BBC news 2011-11-07
BBC News with Marion Marshall
The Greek president has held talks with the Prime Minister George Papandreou and the main opposition leader Antonis Samaras on forming a national unity government. Although the meeting has finished, there's no word yet on the outcome. President Karolos Papoulias has been trying to broker a coalition agreement as part of efforts to tackle the massive debt crisis. Mr Samaras has repeatedly said he will not join a coalition unless Mr Papandreou resigns. Earlier, the prime minister addressed an emergency cabinet meeting on the political deadlock, which is delaying a massive financial bailout for Greece.
Pro-democracy activists in Syria say at least 10 people have been killed in the latest violence involving anti-government demonstrators and the security forces. There have been several days of unrest since the Syrian government said it would accept the terms of an Arab League peace plan and pull its troops out of residential areas. The Egyptian news agency Mena says Arab League foreign ministers will meet to discuss the issue in the coming days. Jon Leyne reports.
The Arab League has moved very quickly to take action after Syria appeared to do little or nothing to implement the peace plan. Syria was supposed to have pulled back its tanks, ended violence and released political prisoners. But, instead, opposition activists have described how tanks have again been in action against opposition supporters in the city of Homs. In a statement, the league condemned what it described as Syria's failure to live up to its obligations under the plan.
Police in Iraq say at least eight people have been killed in bomb blasts in Baghdad. The three attacks hit a busy market in the Shurja area of the city as people were shopping on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. Extra security measures are in place across Iraq for the holiday period.
At least seven people are reported to have been killed in a suicide bombing near a mosque in northern Afghanistan. A second bomber was disarmed before he could detonate his device. No one has admitted responsibility, but the Afghan government said initial investigations suggest the Taliban carried out the attack.
Pope Benedict has called for an end to violence in northeastern Nigeria, where up to 100 people are believed to have been killed in a wave of shootings and bombings. The Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out the attacks on police stations. The Pope said the perpetrators had tried to create divisions.
"I am following with great concern the tragic events of recent days in Nigeria. And as I pray for the victims, I ask everyone to put a stop to the violence, which does not resolve problems but increases them, spreading hate and division even amongst those who have faith."
A grenade attack on a church compound in eastern Kenya has killed two people and injured several others. Another grenade thrown nearby at the entrance to a military base in the town of Garissa failed to explode.
World News from the BBC
The Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has made an unannounced visit to the border town of Kurmuk just days after it was captured from rebels. He said the rebellion was like a mosquito which had been crushed by the Sudanese army. He again accused South Sudan of backing the rebel fighters, a charge which the South denies.
A planned rally called by the Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has been abandoned after his supporters were attacked by youths armed with machetes, iron bars and stones. Mr Tsvangirai's party, the MDC, said more than 20 people were taken to hospital and five vehicles were destroyed. The party Secretary General Tendai Biti blamed supporters of President Robert Mugabe for the attack in the town of Chitungwiza.
"There are literally hundreds of people that have been beaten up, that have been stoned by Zanu-PF. This is not the beginning nor will it be the end of continuous, systematic acts of violence."
Continuing storms and torrential rain in northern Italy have caused the authorities to issue new safety warnings. Six people were killed in flash floods on Friday. From Rome, here's David Willey.
Schools have been ordered to close on Monday in Turin and Milan as a precaution after two children were among six victims who were swept away and died in flash floods in Genoa last Friday. A bridge across one of the tributaries of the River Po, Italy's longest river, was destroyed by rising water. And Turin is bracing itself for flooding as torrential rains move eastwards. Millions of Italians living all the way from Milan to Venice are at risk if the flooding continues.
Rescue workers in Colombia say at least 15 people have died in landslides in the west of the country. Sniffer dogs are searching for dozens of people who are feared buried under mud and rubble after their houses were washed away in the town of Manizales.
BBC World Service News