was acquitted of forgery over claims that he faked a burial box belonging to Jesus’s brother, James. After a seven-year trial a judge ruled the items owned by Oded Golan could not be deemed fake beyond all reasonable doubt. As well as the burial box, which would be the oldest archaeological link to Jesus if proved authentic, Golan was also accused of faking the “Jehoash inscription”, a stone tablet detailing renovations carried out on the first biblical temple.

A spokesman for Golan said: “Mr Golan is one of the most important Israeli antiques dealers and his good faith has been recognised by the court.”

Sheer brass

Italy: The brass bell of the Costa Concordia cruise ship has been stolen from the wreckage off the coast of Tuscany. Twenty-five people died, and a further seven are missing, after the ill-fated liner struck a reef.

Francesco Verusio, the prosecutor leading the investigation into January’s disaster, said: “I can confirm we are looking into the theft of the Concordia’s bell. It disappeared around two weeks ago and we had tried to keep the news quiet. We already have enough work to do with the case, now we have to investigate this as well.”