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(CNN) -- Myanmar's Ministry of Information announced Monday that it has ended pre-publication censorship, but it laid out a welter of strictures on free expression that remain in place.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As Apple's stock rose to new high on Monday, the technology giant set another record: It became the most valuable public company in history.
Apple's market value -- the price of its stock multiplied by the number of outstanding shares -- hit $623 billion in intraday trading. That eclipsed the previous record of $618.9 billion set by Microsoft on Dec. 30, 1999, at the height of the dot-com bubble, according to Howard Silverblatt, S&P's senior index analyst.
Apple shares hit a new record of $664.74 per share. The anticipated September launch of the new iPhone, coupled with rumors of a smaller iPad and a more feature-rich Apple TV have lifted the stock in recent weeks.
It's a stunning achievement for a company that was a struggling also-ran when Microsoft was setting records in the late 1990s. Apple was valued at less than $10 billion as recently as 2004, and at $100 billion just three years ago.
Since 2007, however, Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) has been an unstoppable force. Its iPhone business alone now brings in more money than Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500). Even the iPad, which was intended to be a gap-filling product between the iPhone and the Macintosh, has itself become a multi-billion dollar product for Apple.
Apple is on pace to be the world's largest technology company in terms of sales by the end of the year, and it's among the most profitable companies in the world. In the last three months of 2011, Apple made $13 billion -- second only to ExxonMobil's (XOM, Fortune 500) record-setting $14.8 billion quarter from the fall of 2008, when oil prices were at an all-time high.
The company's lightning-quick growth shows no signs of subsiding. With rumors of new gadgets on the horizon, Apple has crossed the $400 billion, $500 billion and $600 billion marks -- all in 2012 -- as the stock has soared 64% this year.
Despite the fast growth, some say that the company is actually undervalued, since its stock gains haven't kept pace with its earnings. Trading at 15 times this year's earnings forecast, it has a price-to-earnings ratio far below that of some tech stocks, including Facebook (FB), Groupon (GRPN) and even Zynga (ZNGA), whose stock has plunged sharply.
Apple still has one last hurdle to climb: Microsoft still holds the record for most valuable company on the stock market if inflation is taken into account. In 2012 dollars, Microsoft's all-time-high would have amounted to $851 billion.
Apple has quite a way to go before it hits that mark. Its stock would have to reach $908 per share.

Lonmin said the Marikana mine reopened but no ore was produced after fewer than a third of staff turned up.
It also said a deadline for striking miners to return to work or face dismissal had been extended to Tuesday.
President Jacob Zuma declared a week of national mourning for those killed.
He has also called for a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident.
Memorial service "Lonmin can confirm that work at its Marikana operations resumed today as significant numbers of employees returned to work," the company said in a statement.
"Almost one third of the 28,000-strong workforce reported for their morning shifts.
"The company can also announce that those illegal strikers who did not return to work this morning will not be dismissed and have been allowed an extra day in light of current circumstances."
Later, Lonmin executive vice-president for mining Mark Munroe said that "for all intents and purposes" no ore had been produced at the mine on Monday.
"By 07:00 tomorrow (05:00 GMT) we expect workers to return to work. After that, Lonmin has the right to fire them," he said.
"We are aware that it will take some time for some trust to be regained," he added.
Union officials quoted by Reuters said that at least 80% of the workforce was needed to bring platinum out of the shafts.
The BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg says it remains to be seen whether more workers will report for duty on Tuesday.
A significant number have vowed to prolong their stay-away, saying that returning to work would be an insult to their dead colleagues, she adds.
The week of mourning began on Monday and a memorial service is planned for Thursday.
About 3,000 rock-drill operators (RDOs) walked out more than a week ago in support of demands for higher pay.
The strike was declared illegal by Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum producer, and the mine was shut.
Clashes between strikers, some holding clubs and machetes, and police culminated on Thursday when officers armed with automatic rifles and pistols fired dozens of shots.
In addition to those killed, at least 78 people were injured and some 250 people were arrested.
Those arrested were remanded in custody by a court in the Pretoria township of Ga-Rankuwa on Monday. Charges included murder, public violence and attempted robbery.
During the hearings, about 100 women appeared outside the court to appeal for leniency for the men.
While union leaders held meetings on Monday, about 1,000 workers gathered near the mine said they would not return.
Several accused Lonmin of insensitivity for expecting them to go back to work while they were still in mourning.
"They can fire us if they want, we are not going back to work. [President] Zuma must shut down that mine," one worker told AFP news agency.
Correspondents at the scene said workers outside the mine were unarmed and in a calmer mood than on previous occasions.
The miners, who are currently earning between 4,000 and 5,000 rand ($484-$605) a month, say they want their salary increased to 12,500 rand ($1,512).

Lakhdar Brahimi told the BBC that he was "not in a position to say yet" but was "committed to finding a solution".
Mr Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister, last week succeeded Kofi Annan, who resigned after both sides largely ignored his peace plan.
On Sunday, UN observers ended their mission to verify its implementation.
Their departure came after the UN Security Council agreed to allow their mandate to expire at midnight, and instead set up a new civilian office in Damascus to pursue political contacts which might lead to peace.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said his country is struggling to cope with the influx of refugees from Syria.
Mr Davutoglu again proposed that the UN establish a safe zone inside Syria to house those fleeing the conflict because Turkey would be unable to accommodate more than 100,000 people. To date, 70,000 have fled there, most within the past month.
Syrian opposition groups have also called for safe havens, but the idea has gain little traction internationally, with Russia and China opposed.
'Mediator' Since being confirmed as the new UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Mr Brahimi has acknowledged that he has no concrete ideas of how to end the conflict in Syria, which he believes has been a civil war for some time.
On Monday, he told the BBC that he was not ready to say whether President Assad should step down despite widespread international condemnation of his government's crackdown on dissent since protests erupted in March 2011.
"I am not in a position to say yet, because I was appointed a couple of days ago. I am going to New York for the first time to see the people who I am going to work for, and I am going to Cairo see the Arab League," he explained.
After announcing his resignation, Mr Brahimi's predecessor, Kofi Annan, said: "It is clear that President Bashar al-Assad must leave office."
The main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Council (SNC), said Mr Brahimi's stance showed "disregard for the blood of the Syrian people and their right of self-determination" and demanded he apologise.
"Whoever gives this criminal regime an opportunity to kill tens of thousands more Syrians and destroy what is left of Syria does not want to recognise the extent of the tragedy," an SNC statement said.
Mr Brahimi stressed that he was "committed to finding a solution full stop".
"I am a mediator. I haven't joined any Syrian party. I am a mediator and a mediator has to speak to anybody and everybody without influence or interest," he added.
"Then I'll make up my mind about what to say and what to do."
'Shellfire' On the ground in Syria, seven UN vehicles drove out of the capital on Monday morning, carrying some of the last members of the UN Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), all of whom are expected to leave the country by the end of the week.
As they departed, government forces were trying to retake the Damascus suburb of Muadhamiya from rebel fighters, opposition activists said. One report said seven people had been killed by shellfire.
The UK-based opposition activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said fighting in the southern city of Deraa had left 15 people dead, including two children.
Shelling by tanks and warplanes also caused houses to collapse in the northern city of Aleppo, killing at least 14 people, activist Mohammed Saeed told the Associated Press. The buildings were in the Sakhour and Qadi Askar districts, he said.
Between 80 and 130 people were reportedly killed across the country on Sunday despite the start of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday that celebrates the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The UN says more than 18,000 people have been killed in the conflict, 170,000 have fled Syria and 2.5 million need aid within the country.

The fire began in the early hours of Saturday and has been fuelled by gale force winds.
Authorities said that by Monday the blaze had destroyed about 7,000 hectares (16,000 acres) of forest and farmland.
Residents of nine villages and hamlets were evacuated from their homes over the weekend as the fire approached.
Chios lies north-east of the capital, Athens, off the coast of Turkey.
Strong winds The island is famous for its production of mastic, a natural, gum-like resin with a distinctive flavour produced only by trees on certain sections of the island.
Used as a natural chewing gum, a cooking spice and for pharmaceutical and cooking purposes, mastic resin is a major source of income for the islanders.
The strong winds were hampering efforts to extinguish the fires, despite the presence of several hundred firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, as well as firefighting planes and helicopters.
Wildfires are common during Greece's long, hot summers, though some are believed to be started on purpose.
A further five forest and brush fires broke out on Monday across Greece, the Associated Press news agency reports, while fire crews continued to fight six fires already burning in other parts of the country.
The government has requested the assistance of water-bombing aircraft from Spain and Italy to help with the summer blazes.

Todd Akin, who is also running as Republican candidate for the Senate, made the comments in a TV interview to explain his strict views on abortion.
He later said he had "misspoken" but his Democratic rival said the comments were "beyond comprehension".
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he disagreed with the view.
During the interview for KTVI-TV, Mr Akin was asked about his no-exceptions view on abortion, a highly charged issue in the US, and on whether he would like abortion to be banned even if the pregnancy was the result of rape.
He replied: "It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that is really rare.
"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.
"But let's assume that maybe that didn't work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child."
'Flat-out astonishing' The interview has sparked a furious reaction in the US, with critics attacking both Mr Akin's scientific view and his reference to "legitimate rape".
Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill said it was "beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape".
"The ideas that Todd Akin has expressed about the serious crime of rape and the impact on its victims are offensive."
Ms McCaskill, who is trailing Mr Akin in opinion polls for the Missouri seat, said on Twitter that as a former prosecutor she had personally handled hundreds of rape cases.
On blogs and Twitter, users have also poured scorn on his biological view, and expressed concern that he is a member of the House Committee on Science.
Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, told AP radio that the comments were "flat-out astonishing" and that such language was "intended to shame women".
A spokesman for Mr Romney said that both the candidate and his running mate, Paul Ryan, disagreed with Mr Akin, and stressed that "a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape".
Mr Akin later issued a statement saying he had "misspoken" in his "off the cuff" remarks, though did not specify on which points.
He said the interview "does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year".
Mr Akin also reconfirmed that he "believes deeply in the protection of all life and I do not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action".
The six-term congressman for Missouri is a long-time vocal opponent of relaxing abortion laws.
In 2011, he co-sponsored a controversial bill that would have limited the government help available to women seeking abortions in the case of rape to cases of "forcible rape".
After a public outcry, the House Republican party was made to change this language.

But Mike Norton, professor at Harvard Business School, and I decided to take a different path and we decided to ask people what inequality they would want.
Now, there are lots of ways to ask this question and we used the philosopher John Rawls.
Rawls said that "a just society is a society that if you knew everything about it, you'd be willing to enter it in a random place". And it's really a beautiful definition.
He called it a veil of ignorance, because if you're very wealthy, you might want the wealthy people to have lots of money and the poor to have very little; and if you are very poor, you might want the poor to have more money and the wealthy to have less.
But in Rawls' definition, you don't know where you'll end up, you have to consider all the different options and therefore you have to think about what is good for society as a whole.
Incomprehension So, we took the American society and we asked people to imagine it divided into five buckets, the wealthiest 20%, the next 20%, the next, the next and the poorest 20%.
First of all, we asked people: how much wealth do you think is concentrated in each of those buckets?
It turns out people get it very wrong.
And people don't understand it. They don't understand how much wealth the top have and in particular, they don't understand how little the bottom has.
But then we described to people Rawls' definition, the veil of ignorance, and the idea they could end up anywhere. And we said: What society would you like to create? How much wealth? How would you like to distribute the wealth?
And it turns out people created a society that is much more equal than any society on Earth. It was much more equal than Sweden.
Blind tasting In fact, when we did this experiment another way and we showed people two distributions of wealth, one based on the wealth distribution in the US and the other based on the wealth distribution that is more equal than Sweden, 92% of Americans picked the improved Swedish distribution.
So this suggests to me that when people take a step away from their own position and their own current state, and when people look at society in general terms, in abstract terms, Americans want a much more equal society.
There is one more interesting thing to this: 93% of Democrats picked the improved Swedish model, compared with 90.5% of Republicans. Different, but not very different.
And all this makes me wonder, how can it be that in our studies people seem to want such equal society but when you look at the political ideology, people don't seem to want that?
And I think it is a little bit like blind tasting of wine.
When you taste wine and you know the label and you know the price, you are going to be influenced by that. And when you are tasting wine in a blind way, now you don't have anything to base it on and you have to really use your senses.
I think the same thing happens with thoughts about just societies. When we are in the regular world, we are using our current position, our ideology and the labels that politicians give us, and they obscure reality and obscure what we really want.
But Rawls' definition really lets us strip all this away, lets us focus on what is really important and how people actually want something very different from what we have.
The question, of course, is how do we get people to think about this to a higher degree and how do we get them to act on that for a better future?

Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Mr Hijab had not yet appeared in person and he rejected reports of other ministerial defections.
Meanwhile, Iran's security chief has made an unexpected visit to Damascus in an apparent step change in diplomacy.
Tehran says it is planning a conference aimed at solving the Syrian crisis.
The staunchest regional ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Tehran is also trying to secure the release of a group of Iranians abducted by rebels from a bus in Damascus on Saturday.
'US held responsible' An unconfirmed report from the rebels has suggested that three of the 48 hostages they are holding have been killed by army shelling.
Saeed Jalili, who heads Iran's supreme national security council and is considered a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was meeting Bashar al-Assad and several other top officials.
It also emerged that Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was travelling to Turkey for talks in Ankara.
Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has said it holds the US responsible for the hostages' safety.
He said the US was supporting "terrorist groups" and despatching weapons to Syria, and was therefore responsible for the lives of those abducted.
The rebels have claimed that the group are members of the Revolutionary Guard. Tehran says they are pilgrims who had been heading for a Shia religious site.
'Business as usual' Caretaker Prime Minister Omar Ghalawanji headed an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday, stressing that all the ministers were there. He was due to chair a further session on Tuesday.
Opposition activists said that apart from the prime minister, two other ministers had also defected and a third - Finance Minister Mohammad Jalilati - was arrested as he tried to escape.
But footage of the cabinet on state TV showed two of the ministers who had supposedly defected and Syria's information minister played down the significance of Mr Hijab's departure.
"We haven't heard anything from the former prime minister and he didn't appear on TV," Omran al-Zoubi was quoted as saying by Syrian state news agency Sana.
Syria was a state of institutions, the information minister said, and the flight of some of its individuals would not affect the state, however prominent they were.
But reports of defections have continued, with Turkey's foreign ministry announcing on its Twitter feed that a general was among more than 1,300 refugees who fled across the border overnight.
The number of Syrians who have crossed into Turkey has risen to 47,500, Ankara says.
'Safe location' Riad Hijab, appointed as prime minister less than two months ago, is the most prominent Syrian figure to defect so far.
Although his whereabouts are unclear, his spokesman appeared on al-Jazeera TV in neighbouring Jordan saying that the prime minister had fled Syria with his family and was in "a safe location".
"I have defected from the terrorist, murderous regime and [am] joining the holy revolution," ran Mr Hijab's statement read by his spokesman Mohammed el-Etri.
France said the Assad government was "doomed" and White House spokesman Jay Carney said such high-level defections signalled that President Assad's grip on power was "loosening".
On the ground in Syria, clashes have been reported in Aleppo and the army is said to have stepped up its bombardment of the northern city.
Government forces are trying to dislodge rebel fighters who have taken control of up to half of Aleppo.
Opposition activists report intense attacks on rebel-held areas on the north-east and south-west sides of the city.
State media said troops had clashed with "terrorists" in several places inflicting heavy losses.
Further deaths were reported in Damascus on Tuesday. Syrian agency Sana said a "terrorist hideout" had been stormed by security forces.
British-based activist group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 270 people were killed across Syria on Monday. It said 61 civilians died in Aleppo province alone.
Activists estimate more than 20,000 people have died since the uprising against President Assad began in March last year.
Reports of casualties often cannot be independently verified as the movement of foreign journalists is severely restricted in Syria.

Net profit was 290bn yen ($3.7bn; £2.4bn) in the April to June period, up from 1.1bn yen a year earlier.
Toyota's sales plunged in the same period last year, after it was forced to suspend production due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Toyota said its sales in Japan rose by 81.6% compared with a year earlier.
Revenues in North America rose by 86.6%.
Japan's largest carmaker said: "increases in both production volume and vehicle unit sales and cost reduction efforts", had contributed to the jump in profits.
The carmaker kept its forecast for annual net profit unchanged at 760bn yen.
The yen factor Analysts said that while the numbers were better than expected, Toyota continued to face challenges in the near term, not least from a strong currency.
This not only makes Japanese cars more expensive to foreign buyers, but also dents profits when Toyota converts its overseas earnings into yen.
Koji Endo, an auto analyst with Advanced Research Japan in Tokyo told the BBC a lot of the parts that are used by Toyota's factories in other countries were also exported from Japan.
He explained that a strong yen made those parts more expensive and further hurt the firm's earnings.
Mr Endo warned that as the yen remained strong against most global currencies, "the impact on profits will be bigger than previously expected".
Tax breaks One of the key factors behind the increase in car sales in Japan has been the incentives being offered by the government on eco-friendly vehicles in a bid to boost the country's car industry.
Japan has reintroduced a scheme giving a subsidy of up to 100,000 yen per car on such vehicles.
However, the scheme has a limit of 300bn yen and will expire once that amount is reached.
Most analysts expect the scheme to end within the next few months and say that it may have a big impact on the sales of Japanese carmakers.
"Tax incentives are expected to expire anytime in the near future and sales may nose dive as a result," warned Mr Endo.

Rebels fired rocket launchers on an army post in Hakkari province just after midnight, NTV in Turkey said.
Turkish military jets are pursuing them and bombing their escape routes, NTV said.
Several thousand Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels are believed to be based in hideouts in northern Iraq.
According to the governor for Hakkari province, Orhan Alimoglu, six soldiers, two village guards and 11 Kurdish rebels were killed in the attack near the village of Gecimili.
He said 15 soldiers were injured in the incident.
The number of clashes between the PKK and the Turkish armed forces has risen in southeast Turkey over the past year.
A series of clashes in June left dozens dead.
The PKK is classified as a terrorist organisation by the EU and the US.
It launched a guerrilla campaign in 1984 for an ethnic homeland in the Kurdish heartland in the south-east of Turkey.
It has now dropped its claim to an independent Kurdish state, but says it is fighting for autonomy and the cultural rights of the Kurdish people.

However, the unemployment rate rose from 8.2% to 8.3% last month, as more people re-entered the workforce but failed to find a job.
The US Department of Labor also said 6,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than first estimated.
The US economy has to generate 100,000 new jobs a month just to stand still, according to the Federal Reserve.
The total number of unemployed people was 12.8 million last month, unchanged from June.
Private sector firms hired an extra 172,000 staff, which more than offset the 9,000 fall in government payrolls.
"We are not seeing large-scale layoffs, so job destruction is pretty limited," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates.
There were also signs that Americans were optimistic about finding a job. The number of discouraged workers - people not looking for work because they believe there are no jobs - fell 267,000 to 852,000.
The number of involuntary part-time workers, those whose hours have been cut back or who could not find full-time jobs, was unchanged at 8.2 million.
Candidates for the November presidential election have been watching the jobs reports closely, as the economy remains a top voter concern.
President Barack Obama said: "Let's acknowledge, we've still got too many folks out of work. We've got more work to do on their behalf."
The White House's chair of economic advisers, Alan Krueger, said: "Any increase in the unemployment rate is unwelcome but we do see an economy that is continuing to add jobs."
He added that the private sector had added jobs for 29 months in a row, for a total of 4.5 million.
But Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney described the slight increase in US unemployment to 8.3% from 8.2% last month as "a hammer blow to struggling middle-class families", as he said his jobs plan would add 12 million new jobs by the end of his first term.
Mr Romney went on to criticise the president's policies, saying "This is an extraordinary record of failure."
Last week, official data showed the US economy grew at an annual rate of 1.5% in the second three months of the year, that was slower than the 2% pace at the start of 2012.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said its programme to reduce long-term borrowing costs for firms and households would continue for the rest of the year.
Under Operation Twist, the Fed buys long-term bonds from retail lenders and swaps them for shorter-term bonds.
But it disappointed some investors by not announcing any fresh measures to stimulate economic growth.
The Fed has kept base interest rates at close to zero for nearly four years and pumped $2.3bn into the economy.

Many of the 843 pieces were stolen during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s and ended up on the black market.
Some of the items, which include stone statues of Buddha and intricate ivory carvings, are up to 4,000 years old.
The British Museum in London has helped to complete their return.
Some of the stolen artefacts were recovered by British border forces and police, while others were found in private collections and bought back by generous donors.
One stone Buddha, thought to be around 1,800 years old, was stolen from the museum in Kabul and recovered in Japan.
The British Ministry of Defence flew the pieces back to Afghanistan in large crates, landing at their military base in Camp Bastion.
Afghan archaeologists say the repatriation of the treasures, which had been feared lost forever, is a source of national pride.
More than two thirds of the exhibits at the National Museum in Kabul were stolen or destroyed during the civil war.
The BBC's correspondent in Kabul, Aleem Maqbool, says there will be concerns about the fate of the artefacts, given the unpredictability surrounding Afghanistan's future.

Dozens more were wounded in the attack on a funeral service in the city of Jaar, Yemeni officials said.
Military officials told the Associated Press the funeral was for a man linked to militias which had helped the army in their fight against al-Qaeda.
They said five suspected al-Qaeda militants had been killed earlier in the day.
The men were killed in a suspected US drone strike on their vehicle in Hadramawt province.
Local governor Jamal al-Aqal said in a statement that an investigation had been opened into the "criminal and cowardly" attack on the funeral service.
A witness told the AFP news agency that "the suicide bomber belonged to the al-Qaeda network".
The Yemeni army carried out a major offensive against Islamist militants in Abyan earlier this year, taking control of the region in June with the help of civilian militias comprised of local tribesmen.
Separatist unrest and al-Qaeda-linked militants such as Ansar al-Sharia have plagued the south for years.

Military sources say around 20,000 troops are massed around the city, and rebels said they were prepared for a "strong offensive".
In Damascus, army sources said they had pushed rebels from a last stronghold. The rebels said they had withdrawn.
On Saturday, 48 Iranian pilgrims were kidnapped near a Shia shrine.
Iranian diplomats and Syrian state television blamed the abduction, which took place near the shrine of Sayyida Zainab in a suburb of Damascus, on "armed groups".
Rebels claimed on Sunday that some of those taken were members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, according to al-Arabiya television.
Fight for Aleppo In the northern city of Aleppo, areas where rebels are entrenched have been bombarded by government forces and clashes have been reported in several districts.
President Bashar al-Assad's forces have reportedly used artillery, planes and a helicopter gunship to pound rebel positions.
The Syrian military has been steadily building up its forces around the city with, alongside troops, large numbers of tanks and other armoured vehicles, says the BBC's Richard Galpin, on the Turkish border.
There is already fierce fighting in and around the city as troops try to push rebel forces out from southern and eastern districts.
The rebels, who have also increased their numbers, are well dug in and continue to try to extend the territory under their control, our correspondent says.
The biggest advantage for the government is the use of helicopters and fighter jets; but more troops will also have to fight their way into the city if they are to stand any chance of retaking it, and that will make it a much more even battle, he adds.
Abdel Jabar Oqaida, a commander of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in Aleppo, told the AFP news agency that the restive Salah al-Din district had "come under the heaviest bombardment since the battle began" on 20 July.
A senior government security official told the agency: "The battle for Aleppo has not yet begun, and what is happening now is just the appetiser... the main course will come later."
The fight for the key strategic city has been intensifying over the last few days, with Syrian state television reporting that troops had inflicted huge losses on what it called "terrorist mercenaries" in Salah al-Din and in other nearby areas.
'In government hands' In the capital, government forces claimed to have pushed out rebel fighters from their final stronghold in the city, the southern neighbourhood of Tadamon.
An opposition activist told AFP from Beirut that the FSA had withdrawn from the district and would focus on "hit-and-run tactics against important regime targets".
On Saturday, shelling and gunfire were still heard in Tadamon despite it having been earlier stormed by government forces.
State media has reported that the whole of Damascus is now in government hands, but such reports are impossible to verify and the situation on the ground is changing fast.
Referring to the Iranian pilgrims kidnapped in Damascus on Saturday, the Syrian authorities said they were "working to handle the situation".
Thousands of Iranians travel each year to Syria to visit the pilgrimage site in the mostly Shia district of Sayyida Zainab, which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks.
In May, 11 Lebanese Shia pilgrims were abducted in Syria while returning from Iran. The government announced three days after their capture that they had been released, but there have since been conflicting reports in Lebanese media as to their whereabouts.
Activists say more than 20,000 people - mostly civilians - have died in 17 months of unrest.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Turkey on 11 August for talks on the conflict in Syria, the US State Department said.
Mrs Clinton is adding the stop in Turkey to her lengthy tour of Africa.