BBC News with Nick Kelly

Reports from Syria say at least 12 people have been killed in the latest protests calling for the removal of President Bashar al-Assad. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.

The kind of sounds that have now become all too familiar, along with video footage posted on the Internet which, while it can't be

verified

, would be hard to fake.

A young man lies mortally wounded on the ground, his head and

upper

body soaked in blood. This was in the town of Kiswah, just to the south of Damascus. Activists said that several protesters were shot dead here, others closer to the centre of the capital and more in Homs, Syria's third biggest city, where demonstrations were reported in virtually every quarter.

The US House of Representatives has dealt a

symbolic

blow to the American military intervention in Libya by rejecting a resolution to

authorise

operations for one year, but a second resolution which aimed to limit funding for military action in Libya was also rejected. From Washington, Kim Ghattas reports.

Members of Congress are angry with President Barack Obama for failing to

consult with

them before getting involved in Libya. First, the House of Representatives voted

overwhelmingly

against a resolution authorising American military action with time limits. Then came the vote to cut funding for some aspects of the military mission. That, too, was rejected overwhelmingly. Lawmakers are often