BBC news 2012-02-08 加文本

BBC news 2012-02-08

BBC News with Iain Purdon

The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been making fresh promises to end violence in his country, talk to the opposition and bring in reforms. He gave the assurances to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Damascus. But opposition groups in Syria accused Mr Assad of making empty promises while the United States said it remained sceptical. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

After his talks with President Assad, Mr Lavrov said he believed the message had got through that swift action was necessary. He said the Syrians would soon announce a date for a constitutional referendum - part of a reform process that the opposition have dismissed. He said Mr Assad was also committed to ending the violence from all sources - something the regime has taken so far to cover the crushing of any armed resistance. If Mr Lavrov did get more from Mr Assad behind the scenes, that may become apparent in the coming days, especially in Homs, where the violence and bombardments go on.

The Syrian army has been using mortars and artillery fire in its continuing onslaught against people in Homs. A BBC correspondent who's there said more and more people were struggling to get access to food and other supplies, and anyone trying to flee the city would face sniper fire.

The UN refugee agency says it's sent emergency teams to countries neighbouring Mali to help them deal with an influx of more than 20,000 people who've fled fighting there. Clashes between rebel Tuaregs and government forces in northern Mali broke out last month. A rebel group, the MNLA, is fighting to create an autonomous region. Richard Hamilton reports.

It's a long-running conflict, and next year will be the 50th anniversary of the first uprising. The MNLA and another Tuareg rebels launched a fresh offensive last month, the largest since 2009 by the rebels, whose ranks have been boosted by the recent return of men who fought in Libya for Colonel Gaddafi. Although the Tuaregs are not unified, analysts say they are now much better-equipped, have better military commanders and a much more sophisticated grasp of PR, prompting them to be called the Saharan Facebook generation.

A US appeals court has ruled that a ban on gay marriage in California is unconstitutional. The case is now likely to be referred up to the Supreme Court. Six US states currently allow gay marriage. From Los Angeles, Alastair Leithead reports.

Gay marriage became legal in California in 2008 for just four months. After an aggressive campaign, a motion was passed by a ballot in the state banning same-sex couples from marrying. It was known as Proposition 8. The legal battle over whether it was a breach of rights has been going on for three years now. This latest ruling by a federal appeals court says the ban brought in by Proposition 8 is unconstitutional, supporting a previous court decision that it is a violation of gay and lesbian civil rights.

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There's been another delay in attempts by Greece to strike a deal on a new austerity package with a crucial meeting of coalition party leaders now postponed by a day. But the prime minister's office told the BBC a draft agreement on the reforms had now been finalised and would be formally signed off on Wednesday. Without the deal, international lenders say they won't grant a new bailout.

The authorities in Brazil have filed a lawsuit against the microblogging site Twitter, demanding the removal of accounts which warn about police roadblocks and speed traps. The government is concerned that the messages are undermining efforts to tackle drink-driving and other offences. Paulo Cabral reports from Sao Paulo.

According to the authorities, the roadblocks make the roads safer and help to fight other types of crime, such as drug dealing. One of the largest of these illegal Twitter accounts is based in Rio de Janeiro and has almost 300,000 followers. The lawsuit demands that Twitter must block all these accounts and, if it doesn't, it must pay almost $300,000 for each day of non-compliance.

The education authorities in Los Angeles have temporarily closed a primary school and replaced all its staff following the arrest of two teachers accused of sex abuse. More than 120 staff members at the Miramonte Elementary School are being removed while the local district carries out an investigation although none of them is currently under suspicion.

The former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been told he'll face a new trial next month, meaning that he'll be fighting four different cases at the same time. He's been charged with revealing a secret wiretap, which was then published in a national newspaper belonging to his brother allegedly to damage an opposition leader. Mr Berlusconi denies the charges.

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