deploring
the rapidly
deteriorating
situation in Syria brings a glimmer of hope that China and Russia may be joining UN efforts to address the violence. The Security Council expressed disappointment that the UN humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos has been barred from the country and demanded that she be given immediate access. And the UN has been divided in its response with Russia and China refusing to back resolutions condemning the government's actions.
Meanwhile, reports from Lebanon say the French journalist Edith Bouvier, who was wounded in heavy shelling in the Syrian city of Homs last week, has arrived in the country. She's said to have been accompanied by the French photographer William Daniels, and it's expected that they will now be flown to France.
Seventeen foreign democracy activists, including a number of Americans, at the centre of a
row
between Egypt and the United States have left Cairo after a travel ban was lifted. They'd been prevented from leaving the country after being charged with receiving illegal funding from overseas and accused of stirring up unrest. From Cairo, here's Jon Leyne.
This case has caused one of the biggest
rifts
between Egypt and the West for years. What really caused outrage in Washington was when the Americans were stopped from leaving the country. Some of them took refuge in the US embassy. So as soon as the travel ban was lifted, a US military plane arrived in Cairo to take them home. However, the case is still being pursued. They could be tried and convicted in their absence, and the Egyptians involved still face legal proceedings.