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79 killed as Syria shells protest hubs: activists
02/07 | 03:26 GMT

©AFP/YouTube
An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on February 6, 2012 allegedly shows the town of Rastan being shelled by Syrian forces. The Syrian regime's rocket and shell bombardment of protest hubs has left 79 civilians dead, according to activists.

©AFP/YouTube
The Syrian regime's rocket and shell bombardment of protest hubs has left 79 civilians dead, according to activists
DAMASCUS (AFP) - The Syrian regime's rocket and shell bombardment of protest hubs has left another 79 civilians dead, activists said, as Washington closed its Damascus embassy and Britain recalled its ambassador.
The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) said the regime was surrounding Homs with tanks on Monday ahead of "a major offensive" and warned of "genocide" in the central Syrian city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 42 civilians were killed in Homs alone in another day of blood-letting, and warned the death toll was likely to rise with many of the dozens of wounded in critical condition.
State media reported the deaths of three soldiers and said a "terrorist group" blew up an oil pipeline in Homs.
The army also launched an assault on the Zabadani area near Damascus with heavy tank shelling, killing at least 10 people, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

©AFP/YouTube
Syrian opposition groups warn of a "genocide" in Homs as tanks surround the city
It also reported civilian deaths in Rastan, Hula and Qusair, all towns in Homs province, as well at Sarghaya, near Damascus, in the northern city of Aleppo and in Idlib, northwest Syria.
A resident of Homs told AFP the latest assault began shortly after 0400 GMT Monday, with unprecedented barrages of rockets, mortar rounds and artillery shells.
Scene: 'God help us' - appeal from Syria's Homs
"What is happening is horrible, it's beyond belief," said activist Omar Shaker, reached by telephone as loud detonations were heard in the background.
"There is nowhere to take shelter, nowhere to hide," he said. "We are running short of medical supplies and we are only able to provide basic treatment to the injured."
One video posted on YouTube apparently showed a field hospital hit by shelling in the Baba Amro district and wounded patients lying on stretchers on the floor amid pools of blood and shattered glass.
Footage shot by a BBC undercover team in Homs showed buildings ablaze in rebel neighbourhoods as they were pounded with heavy weapons.
Timeline: Diplomatic moves against Syria
Damascus blamed the bloodshed in Homs on "terrorist gangs" using mortars.
©AFP
Paris, Berlin condemn blocking of Syrian intervention. Duration: 01:05
The violence comes as Western powers seek new ways to punish Damascus amid growing outrage over Saturday's veto by Russia and China of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria for its near 11-month crackdown on dissent.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the veto a "travesty."
White House spokesman Jay Carney warned Syria's allies that backing President Bashar al-Assad was a "losing bet."
The State Department said it had closed the American embassy in Syria and withdrawn remaining staff after Damascus refused to address security concerns.
Senior State Department officials told CNN that two embassy employees left by air last week and 15 others, including Ambassador Robert Ford, left overland through Jordan on Monday morning.
The Polish government is to provide emergency consular services to any American citizens remaining in Syria.

©AFP/Syrian Opposition
A picture obtained by Syrian opposition activists in Homs shows mourners attending a mass funeral on February 4
US President Barack Obama shied away from talk of military intervention and vowed to pursue diplomatic means.
"It is important to resolve this without recourse to outside military intervention and I think that's possible," he said in an NBC television interview.
Britain recalled its ambassador to Syria "for consultations," Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament.
"We will use our remaining channels to the Syrian regime to make clear our abhorrence at the violence that is utterly unacceptable to the civilised world," Hague said.
Belgium also recalled its ambassador from Damascus.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that he would call Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the international response to the crisis.
Neither France nor Germany, he said, would accept the "blocking" of action on Syria.
Russia and China both defended their vetoes, with Moscow condemning as "hysterical" the West's angry reaction.

©AFP / Khalil Mazraawi
A Syrian residing in Jordan chants slogans against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov are due in Damascus on Tuesday, as news reports said the mission could try to persuade Assad to quit.
China called on both sides of the conflict to halt the violence that has claimed the lives of at least 6,000 people since March, according to opposition activists.
Reax: China defends Syria veto, denies sheltering Assad
The Syrian National Council said the "genocide" in Homs showed the regime was "increasing the pace of its crimes and repression."
Saudi Arabia called for "critical measures" on Syria and warned of an impending "humanitarian disaster" after the failure of the UN resolution.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Riyadh is the leading member, is to meet on Saturday on Syria, on the eve of an Arab League ministerial meeting at the organisation's Cairo headquarters.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Brazilian foreign minister Antonio Patriota on Monday underscored their support for the Arab League effort to end violence in Syria.
Referring to Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, Ashton at a meeting in Brasilia said she and Patriota discussed "how much we support him on the Arab League's initiative and the importance of seeing that leadership (being) able to support the people of Syria into a future free of bloodshed."
Meanwhile the British-born wife of Syria's president has spoken in support of her husband for the first time since the uprising began, a British newspaper reported Tuesday.
Reax: Assad's wife 'defends' Syria crackdown
"The president is the president of Syria, not a faction of Syrians, and the first lady supports him in that role," The Times quoted Asma al-Assad as saying in an email sent via an intermediary from her office.
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England football great Bobby Charlton has surgery
02/07 | 03:34 GMT

©AFP/File / Andrew Yates
England football great Sir Bobby Charlton, pictured here in 2006, underwent "minor surgery" after being taken ill before the Laureus World Sports Awards in London, organisers said.

©AFP/File / Andrew Yates
Sir Bobby Charlton had been due to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Laureus Foundation
LONDON (AFP) - England football great Sir Bobby Charlton underwent "minor surgery" after being taken ill before the Laureus World Sports Awards in London, organisers said.
Manchester United hero Charlton, a member of the England side that won the 1966 World Cup, had been due to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Laureus Foundation, an organisation that promotes youth and community sport programmes around the world.
However, the 74-year-old started to feel unwell on Sunday and then needed an operation, said to be for the removal of a gallstone.
A Laureus statement said: "Sir Bobby Charlton was unable to receive the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award in person at the Laureus World Sports Awards in London this evening.
"Sir Bobby felt unwell on Sunday and returned to Manchester earlier today for minor surgery."
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who received the award on Charlton's behalf, insisted all was now well with England's record goalscorer.

©AFP/File / Shaun Curry
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (R) and football great Sir Bobby Charlton in 2006
"Sir Bobby is fine, but it was felt he should go back to Manchester," Ferguson said. "He is very annoyed not to be here to receive this Award.
"I'll be taking the statuette back to Old Trafford for him.
"He loves the work he does for Laureus and I know how delighted he is to have received this tribute."
Charlton, who survived the Munich air disaster, was honoured on the 54th anniversary of the tragedy that claimed the lives of several of his United team-mates.
"It was already a very emotional night for Bobby," Ferguson explained.
"This is the 54th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, when we lost eight of our young players. Through that time, Bobby has kept his fantastic humility, and that makes him very special to me.
"Manchester United is Bobby's life. He came to the club as a 15-year-old boy and he's been with us ever since -- he is one of our ambassadors now."
Charlton was one of the key figures in persuading United to stick with Ferguson when the early years of what has since become a trophy-laden career at Old Trafford were proving unsuccessful and the Scottish managerial great said: "In my own 25 years at the club, Bobby has supported every step I've taken.
"At the beginning, they were very small steps. Later, they became big steps.
"But without his support, I don't know where I'd have been," Ferguson said.

People
England football great Bobby Charlton has ...Apple's iPhone hot but Android handsets 'on fire'
02/07 | 03:00 GMT

©AFP/File / Emmanuel Dunand
An outbreak of iPhone fever made Apple the third hottest mobile phone maker worldwide at the end of 2011, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

©AFP/File / Emmanuel Dunand
Apple jumped into the third spot globally from fifth place in the final quarter of the year
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - An outbreak of iPhone fever made Apple the hottest smartphone maker worldwide at the end of 2011 but handsets powered by Google's Android software were shaping up as true winners in the market.
Worldwide shipments of smartphones soared 54.7 percent in the final three months of 2011 from the same period a year earlier, with California-based Apple making the most popular models, according to an IDC report released Monday.
Smartphone makers shipped 157.8 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 102 million in the same period the prior year, IDC reported.
A total of 491.4 million smartphones were shipped during the year, up a "strong 61.3 percent" from the 304.7 million units in 2010, according to IDC.
Apple had a 23.5 percent share of the global smartphone market, followed by Samsung and Nokia with 22.8 percent and 12.4 percent respectively.
"So-called 'hero' devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy Nexus and Apple's iPhone 4S, garner the bulk of the attention heaped on the device type," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.
"But a growing number of sub-$250 device offerings, based on the Android operating system, have allowed Google's hardware partners to grow smartphone volumes and expand the market concurrently."
While Apple tightly controls iPhone hardware and software, Google makes the Android mobile device operating system available free to smartphone manufacturers who have been building it into ranks of handsets.

©AFP/Getty Images/File / Ethan Miller
Samsung hit a new milestone in the final quarter of 2011, more than tripling its handset shipments
Android and iPhone smartphones accounted for slightly more than 90 percent of US smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2011, industry-tracker NPD Group reported on Monday.
Android commanded 48 percent of the market compared to Apple's 43 percent, according to NPD.
NPD figures indicated that Android handsets were more popular with first-time smartphone buyers in the United States, with its share of that market at 57 percent compared to Apple's 34 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.
"Android has been criticized for offering a more complex user experience than its competitors, but the company's wide carrier support and large app selection is appealing to new smartphone customers," said NPD analyst Ross Rubin.
Apple jumped into the third spot in the overall global mobile phone market from fifth place in the final quarter of the year due to a record-breaking quarter for iPhones, according to IDC.
Apple sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter which ended on December 31, giving it a market share of 8.7 percent.
Nokia remained king, shipping 113.5 million mobile phones in the final quarter of the year to claim nearly 27 percent of the market.
Samsung was second with 22.8 percent of the market, or 97.6 million handsets shipped.
South Korea's Samsung, a star producer of Android smartphones, hit a new milestone in the final quarter of the year, more than tripling handset shipments to top the 35 million mark for the first time.
Nokia and Canadian BlackBerry maker Research In Motion saw shipments drop by 30.6 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
Nokia hopes to reverse the losing trend with a new line of smartphones based on mobile gadget software crafted by US technology colossus Microsoft.
A total of 427.4 million mobile phones were shipped in the final months of 2011 in a 6.1 percent increase from the same quarter a year earlier, IDC said.
IDC warned that the growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2011 was weaker than the 9.3 percent seen in the prior three-month period of the year.
"The introduction of high-growth products such as the iPhone 4S, which shipped in the fourth quarter, bolstered smartphone growth," Restivo said.
"Yet overall market growth fell to its lowest point since the third quarter of 2009 when the global economic recession was in full bloom."

High Tech
Apple's iPhone hot but Android handsets 'on ...Unions call strike as EU pressures Greece on debt
02/07 | 03:32 GMT

©AFP / Aris Messinis
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos (2nd R) with far-right Laos party leader George Karantzaferis (L), conservative New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras (2nd L) and Greek Socialist party leader George Papandreou before a meeting at his office in Athens Sunday. Papademos faced growing EU pressure Monday to agree tough new austerity measures in a new bailout.

©AFP / Aris Messinis
Lucas Papademos (2R), George Karantzaferis (L), Antonis Samaras (2L) and George Papandreou, in Athens
ATHENS (AFP) - Greek trade union leaders called a general strike on Tuesday, as embattled Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos faced growing pressure from EU leaders to adopt tough new austerity measures.
A key meeting with heads of the Greek socialist, conservative and far-right parties that form Papademos' unwieldy coalition was also expected to take place Tuesday, after the leaders failed to hold talks on Monday.
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos blamed the political parties for the failure to reach consensus on debt negotiations with the country's EU-IMF creditors.
"Instead of looking at this tragic dilemma... with national unity... there are many who spend their effort on a conventional, outdated, party confrontation as if nothing has happened," the minister said.
Around 5,000 people took part in protests called by the unions and left-wing parties late Monday against the austerity measures, despite Athens being hit by a torrential thunderstorm and strong winds.

©AFP / Aris Messinis
European Commission official Matthias Mors (R) and European Central Bank official Klaus Masuch
"It is a pretence that the measures are taken to forestall bankruptcy," Communist party leader Aleka Papariga told the gathering.
"On the contrary, they will lead the people to misery to benefit the plutocracy and capital," she said.
The country's two main unions called a 24-hour general strike for Tuesday to protest the new measures.
The measures are a death sentence for the country, aimed at slashing salaries by 20-30 percent on top of previously imposed cuts, said Yiannis Panagopoulos, leader of the GSEE private-sector union.
Papademos, being pulled one way by his EU partners and the other by domestic sentiment, was due to meet officials from the EU, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) again on Monday evening.
Those talks are aimed at wrapping up weeks of negotiations and saving his country from a historic default in March that could roil the 17-nation eurozone and undercut a global economic recovery.
©AFPTV
Greece: agreements reached but need more time. Duration: 00:44
A new eurozone package worth 130 billion euros ($170 billion) in aid to Greece, pending since October, hangs in the balance.
In Washington. the IMF's chief economist insisted that Greece must cut wages to boost competitiveness and pull the country out of its economic quagmire.
"Either you basically increase productivity growth a lot and quickly, and you keep wage growth moderate, or you decrease wages," said Olivier Blanchard.
In Paris, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy ramped up the pressure on Athens.
Merkel warned that Greece would receive no more EU aid to cope with the debt crisis until Athens reaches a deal with the EU, ECB and IMF 'troika' on more spending cuts and reforms.

©AFP / Aris Messinis
Senior IMF official Poul Thomsen leaves the Greek PM Lucas Papademos's office in Athens Sunday
The two leaders also floated the idea of placing part of Greece's future bailout loan funds in a special account to make sure it is channelled to service the country's enormous debt, currently exceeding 350 billion euros, and not for other uses.
"The Greeks gave us undertakings," Sarkozy added. "They should respect them scrupulously. There's no choice."
A spokesman for EU commissioner Olli Rehn warned that Greece had already in effect missed the deadline to get the deal done by the coalition to reshape the economy and slash its debt in exchange for another bailout.
But an EU diplomatic source suggested all was not lost.
"We haven't lost all hope, we hope that between now and Wednesday evening, the negotiations will be wrapped up," the source told AFP, referring to public spending, as the massive write-down of privately-held debt appears all-but settled.
Grouped within the Institute of International Finance (IIF), negotiators representing banks, insurance companies and private institutional investors held talks on Sunday on cutting some 100 billion euros from the roughly 200 billion in Greek government debt they hold.
The EU source said that eurozone finance ministers have been asked to be on standby again for talks, probably via teleconference late Wednesday or Thursday.
Papademos on Sunday managed to get limited agreement with his coalition partners on a state savings target of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) that would include the implementation of reforms to lower production costs and a scheme to recapitalise Greek banks.
And Administrative Reform Minister Dimitris Reppas confirmed that 15,000 civil service jobs would be axed this year as requested by EU-IMF creditors.
Greece must pay 14.5 billion euros in bonds due March 20 to avoid default.
Athens and its private creditors are under intense pressure from the "troika" to cut the country's total debt burden down to what is seen as a sustainable level of 120 percent of GDP in 2020 from 160 percent at present.

Business
Unions call strike as EU pressures Greece on ...Blasts rock northern Nigeria, police station attacked
02/06 | 20:29 GMT

©AFP/File / Aminu Abubakar
Two residents pass by bombed corner shops attached to Bompai police barracks in the northern Nigerian city of Kano in January 2011. Gunmen blew up a police station and shot one officer in Nigeria's flashpoint city of Kano on Monday as blasts rocked a market in Maiduguri, the base of the Boko Haram Islamists, police said.

©AFP/File / Aminu Abubakar
Two residents pass by bombed corner shops attached to Bompai police barracks in the northern Nigerian city of Kano
KANO, Nigeria (AFP) - Gunmen blew up a police station and shot one officer in Nigeria's flashpoint city of Kano on Monday as blasts rocked a market in Maiduguri, the base of the Boko Haram Islamists, police said.
Boko Haram has claimed a series of recent attacks in Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer, including coordinated gun and bomb assaults on January 20 in Kano, Nigeria's second city, that killed at least 185.
A senior police officer told AFP the police station in Kano's Sharada neighbourhood had been burned down by attackers armed with explosives, who also shot one officer in the leg.
There was also a shootout between police and the attackers, residents said.
"I had just arrived home in time for the curfew when I heard an explosion coming from around the police station. Shortly, gunshots followed. From what I heard it sounded like a shootout," said Bala Salisu, 46, from Kano's Sharada district.
Authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Kano following the January 20 attacks that primarily targeted the police, like many of the group's recent assaults.
Another Kano resident, Sadiq Aniyu, said he was at a checkpoint not far from the police station when he "heard a huge explosion and gunshots."
"We all panicked and it became chaotic as people on cars and on motorbikes jostled to escape the area," Aniyu, 30, said.

©AFP/File / Aminu Abubakar
A resident inspects a police patrol van outside Sheka police station in Kano
Residents reported a separate gunbattle near a suspected Boko Haram hideout on the outskirts of Kano, the predominantly Muslim northern hub.
A joint military and police force raided a home in the Mariri neighbourhood sparking a shootout with the occupants, said locals who requested anonymity.
Separately in Maiduguri, east of Kano, residents reported multiple blasts at the Gamboru market that set several vehicles and shops on fire.
Maiduguri is seen as a stronghold of Boko Haram, the shadowy Islamist group blamed for a series of recent attacks in Nigeria that have killed more than 200 people already this year.
"I heard five explosions around the market and plumes of black smoke... filled the air. The market is still on fire. Soldiers and policeman have taken over the whole area," said resident Aisha Goni.
Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, operations chief for the Joint Task Force in Maiduguri, a special military unit set up to crack down on Boko Haram, confirmed the explosions at the market but declined to give details.
Security forces have faced mounting pressure to contain the Boko Haram insurgency that has involved a set of increasingly sophisticated attacks.
The spiralling violence has sparked deep concern in the international community and shaken the country, whose 160 million population is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.
There has been intense speculation over whether Boko Haram has formed links with outside extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda's north African branch.
Analysts say the violence has been fed by deep poverty in the north, where masses of unemployed youths have little trust in government or hope for the future in a country long considered one of the world's most corrupt.

Africa
Blasts rock northern Nigeria, police station ...79 killed as Syria shells protest hubs: activists
02/07 | 03:26 GMT

©AFP/YouTube
An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on February 6, 2012 allegedly shows the town of Rastan being shelled by Syrian forces. The Syrian regime's rocket and shell bombardment of protest hubs has left 79 civilians dead, according to activists.

©AFP/YouTube
The Syrian regime's rocket and shell bombardment of protest hubs has left 79 civilians dead, according to activists
DAMASCUS (AFP) - The Syrian regime's rocket and shell bombardment of protest hubs has left another 79 civilians dead, activists said, as Washington closed its Damascus embassy and Britain recalled its ambassador.
The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) said the regime was surrounding Homs with tanks on Monday ahead of "a major offensive" and warned of "genocide" in the central Syrian city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 42 civilians were killed in Homs alone in another day of blood-letting, and warned the death toll was likely to rise with many of the dozens of wounded in critical condition.
State media reported the deaths of three soldiers and said a "terrorist group" blew up an oil pipeline in Homs.
The army also launched an assault on the Zabadani area near Damascus with heavy tank shelling, killing at least 10 people, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

©AFP/YouTube
Syrian opposition groups warn of a "genocide" in Homs as tanks surround the city
It also reported civilian deaths in Rastan, Hula and Qusair, all towns in Homs province, as well at Sarghaya, near Damascus, in the northern city of Aleppo and in Idlib, northwest Syria.
A resident of Homs told AFP the latest assault began shortly after 0400 GMT Monday, with unprecedented barrages of rockets, mortar rounds and artillery shells.
Scene: 'God help us' - appeal from Syria's Homs
"What is happening is horrible, it's beyond belief," said activist Omar Shaker, reached by telephone as loud detonations were heard in the background.
"There is nowhere to take shelter, nowhere to hide," he said. "We are running short of medical supplies and we are only able to provide basic treatment to the injured."
One video posted on YouTube apparently showed a field hospital hit by shelling in the Baba Amro district and wounded patients lying on stretchers on the floor amid pools of blood and shattered glass.
Footage shot by a BBC undercover team in Homs showed buildings ablaze in rebel neighbourhoods as they were pounded with heavy weapons.
Timeline: Diplomatic moves against Syria
Damascus blamed the bloodshed in Homs on "terrorist gangs" using mortars.
©AFP
Paris, Berlin condemn blocking of Syrian intervention. Duration: 01:05
The violence comes as Western powers seek new ways to punish Damascus amid growing outrage over Saturday's veto by Russia and China of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Syria for its near 11-month crackdown on dissent.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the veto a "travesty."
White House spokesman Jay Carney warned Syria's allies that backing President Bashar al-Assad was a "losing bet."
The State Department said it had closed the American embassy in Syria and withdrawn remaining staff after Damascus refused to address security concerns.
Senior State Department officials told CNN that two embassy employees left by air last week and 15 others, including Ambassador Robert Ford, left overland through Jordan on Monday morning.
The Polish government is to provide emergency consular services to any American citizens remaining in Syria.

©AFP/Syrian Opposition
A picture obtained by Syrian opposition activists in Homs shows mourners attending a mass funeral on February 4
US President Barack Obama shied away from talk of military intervention and vowed to pursue diplomatic means.
"It is important to resolve this without recourse to outside military intervention and I think that's possible," he said in an NBC television interview.
Britain recalled its ambassador to Syria "for consultations," Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament.
"We will use our remaining channels to the Syrian regime to make clear our abhorrence at the violence that is utterly unacceptable to the civilised world," Hague said.
Belgium also recalled its ambassador from Damascus.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, that he would call Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss the international response to the crisis.
Neither France nor Germany, he said, would accept the "blocking" of action on Syria.
Russia and China both defended their vetoes, with Moscow condemning as "hysterical" the West's angry reaction.

©AFP / Khalil Mazraawi
A Syrian residing in Jordan chants slogans against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov are due in Damascus on Tuesday, as news reports said the mission could try to persuade Assad to quit.
China called on both sides of the conflict to halt the violence that has claimed the lives of at least 6,000 people since March, according to opposition activists.
Reax: China defends Syria veto, denies sheltering Assad
The Syrian National Council said the "genocide" in Homs showed the regime was "increasing the pace of its crimes and repression."
Saudi Arabia called for "critical measures" on Syria and warned of an impending "humanitarian disaster" after the failure of the UN resolution.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Riyadh is the leading member, is to meet on Saturday on Syria, on the eve of an Arab League ministerial meeting at the organisation's Cairo headquarters.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton and Brazilian foreign minister Antonio Patriota on Monday underscored their support for the Arab League effort to end violence in Syria.
Referring to Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi, Ashton at a meeting in Brasilia said she and Patriota discussed "how much we support him on the Arab League's initiative and the importance of seeing that leadership (being) able to support the people of Syria into a future free of bloodshed."
Meanwhile the British-born wife of Syria's president has spoken in support of her husband for the first time since the uprising began, a British newspaper reported Tuesday.
Reax: Assad's wife 'defends' Syria crackdown
"The president is the president of Syria, not a faction of Syrians, and the first lady supports him in that role," The Times quoted Asma al-Assad as saying in an email sent via an intermediary from her office.

International News
79 killed as Syria shells protest hubs: ...Dalglish stirs up Suarez debate again on return
02/07 | 03:14 GMT

©AFP / Andrew Yates
Liverpool's Luis Suarez (L) during the Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur on February 6. was given a rapturous reception from Liverpool fans when he came on as a 66th minute substitute against Tottenham at Anfield on Monday.

©AFP / Andrew Yates
Luis Suarez returned for the Spurs match after an eight-game ban
LIVERPOOL, England (AFP) - Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish hailed the return of Luis Suarez after an eight-game ban and once again insisted that he should not have been suspended in the first place.
Suarez, hit with the punishment after a Football Association board found him guilty of making a racist comment to Manchester United's Patrice Evra, was given a rapturous reception from Liverpool fans when he came on as a 66th minute substitute against Tottenham at Anfield on Monday.
But the controversial Uruguay striker's first taste of action since December 26 ended in frustration as Liverpool were held to a goalless draw - and the former Ajax player was booked for accidentally kicking Tottenham's Scott Parker in the stomach.
Suarez can expect a hostile reception when Liverpool visit Manchester United on Saturday in the Premier League - particularly after Dalglish's latest comments.
"I'm delighted that the wee man is back. He should never have been away but we've taken the punishment and we've moved on," said the Liverpool manager after his side's eighth home draw this season.
"It would have been unfair to start him, he's not played since Boxing Day," added the Scot, who along with the club was heavily criticised for their defence of Suarez even after he was found guilty.
With England manager Fabio Capello watching from the stand, Suarez caught midfielder Parker in the stomach while trying to volley the ball in the penalty area.

©AFP / Andrew Yates
Tottenham Hotspur's Scott Parker (2nd L) and Liverpool's Luis Suarez
Former West Ham player Parker was doubled-over in agony and the incident brought Suarez a yellow card - but one high-profile observer felt he was lucky to stay on the pitch.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney used his Twitter account to say: "If ref sees that kick from suarez and books him for it it should be red."
Dalglish added: "He has not played since Boxing Day. Every time he gets on the ball we think he is going to do something."
Liverpool remain seventh in the table - four points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea with 14 games remaining.
As for Tottenham, they are in third spot, five points behind second-placed Manchester United.
Spurs were without manager Harry Redknapp, who was forced to abandon his flight to Anfield due to technical problems having earlier appeared at Southwark Crown Court in the closing stage of his trial on tax evasion charges.
Instead assistant manager Kevin Bond took charge for the night.
"It was a hard but fair contest," said Bond, after Gareth Bale spurned Tottenham's best chance in the closing stages.
"Harry couldn't quite be here. We knew what the side was going to be and how we were going to play. It was just a different voice.
"He (Harry) is our leader. We wanted him here.
"The last time I spoke to him he was on a plane but he obviously didn't make it.
"We had to work really hard and defend for our lives at the end.
"We didn't create many chances but we had the best chance of the match five minutes before the end, and it just was not meant to be.
"For Gareth Bale's chance, the goalkeeper stood up well and it was a big moment for us, but a point was a good result for us."



