The Arab League has rejected amendments put forward by the Syrian government to its proposal to send a delegation to monitor the violence in Syria. It said the changes would radically alter the mission, but the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said that was not the case.

"The amendments do not interfere at all with the nature or details of the Arab League mission to Syria, and do not hamper its work or its freedom in practising its role. Rather they aim to put things in their right context and facilitate the work of the mission."

Exit polls published after the close of voting in the Spanish general election suggest that the right-wing Popular Party has, as expected, scored a

resounding

victory. The party looks certain to secure an outright majority in Spain's Congress of Deputies. Sarah Rainsford reports from Madrid.

The crowds started arriving here at the Popular Party headquarters before the polling stations had even closed. They came to celebrate the victory everyone here was expecting. And now the first exit polls have confirmed that. The Popular Party seems on course for an absolute majority in parliament. That should give it the

mandate

it needs for deep reforms - the kind of measures the financial markets are demanding - to cut the budget deficit and to reassure investors that Spain is solvent. A senior party member has told the BBC this country is celebrating change tonight. But with five million people unemployed, there are huge challenges ahead.