Date: May 12, 2011 Source: Associated Press   Latest developments in Arab world's unrest SYRIA The Syrian army shells residential areas and unleashes security forces in an intensified push to crush the uprising against authoritarian President Bashar Assad, killing an 8-year-old boy and at least 17 others. The lethal shelling evokes bitter memories of the regime's legacy of brutally suppressing dissent under Assad's father, Hafez. In 1982, Hafez Assad crushed a Sunni uprising by shelling the town of Hama, killing 10,000 to 25,000 people. ___ LIBYA Rebels in the port city of Misrata claim they took over the local airport from Moammar Gadhafi's retreating forces and seized weapons and ammunition, a potentially major breakthrough in efforts to break a two-month siege. The reported rebel advance is the latest in a sudden flurry of accounts of opposition victories, coming in tandem with intensified NATO airstrikes on Gadhafi's forces in several regions. Even though some of the combat reports are difficult to confirm, they seem to represent a major boost for the rebels prospects' after weeks of stalemate in their effort to end Gadhafi's 42-year rule over Libya. ___ YEMEN Yemeni security forces, including snipers, open fire on thousands of anti-government protesters marching to the Cabinet building, killing one and injuring at least 40. The protesters demanding the ouster of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh march from a main square in Sanaa toward the Cabinet headquarters and come under fire from snipers on rooftops, plainclothes security forces and soldiers with anti-aircraft guns mounted on pickup trucks. Security forces also use water cannons and fire tear gas.