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BBC news 2012-02-06

BBC News with Kathy Clugston

The United States says friends of a democratic Syria must rally against President Assad. The American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the UN Security Council had been "neutered" by Russia and China on Saturday when they vetoed a resolution critical of Syria - a move she called a "travesty". Mrs Clinton promised tough action against Syria.

"We will work to seek regional and national sanctions against Syria and strengthen the ones we have. They will be implemented to the fullest to dry up the sources of funding and the arms shipments that are keeping the regime's war machine going. We will work to expose those who are still funding the regime and sending it weapons that are used against defenceless Syrians including women and children."

Correspondents say anti-Assad governments may now work outside the UN to end the bloodshed.

More than 40 people working for pro-democracy and human rights groups in Egypt are to be put on trial accused of using foreign funds to stir up unrest. Here's Yolande Knell in Cairo.

This decision will further damage relations between Cairo and Washington. Nineteen Americans are among 43 individuals working for pro-democracy and human rights groups who now face criminal charges. It's believed they include the son of the US Transport Secretary Ray LaHood, who works for an organisation funded by the American government. The investigation into foreign funding of non-governmental organisations is directly linked to Egypt's continuing political turmoil. The generals who've ruled for the last year have repeatedly accused foreign hands of stirring up protests and trying to destabilise the country.

A new campaign has been launched in Saudi Arabia to urge women to legally challenge the ban on them driving. The woman who's led efforts to overturn the ban, Manal al-Sharif, made the announcement on her website. There she explains how other Saudi women can follow her example in seeking legal action.

Much of Europe continues to suffer from freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall. Stephen Evans has been monitoring events from Berlin.

Ukraine has been hardest hit with temperatures falling to -33C. The government there said that more than 130 people had died, many of them homeless. In Bosnia, helicopters have been ferrying food to isolated villages and also moving sick people in the capital Sarajevo, where the transport system has literally frozen to a standstill. In neighbouring Serbia, officials said that 70,000 people remain cut off. Even in Rome, there's been snow, the heaviest fall in more than a quarter of a century.

At the Vatican, the Pope greeted pilgrims in an overcoat and said he hoped spring would come soon.

World News from the BBC

A fire has broken out at a nuclear research centre in Moscow. Officials say the blaze started in an area where cables were housed away from any fissile material. However, environmentalists have expressed concern about the incident.

The Brazilian government has deployed the army in the northeastern state of Bahia, where a police strike has sparked a wave of violence. The murder rate has more than doubled in the state capital Salvador since police stopped work on Tuesday to demand better pay.

The former military leader of Panama, Manuel Noriega, has been moved from his prison cell in Panama City to a hospital. Police said he had hypertension and had possibly suffered a stroke. Mr Noriega, who's 77, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for the murder of two political opponents.

The former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is to be moved to a prison for the first time since his arrest last April. Reports said he would be transferred to a hospital inside Cairo's Tora prison. Mr Mubarak has been detained in a military hospital during his trial.

In football, Mali have gone through to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, beating co-hosts Gabon 5-4 on penalties. Alex Capstick was at the stadium.

The majority at the Stade l'Amitie in stunned silence after the co-hosts were beaten in a penalty shoot-out, the cruelest way to lose in a quarter-final of the Africa Cup of Nations. They were hoping to reach the semi-finals for the first time. Some of their players are in tears as they leave the pitch, in contrast to the celebrations in a small corner of the ground, the Mali fans jumping up and down, waving their flags, chanting, singing, dancing because they've seen their team come from behind here and march on to the last four of the tournament.

Mali join Zambia and Ivory Coast, who won their matches on Saturday. In the last quarter-final, Ghana are playing Tunisia, and the match has gone to extra time.

BBC News