traumatising

them for weeks. Activists reported a flurry of offensives by troops and tanks in many other parts of the country: the north and northwest, the valley just to the west of Damascus and down in the south near Deraa. But if both sides

stick to their words

, the sounds of war should

die away

at dawn. The announcement from the Syrian defence ministry said that after successfully combating the crimes of what it called "armed terrorist groups", the military forces would cease all operations as of Thursday morning.

The United States government has filed an

anti-trust

case in New York against the technology giant Apple and some major book publishers, claiming they conspired to limit competition for electronic books. The lawsuit accuses Apple of

colluding

with the book publishers to change the way books were sold. From Washington, here's Peter Bowes.

According to the lawsuit, Apple colluded with publishers, such as Macmillan and Penguin, to limit competition for the pricing of e-books. The lawsuit alleges Apple and the publishers reached an agreement where retail price competition would effectively end and prices would significantly increase, guaranteeing the computer giant a 30%

commission

on each e-book sold. According to reports, three other publishers have agreed to settle the case.

World News from the BBC

A judge in Arkansas has fined the American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson more than $1bn for misleading doctors and patients about the risks of an anti-psychotic drug, Risperdal. The juries found that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals engaged in false or