The BBC's Paul Wood, who travelled without permission to Syria's flashpoint city of Homs, reports that he saw a small but steady stream of defectors from the official security forces.
He is due to play Richard II opposite Rory Kinnear in a new BBC Shakespeare adaptation which is part of next year's cultural programming to coincide with the Olympics.
Tipsarevic, a replacement for the injured Andy Murray, had no chance of reaching the last four but came from behind to secure arguably the biggest win of his career.
AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta looks set to be out of action until the new year after doctors confirmed the Italian centre-back pulled a thigh muscle in Wednesday's Champions League defeat against Barcelona.
A man is in a stable condition in hospital after being shot in the early hours as he left a Walmart with his family in San Leandro, California, when they resisted two armed robbers who demanded their purchases
Police are looking for two suspects after gunfire erupted early on Friday at a shopping centre in Fayetteville, North Carolina; there were no reports of injuries