The UN chief Ban Ki-moon says it's troubling that President Assad of Syria has not kept his word about halting military operations to crush anti-government protests. The Syrian president made the pledge in a phone conversation with Mr Ban last week. The UN Human Rights Council is currently holding an emergency session on Syria that's expected to order a full investigation into government violence against protesters.

New York prosecutors have asked judges to drop sexual assault charges made against the former head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. This follows a meeting between the district attorney and the hotel worker who made the allegations. Caroline Hepker is in New York.

The 62-year-old Mr Strauss-Kahn was accused of the sexual encounter in a five-star hotel in Manhattan a few months ago. And

initially

the case was thought to be extremely strong, but it later, over the weeks, seemed to

fall apart

as there were serious questions over the credibility of the woman, over the alleged victim and the story that she gave to the prosecutors and also in later media appearances over the weeks about exactly what happened and when.

The United Nations says at least 600 people are now known to have died and 1,000 wounded in ethnic clashes in South Sudan. The violence erupted on Thursday in Jonglei state. There have been worries about stability in South Sudan, which has been independent for just over one month.