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BBC news 2012-03-30

BBC News with Neil Nunes

West African leaders have told the mutinous troops who led last week's coup in Mali to restore constitutional order within 72 hours or face sanctions. The West African leaders resorted to meeting in Ivory Coast after earlier plans for talks with the coup leaders in the Malian capital Bamako were abandoned. Thomas Fessy has more.

The West African leaders are giving 72 hours to the coup leaders to restore constitutional order. They didn't say whether that meant getting the power back to the deposed President Amadou Toumani Toure or not. But restoring constitutional order, and if not, they would take sanctions, such as travel bans, freezing all financial assets of the coup officials and also threatening to cut off the financial links with the West African central bank.

Arab leaders meeting in Baghdad have called for the United Nations-backed peace plan for Syria to be implemented immediately and completely. The plan calls for the withdrawal of soldiers and heavy weapons from cities, the release of prisoners and humanitarian aid for Syrians who need it. However, only 10 leaders from the league's 22 member states were at the summit, as Wyre Davies reports.

Of the 22 Arab League nations, only nine of them - apart from Iraq - bothered to send their leaders here, and of course absent were many of those Sunni Gulf states which have advocated a much tougher line against Syria. So in agreeing to this UN Kofi Annan plan, there was a degree of unity here in Baghdad today. But the problem, as I say, is that many of those of the countries that advocate a much tougher line against Syria weren't represented at the highest level.

The Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he accepts the Annan peace plan, but Mr Assad said armed groups inside Syria must cease what he called "terrorist acts" against the government. On Thursday, at least 20 people were killed in clashes inside Syria. Meanwhile, Britain has announced an extra $700,000 of support for Syrian opposition groups.

The body of the Islamist gunman who shot dead seven people in and around the French city of Toulouse has been buried at a cemetery in the city following an intervention by President Sarkozy. The mayor of Toulouse had said he did not want Mohammed Merah buried there, but Mr Sarkozy overruled him. Kate Davenport, a journalist in Toulouse, described the burial.

Twenty or so of Mohammed Merah's close friends or family that were brought in a sort of highly secured minibus, and then basically the rest of the people there were police or, some of them were not in uniform, but they seemed to be security guards and so on. There were sort of gendarmes checking identity cards and taking the licence plates of anyone who entered the cemetery. Helicopters overhead, and very, very high security.

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A nuclear scientist at the prestigious Cern laboratory has gone on trial in France for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks. Adlene Hicheur has been in custody since his arrest two and a half years ago after police intercepted his emails to an alleged contact in al-Qaeda. The emails reportedly proposed targets and suggested Mr Hicheur was willing to be part of an active unit. His lawyers say all he did was express controversial views online, and he was never part of a plot.

Workers in Spain have been staging a general strike. Flights, public transport and some television broadcasts have been disrupted, and factories closed. Spanish police say they have made more than 50 arrests. Gavin Hewitt has this report.

Workers took to the streets in many Spanish cities and towns, urging others to join a general strike. There were attempts to block roads and to force businesses to close. Transport was badly disrupted, but support for the strike was patchy. The protest was against reforms making it easier to hire and fire workers, but many of those demonstrating were also angry with austerity. This is a critical time for Spain. It is the country that is currently causing greatest concern within the eurozone.

The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has returned home following a further course of cancer treatment in Cuba. In a televised speech, Mr Chavez appeared animated and said the radiotherapy had gone well, but he would return to Cuba on Saturday for further treatment. Last month, he had a second tumour removed from his pelvic region.

Football's world governing body Fifa has welcomed the approval of a law by Brazil's lower house of parliament which will allow the sale of alcohol in stadiums during the 2014 World Cup. Brazil currently bans alcohol sales in stadiums.

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