• France and Italy withdraw Syrian ambassadors

? Assad tells Russians he is ready for dialogue with opposition
? Bombardment of Homs continues for fourth day
? Splits emerge between Free Syrian Army and opposition

Read a summary of today's events

7.06pm: Here's a tweet from Ahmad H. Aggour, via Andy Carvin:

One Syrian friend of mine is anti-Assad. His own sister and mother however are pro-Assad. What's he supposed to do with them? #Syria

? Ahmad H. Aggour (@Psypherize) February 7, 2012

6.58pm: The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has released a statement following a meeting between Libya's Deputy Minister of Culture and Civil Society, Dr Atia Lawgali, and Alistair Burt, the Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East and North Africa. Burt said:

We agreed that the development of civil society ? associations, charities, and campaign groups that can represent different groups and stakeholders - is vitally important to the creation of a society where all views can be heard.

Such groups were severely restricted under the Gaddafi regime but, as I saw when I visited Libya last December, a vibrant civil society is emerging.

I am delighted that the Deputy Minister is visiting the UK to see how such groups work alongside government - both holding it to account and working with it to achieve common objectives.

6.47pm: Bashar al-Assad's position after today's meeting with Russian's foreign minster, Sergei Lavrov, looked like the familiar "window-dressing" say diplomats and analysts but some hope of hope of diplomatic movement was also detected, according to Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor.

"Assad still has his head in the sand if he thinks he can talk about reform without showing any results while he carries on the security crackdown," said one western official.

"But it was encouraging that Lavrov showed support for the Arab League plan after vetoing it at the UN."

Here's some more from Ian on what might come next:

British diplomats said William Hague, the foreign secretary, was planning to speak to Lavrov to hear a full account of his meeting with the Syrian leader.

Hague also plans to talk to Sheikh Hamed bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar's prime minister and the Arab League's chief hawk on Syria. The league is to meet in Cairo on Saturday to review the crisis.

Next moves including a first meeting of the new Friends of Syria grouping, which will work outside the UN to back Syria's opposition and seek a peaceful solution to the crisis.

It looks unlikely for now at least to follow the example of the "Contact Group" set up to handle Libya last year and formally recognise Assad's opponents as a legitimate government or openly supply them with weapons. Individual countries may do so in secret, however.

But John McCain, the US republican senator, called on the US look at that possibility now. "We should start considering all options, including arming the opposition, " he told reporters in Washington. "The blood-letting has got to stop."

European countries are planning new efforts to forge greater unity amongst the Syrian opposition, which is beset by rivalries and divisions.

These risk bursting into the open if Assad ? prodded by the Russians ? does eventually make any substantive political concessions.

6.31pm: An Islamist leader in Algeria has warned that the country will witness a "social explosion" if a legislative election in May is marred by fraud.

The Associated Press reports that the comments from Abdelmadjid Menasra echoed those by other Islamist politicians in recent weeks as Algeria gears up for the fourth set of parliamentary elections in north Africa since October, with the three others won by religious-influenced parties.

While Algeria has not witnessed the mass protests calling for reform that ripped through other states in the region, there is widespread discontent over the lack of jobs and housing. AP has more:

Buoyed by electoral successes of their counterparts in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, Islamists in Algeria are predicting major wins during the election.

"I am warning the Ministry of Interior against any inclinations towards fraud because this would inevitably lead to a social explosion," Menasra was quoted as saying in the Arabic daily El Khabar. "If we do not open the door to democratic change, we will open the door to anarchy."

He went on to say that "in Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, it is the same people, with the same desire for change and the same urge to have Islamists manage the affairs of state."

Algeria's secular leaders, however, have spoken of an "Algerian exception" to this electoral trend, predicting the Islamists will not do well. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said he didn't fear a strong showing by Islamists but rather was afraid of an apathetic electorate.
The vote is in May but no specific date has yet been set.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has announced several reforms ahead of the election, including a law that allowed several new parties. There are now eight Islamist political parties, which could splinter the religious and conservative vote.

6.31pm: Good evening. This is Ben Quinn taking over the blog.

5.58pm: Here's a summary of today's developments:

Syria

? The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Bashar al-Assad told him at a meeting in Syria that a new constitution had been drafted and would be put to a referendum.A UK government spokeswoman reacted with scepticism, claiming that Assad's reported willingness to act stood in "stark contrast" to his actions.

? France, Italy, Germany and Spain joined the UK in recalling their ambassadors from Syria. The six Gulf Co-operation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) also announced that they are withdrawing their envoys and went a step further by expelling the Syrian ambassadors from their own countries.

? The regime's onslaught against Homs continues. The Local Co-ordination Committees group said 14 people were killed in Homs today, including a husband and wife and three of their children. It said the death toll across the country was 25. Its reports cannot be independently verified.

? Discord within the Syrian opposition appears to have spread to the military defectors. Colonel Riad al-Assad, who has been quoted as the leader of the FSA, dismissed a newly formed group called the Higher Military Council as not representing anybody. The council is reportedly led by General Mustafa al-Sheikh, the highest ranking defector to date.

Egypt

? Ex-president Hosni Mubarak failed to appear in court for the latest session of his trial in Cairo. Bad weather is being blamed. Apparently poor visibility meant he could not be transported by helicopter.

5.42pm: The Guardian has been speaking to Homs residents. One, Karam Abu Rabea, said that the siege of the city was "genocidal":

The regime didn't expect us to continue our struggle against them. They didn't think we would persist. So now it is using its last card. It is the genocide card ...

It started with a massacre. Trucks of soldiers pulled up. They executed the women and men inside the house and stabbed the children with knives. They killed four members of the Bahader family, 11 from the A'kra family and six from the al-Muhammad family on 26 January.

"The regime changed its tactics. Instead of doing a ground incursion they are bombarding us from outside. They are using artillery and land-to-air missiles ...Many houses have been demolished. People were still inside them ...

There is no food allowed to get inside neighbourhoods opposing the regime. Especially bread. We don't have any bread. They are targeting the vital installations of the city: bakeries, the hospital, mosques. Some of the bakeries were shut by force. The regime cut off internet and phones on Monday. I have a satellite set, which is why I can speak to you. The Assad regime is trying to destroy Homs completely.

5.35pm: The UK government has reacted with scepticism to the comments by the Russian foreign minister following his meeting with Assad. A Downing Street spokeswoman said:

The foreign secretary is looking to meet with Mr Lavrov, or at least speak to him, as soon as possible. We have seen the reports of Lavrov's visit, but our position has not changed. We will continue to judge the Syrian regime by its actions, not its words.

Reports that President Assad is ready to talk to all political forces in Syria, to end the violence and set a route for a referendum on a new constitution stand in stark contrast to the actions they are taking and their savage attempt to crush the peaceful protest in Homs.

The claim that Syria wants the Arab League to resume its monitoring lacks any credibility when that initial mission was suspended due to the deteriorating security situation.

5.20pm: The Guardian's Middle East editor, Ian Black, reports on obstacles faced by the Syrian opposition, and tensions within it:

The proliferation of different groups, personal rivalries, incompatible agendas and failing strategies is making it hard for western and Arab governments, who would like to see the sort of unity the Libyan rebels displayed last year.
On the ground, the activists of the Local Co-ordination Committees are finding it harder to function because of arrests and killings. The LCCs operate all over the country and play a key role in filming protests and regime violence to ensure information reaches the wider world. Their most effective weapons are laptops and mobile phones. The casualty figures they collate are considered to be reliable.

The FSA commander is in Turkey and there is little co-ordination with local units. Communications are difficult. Political control of the FSA is a key question for the main opposition grouping, the Syrian National Council (SNC), which is based in Turkey and referred to dismissively by the regime as the "Istanbul council". Reports about the creation of a High Military Council led by a former army general have added to confusion about who is in charge.

The SNC itself looks to be in trouble. Its secular leadership, which includes veterans of the old Damascus Declaration group, is allied with the Muslim Brotherhood, some Kurds and others. Its president, Burhan Ghalioun, a respected Paris-based political scientist, was forced to step down on Monday after mounting criticism of his abilities and tactics.

Hopes for a more unified political opposition faded in December after an agreement announced between the SNC and the National Co-ordination Bureau, a Syria-based coalition headed by the veteran leftist Hassan Abdel-Azim, fell apart almost immediately amidst angry recriminations. The failure at the UN last weekend seemed to demolish the SNC's strategy of depending on Arab and western diplomacy. The NCB opposes any outside intervention.

5.00pm: Syrian activist Danny Abdul-Dayem, featured on the blog earlier in a video from the field hospital in Homs (see 11.27am) tells CNN "everyone's becoming used to death here" in a video about what life is like in the city at present.

The video also shows a tank Abdul-Dayem says was captured by the Free Syrian Army.

4.39pm: In quotes carried by the Syrian state news agency, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, questions the commitment of the Syrian opposition to a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the country. The statement, released after Lavrov's meeting with President Assad, says:

President al-Assad affirmed his commitment as per the Arab plan to the task of putting an end to violence regardless of its source. To this end, Syria affirms its interest in continuing work with the Arab League observer mission and increasing observer numbers to cover all points and verify any breaches or violations to the principle of not allowing violence regardless of source ...

President al-Assad affirmed today that the committee which was formed to carry out dialogue with all opposition group under the chairmanship of the vice president still has all the necessary authority to carry out this dialogue... It must be assisted by those who can, including those who reject dialogue up until now ...

We believe in the necessity of continuing the efforts aiming at finding a solution and settlement to the Syrian crisis ? the Russian side intends to work actively with the Syrian side and with Syria's neighbours and the Arab League? naturally, we will continue work with opposition groups which, for one reason or another, haven't agreed until now to participate in general national dialogue? we believe it's necessary for the countries that have more influence on these groups to work with them.

4.24pm: The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) activist group says 11 people have been killed in Homs today, including a husband and wife and three of their children. It names the man as Abdulnasser Ali Ghantawi and says the children who were killed were aged aged two, seven and nine. They were all killed during a raid by Shabiha (pro-Assad militia) in the Sabeel neighbourhood, according to the LCC. It said a fourth child hid in the attic and reported the incident.

This video purports to show a house on fire in Homs today.

The LCC says 10 people have been killed in other areas of Syria today - six in Madaya, in Damascus suburbs, two in Idlib, and one each in Aleppo and Deraa.

Its reports cannot be independently verified.

3.52pm: A member of the Syrian National Council has indicated he would accept some form of dialogue with the Syrian government in Moscow, according to Russia Today.

The SNC has been opposed to any more of talks with the Assad regime.

But George Sabra, who Russia Today describes as a senior member of the council, told Interfax news agency:

The Syrian opposition needs all the help there is. Considering the good relations between the Russian and Syrian nations, Russia has a good chance of playing this part.

We think Russia should provide a roadmap for such a dialogue. Then all the opposition groups can take corresponding steps. But no one will engage in a dialogue just for the dialogue's sake.

3.45pm: A list of email addresses (and passwords) from the Syrian Ministry of Presidential Affairs was mysteriously posted on the internet at the weekend.

Apart from showing the general lack of presidential data security ? many of the email users had the same simple password (eg "12345") ? it is beginning to provide some interesting tales as journalists and others trawl through the emails.

Among other things, there is advice for President Assad on how to handle his television interview with Barbara Walters which was broadcast on 7 December.

In one section, headed "Mistakes", the presidential office is advised:

It is hugely important and worth mentioning that "mistakes" have been done in the beginning of the crises because we did not have a well-organised "police force". American Psyche can be easily manipulated when they hear that there are "mistakes" done and now we are "fixing it". Its worth mentioning also what is happening now in Wall Street and the way the demonstrations are been suppressed by police men, police dogs and beatings.

Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, has been exploring an email correspondence between former British MP George Galloway and Buthaina Shaaban, one of Assad's closest advisers.

The emails, dated 2010, relate to a request from Galloway for Syrian assistance with the Gaza flotilla. In one message to Shaaban, Galloway describes Syria as "the last castle of Arab dignity" and asks her to "convey my respect and my admiration to His Excellency the President".

2.32pm: The scale of the bombardment on Homs can be seen and heard in new rooftop footage video footage from the city (via David Goodman of the New York Times.

"God is great" the narrator repeatedly says above what sounds like mortar machine gun and screaming rockets.

The footage purports to show bombardment in the Bab al-Amr area.

.

2.23pm: Some Yemenis are taking their pretend-election quite seriously, despite having only one presidential candidate to choose from. As the official campaign gets under way, they have released a cheery song to encourage voters with a nice tune. Abubakr Al-Shamahi, a British Yemeni who edits the Comment Middle East website, sent us this note about it:

Yemen's one-man election now has a campaign song to encourage Yemenis to come out and vote. After a year of protests against President Saleh's regime an election with only one candidate was not exactly what the mostly youth protesters were looking for, but many have accepted the election and the transitional phase as necessary in the current climate of economic disaster and societal fragmentation.

The song Sawa Nabniha ? "Together We Build It" ? was made with the aid of the Supreme Committee for Elections & Referendum, and features a group of famous Yemeni singers and celebrities, male and female, and the traditional children's chorus.

It's not hard to see what message they're trying to send. With turnout expected to be very low (15% says journalist Tom Finn), the Yemeni government, and their external partners, are desperate for decent participation that will give legitimacy to the incoming president, Abd-Rabbo Mansur Hadi. The election will already be boycotted by the separatist-inclined Southern Movement and the Houthi rebels in the north.

Hence, there are references to unity throughout the song, including the catchy chorus "We build it together, We protect it together, It gives to us, We give to it, This is Yemen." Ameen Hamim, a popular singer, tells the audience at the end: "21st February is the date to build our new Yemen", reflecting the popular revolutionary chant "The people want to build a new Yemen".

It remains to be seen whether a catchy, positive song will bring out Yemenis to essentially vote for one person on the 21st February. Either way, an end to clashes and the provision of regular electricity, gas and water are more eagerly anticipated in Yemen than an election right now.

2.11pm: The exodus of ambassadors from Damascus continues. The six Gulf Co-operation Council states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE) have announced that they are withdrawing their envoys. They are also going a step further than Britain, France and Italy ? by expelling the Syrian ambassadors from their own countries.

1.36pm: Russian news sources are reporting some remarks from foreign minister Lavrov following his meeting with President Assad. So far, though, it's all rather bland and lacking in detail:

? Russia is ready to help resolve the Syria crisis on the basis of positions set out in the Arab League initiative.

? Syria expressed interest in continuation and expansion of Arab League mission.

? Assad said he was ready to seek dialogue with all political forces in Syria.

? Assad assured Lavrov Syria is committed to stopping violence by all sides.

1.22pm: Here's a summary of the main developments so far today:

Syria

? Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, along with foreign intelligence chief Mikhail Fradkov, is in Damascus for talks with President Assad. No details of their discussions have emerged yet.

? Italy and France are the latest countries to recall their ambassadors from Syria. Syria was discussed at a meeting of Britain's National Security Council this morning, chaired by prime minister David Cameron. More EU sanctions against the Assad regime appear to be on the way.

? The regime's onslaught against Homs continues.

Egypt

? Ex-president Hosni Mubarak failed to appear in court for the latest session of his trial in Cairo. Bad weather is being blamed. Apparently poor visibility meant he could not be transported by helicopter.

1.21pm: "The rockets are falling on the city like rain," an activist from Homs told the Guardian today.

The activist, who gave his name only as Sufian, claimed he was talking from a shelter in the Bab al-Amro district of the city.

Speaking via Skype, through our translator Mona Mahmood, he said:

On Tripoli Street, south-east of Bab al-Amr, there are 13 tanks belonging to the regime. To the east of Bab al-Amr there is a hill where the artillery is stationed. From the university compound, close to the area, they have moved out the students. From the high roofs of the university they put all the snipers. The snipers shoot anything that moves, even animals.

The district of Khalidiyeh is also under heavy bombardment. The Syrian army entered the city by tanks from areas loyal to the regime.

This morning five people were killed. Since Friday more than 400 have died, and many more are under rubble.

The soldiers who have defected from the army only have Kalashnikovs. How can you face a battalion with a Kalashnikovs? Tanks have been captured, but they were very exposed, and the regime could easily target them. It is target you cannot hide.

We have a lot of injured people who need urgent treatment. We need to bury the bodies that are piling up in the houses, but we can't go out to bury them.

The humanitarian situation here is very miserable. We have an acute shortage of medication. We don't have any blood for donations, or oxygen. We are calling for help from the whole world. We want help opening the blockade of Homs.

Survivors are suffering an acute shortage of food and medication. No one dares go outside because there so many snipers.

We are using kitchen knives for surgery. All the field hospitals have been targeted. We are relying on domestic medicine cabinets to treat the injured.

We controlled one hospital in Al-Halemei but it was taken by the security forces. Those injured in the hospital have been taken to prisons. The last field hospital we had in Bab al-Amro was bombed yesterday. We lost 10 people when we tired to evacuate the hospital.

12.47pm: British prime minister David Cameron chaired a meeting of the National Security Council this morning to discuss the situation in Syria.

Earlier, the foreign secretary, William Hague, had briefed the cabinet on developments following Russia and China's veto of a UN resolution at the weekend.

Along with other EU countries, Britain is working towards a new round of sanctions against Syria, expected to be agreed on February 27. These could include a freeze on Syria's central bank assets and a ban on trade in precious metals.

11.43am: A flash from Reuters: France is recalling its ambassador from Syria. [Looks like more EU countries will follow suit.]

11.41am: Police in Germany have arrested two men on allegations they were spying on Syrian opposition groups. Reuters reports:

The Federal Prosecutors' Office said on Tuesday some 70 police officers searched the suspects' apartments and those of six alleged accomplices.

They say a 34-year-old Syrian, identified only as Mahmoud El A, and a 47-year-old German-Lebanese double national, Akram O, are suspected of "having spied over several years on Syrian opposition figures in Germany."

Prosecutors say the arrests and searches are the result of an "extensive" investigation by Germany's domestic intelligence service. No further details were given and the investigation remains ongoing.

11.37am: Italy is the latest country to recall its ambassador from Damascus for consultations.

The announcement comes a day after Britain recalled its ambassador, and the US closed its embassy and withdrew all staff from Syria. However, the Italian foreign ministry says its embassy will remain open to provide assistance to its citizens in the country.

11.27am: Horrific video from a field hospital in Homs, introduced by English-speaking activist Danny Abdel Dayem, appears to show local uprising leader Khalid Abu Salah lying on a stretcher after being injured in the assault on the city [warning: graphic content].

Salah has appeared in a numbered of videos recently. Last week he appeared on a top of a tank captured by military defectors. In December he was also filmed introducing Arab League observers to members of the Free Syrian Army and detailing the atrocities of the security forces to the monitors.

Speaking from a stretcher Salah pledges to continue the revolution, according to dissident blogger Ammar Abdulahamid.

11.24am: Two Lebanese men have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling arms into Syria, the Daily Star reports from Beirut.

The men ? identified only by the first names Wael and Bahaa ? are accused of supplying opponents of the Syrian regime through the town of Arsal, close to the border in the northern Bekaa valley.

Arsal has been at the centre of controversy recently. In December, the Lebanese defence minister, Fayez Ghosn ? who is said to have connections with the Syrian-backed Hezbollah ? highlighted the town as a base for weapons smuggling and claimed that al-Qaida members were sheltering there under the pretence of belonging to the Syrian opposition. Residents have denied the accusation.

11.00am: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has made his first public remark since arriving in Syria ? though it's not particularly illuminating.

According to the Russian news agency RIA, he told President Assad: "Every leader of every country must be aware of his share of responsibility. You are aware of yours." He also reportedly said: "It is in our interests for Arab peoples to live in peace and agreement."

10.41am: More splits are emerging in the Syrian opposition as rival defected officers claim control of the resistance movement in Syria.

Yesterday, Colonel Riad al-Assad, who has been quoted as the leader of the FSA, accused the opposition Syrian National Council of treachery. Now there appears to be a power struggle for control of the FSA, according to CNN.

Major Mahar Naimi introduced himself as a spokesman for the "Higher Military Council," a newly formed organisation that now claimed to lead armed defectors within Syria.

"This council represents the people fighting in Syria," Naimi said. He added that the council was led by General Mustafa Sheikh, an officer who defected from the Syrian military.

But Naimi's claim was quickly rejected by another defecting officer, Colonel Riad al Assad, who spent much of the last year claiming to lead a "Free Syrian Army" of rebel soldiers from a refugee camp on the Turkish border with Syria.

"This man represents himself," Assad said in reference to Sheikh. "He has nothing to do with the Free Syrian Army ... those people are representing themselves and do not represent the revolution and the Free Syrian Army. They don't represent anybody."

10.39am: Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak failed to attend the latest session of his trial today, the Egypt Independent reports. His usual lawyer, Farid al-Deeb, was also absent.

Mubarak, who is being held in custody at the luxurious International Medical Centre off the Cairo-Ismailia Road, is usually transported to the court by helicopter.

Weather reports from Cairo say visibility is "very poor" today and it appears that his helicopter was unable to fly.

10.34am: Turkey is preparing a new initiative with those countries who oppose Assad government, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today, Reuters reports.

"We are going to start a new initiative with those countries that stand by the people, not the Syrian government. We are preparing this," Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK party in Ankara, giving no further details on the initiative.

Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, announced that UK would intensify its contact with the Syrian opposition, and would back a new Arab-led group, Friends of Syria.

10.10am: There has been much discussion about what Lavrov might say to Assad during their meeting. Twitter user @KarlreMarks (who specialises in "the lighter side of Arab dictators") has this suggestion:

Speculation about what Russian FM Lavrov will say to the regime in #Syria. It's obvious: 'Here's what we did in Chechnya...'

? Karl Sharro (@KarlreMarks) February 7, 2012

9.50am: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has now arrived in Syria for talks with President Bashar Assad.

According to the Russian foreign ministry he is accompanied by Mikhail Fradkov, head of the foreign intelligence service.

Syrian state television showed hundreds of people gathering on a main road in Damascus to welcome them. The crowds were waving Syrian, Russian and Hezbollah flags and held up two Russian flags made out of hundreds of red, white and blue balloons.

There have previously been anti-Russian protests by opponents of the Assad regime.

9.31am: The Assad regime has signalled that it plans to continue to attack the central city of Homs.

Numerous accounts from residents, backed by some international journalists now embedded with the Free Syria Army, have reported that the city has been shelled by the Syrian army since Friday.

But a statement from the Syrian ministry of the interior again blamed the violence in the city on "armed terrorist groups".

The statement, published by the state news agency Sana, said:

In spite of the families' appeals in Homs to put an end to the acts of terror, the competent authorities practised the utmost self-restraint and gave terrorists a number of opportunities to return to the road of right ... but they refused and escalated their terror instigated by foreign sides ... all of this pushed the authorities to intervene and deal with them to restore security and stability to Homs.

9.07am: China ? which joined Russia in vetoing the UN resolution on Syria at the weekend ? says it is seeking a political solution to the violence, AP reports.

Foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said China is considering sending envoys to west Asian and north African countries for discussions. It is not clear if that would include a mission to Syria itself.

8.21am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. Fresh from vetoing a UN resolution on Syria, the Russians are due in Damascus today as the regime of president Bashar al-Assad continues to bombard the central city of Homs.

Here's a roundup of the latest developments in Syria and the rest of the region:

Syria

? Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, is due to a lead a Russian diplomatic mission to Damascus and hold talks with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, the BBC reports. There has been speculation that Moscow may privately be seeking to persuade Assad to make a "controlled exit", handing over power to trusted senior generals, in a move that would preserve Russia's influence in a post-Assad scenario, according to the Guardian.

? Britain and the US recalled their ambassadors to Damascus on Monday in protest at what the British foreign secretary, William Hague, called the "doomed" and "murderous" regime's violent behaviour towards its civilian population. The foreign secretary also signalled the west would now scramble to explore alternative, non-UN routes in an attempt to halt the killing in Syria and prepare for a post-Bashar al-Assad future. As well as continuing support for the Arab League, Hague said the UK would intensify its contact with the Syrian opposition, and would back a new Arab-led group, Friends of Syria.

? As the bombardment of Homs continues resident Omar Shakir described the scene on Monday in the Bab al-Amr district:

It was unbelievable in Bab al-Amr today. There was shelling everywhere: machine guns, mortars, everything. I don't know what to say, they were using everything against us. Trust me there was no resistance.

The United Nations has given Assad the green light to kill his people and that is what he is doing. You cannot imagine how brutal it has been here. The rockets are not stopping. They have a strange sound and there is no way of fighting back, or of escaping ... Their plan is to bomb us for five days and then to enter the suburb to finish us off. That is what we believe.

? More bitter divisions in the Syria opposition appear to be coming to the surface in the wake of the failed UN resolution. Colonel Adnan al-Asaad, the senior defector who heads the Free Syrian Army, has accused the opposition Syrian National Council of being traitors. He told BBC Arabic that SNC had givn no material or political support to the military effort, according Syria expert Joshua Landis. His comments suggest the end of political agreement between the SNC and FSA brokered in Turkey in December.

? "Assad's wife breaks silence" is the dramatic headline across the front page of the Times this morning. Well, she has after a fashion. It's actually "an email sent by an intermediary from her office" and, not surprisingly, she seems to be backing her husband.
British-born Asma Assad, whose family comes from Homs ? the city currently being bombarded by the regime's forces ? is said to have approved the text of the email which says:

The president is the president of Syria, not a faction of Syrians, and the first lady supports him in that role ...

The first lady's very busy agenda is still focused on supporting the various charities she has long been involved with ... These days she is equally involved in bridging gaps and encouraging dialogue. She listens to and comforts the families of the victims of the violence.

Iran

? Barack Obama has ordered the freezing of Iranian government assets in the US, including transactions by the Iranian Central Bank, in tightened sanctions over Tehran's nuclear programme. The new sanctions, which also include the threat of prosecution for foreign financial institutions if they do certain kinds of business directly with Iran, also appeared timed to fit in with measures introduced in other countries, including Britain which has already moved against Iran's banking system by cutting it off from London's financial sector.

? There is growing economic panic among the middle classes in Iran, which illustrate and possibly intensify the divisions within the country's political elite, the New York Times reports.

A number of insiders, including members of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, have begun openly criticizing Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in recent weeks. One of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's aides indirectly accused Ayatollah Khamenei of needlessly antagonizing the West in ways that pushed down the rial's value, the latest sign of a rift between the president and the supreme leader that is helping to define the parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for March 2.

? Iran says it has arrested several people it claims were linked to the BBC's Farsi-language service, the Telegraph reports.

A report by the semi-official Mehr news agency said the individuals had done reporting for the BBC and helped the corporation train Iranian journalists but did not name the people detained nor say how many had been arrested. The BBC said in a statement that the report "should be of deep concern to all those who believe in a free and independent media" but added it had "no BBC Persian staff members or stringers working inside Iran."

Yemen

Vice-president Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi is officially launching his campaign for election as President Saleh's successor. Although polling does not take place until 21 February, Hadi (a Saleh appointee) is already certain of victory, since he is the only candidate. Yemen's constitution specifies that there must be at least two candidates. Most of the electoral effort is expected to focus on persuading people that it's worth voting, even though the winner is already known.

Egypt

? The ruling military council says it is speeding up preparations for a presidential election, Voice of America reports. Nominations will now open on 10 March ? a month earlier than planned. At present, the election itself is scheduled for June, though earlier nominations suggest that date may be brought forward too.

One of the leading presidential contenders, Amr Moussa, says in an interview with Reuters that under his leadership Egypt would be a civilian state with an army that enjoys respect but not "a life of its own". Moussa served for many years as Mubarak's foreign minister and later as secretary-general of the Arab League.

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  • Maldives president resigns

Nasheed steps down after weeks of opposition-led protests at controversial order to arrest senior judge on corruption charges

The president of the Maldives has resigned after three weeks of opposition-led protests ended in a police mutiny.

Mohammed Nasheed, a 44-year-old former political prisoner widely credited with ushering in a new era of democratic reform in the island nation, was reported to be at home in the capital, Male, having left his office at noon on Tuesday.

Travel to and from the islands, which are home to a huge luxury tourist industry, was unaffected. "There are no problems. It's calm now. There's no effect on the tourists," said Ali Shamaan, vice-president of the Maldives Journalist Association.

The protests were led by supporters of the former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, whose 30-year rule ended in the country's first multiparty elections in 2008, which brought Nasheed to power. Gayoom's rule was widely seen as repressive.

Nasheed was jailed repeatedly by his political adversary, and claims to have been tortured. In a televised statement, the outgoing president said he was resigning to prevent violence, telling viewers his decision was "better for the country in the current situation".

"I am not a person who wishes to rule with the use of power. I believe that if the government were to remain in power it would require the use of force, which would harm many citizens," Nasheed said. The vice-president, Muhammad Waheed Hassan, was sworn in as head of state. He is the leader of a small party, and is seen as an independent. New presidential polls may now be called.

Protests began in January after Nasheed ordered the military to arrest the top criminal court judge, thought to be close to Gayoom, on corruption charges.

The arrest aggravated a continuing constitutional crisis, but until Monday night, demonstrations had been calm. Witnesses described a confused situation in which two groups of protesters threw stones at each other and fought while police and soldiers stood by.

A large group of Gayoom supporters appears to have attacked the headquarters of Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic party (MDP). Gayoom's Progressive party of the Maldives accused the military, which remains broadly loyal to Nasheed, of firing rubber bullets at protesters.

A party spokesman told Reuters "loads of people" were injured but gave no details. There was no independent corroboration of his claim.

An official close to the president denied the government had used rubber bullets but confirmed that about three dozen police officers defied orders on Monday night and vandalised the main office of the MDP.

"This follows Gayoom's party calling for the overthrow of the Maldives' first democratically elected government and for citizens to launch jihad against the president," the official, who declined to be identified, said.

The mutinous officers are believed to have been from a special squad set up by Gayoom to intimidate political opponents. The squad was disbanded when Nasheed took power.

There were also reports that a group of officers had taken over the state-run television channel's studios, and had forced staff to broadcast messages of support for Gayoom. An opposition-linked channel was also attacked.

Some journalists were injured, some seriously, during the violence, said Shamaan, although calm had been rapidly restored.

In recent decades, hardline conservative strands of Islamic practice have established themselves in the Maldives, making inroads at the expense of the traditional style of local worship. Alcohol is now officially banned. Opposition parties have used a religious agenda to mobilise support, and have accused Nasheed of being anti-Islamic.

The Foreign Office advised against all but essential travel to Male Island. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the 1,800 islands that comprise the Maldives every year. The vast majority do not leave their luxury resorts.

A spokesman for the Indian ministry of external affairs in Delhi said it hoped all issues would be "resolved in a peaceful and democratic manner".

  • Philippines earthquake toll rises

Houses flattened in remote villages on Negros island that have been cut off by fallen bridges and damaged roads

Rescuers have found no further survivors among dozens of people buried by landslides on a central Philippine island after an earthquake. The death toll has climbed to 15, with more than 70 people missing.

The 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Monday also collapsed bridges and damaged roads on Negros island. Soldiers and firefighters had to hike into mountains to reach remote villages. Most of the confirmed deaths were in Planas village, a part of Guihulngan town, where about 30 houses were flattened.

The Guihulngan mayor, Ernesto Reyes, said crews were using earthmoving equipment in the search for casualties.

The damage may be worse than officials first realised because the quake cut off communications to some villages, Reyes said. "We have no water and power because electric posts were toppled. Many of our roads were damaged, including bridges, and stores are closed. We're isolated."

In the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, an unknown number of people were trapped under about 100 houses.

The president, Benigno Aquino, sent air force helicopters and navy and coastguard vessels to the aid of rescuers, some of whom had been digging with picks and shovels. Workers were clearing roads and fixing and bridges to bring in equipment, food and medicine.

The undersea quake was centred 44 miles north of Dumaguete, capital of Negros Oriental province, about 400 miles south-east of the nation's capital, Manila.

The Negros Oriental police chief, Edward Carranza, said at least 73 people remained missing in the province.

The casualties could top a 2004 quake on Mindoro Island, south of Manila, in which 78 people died, about half of them in a quake-triggered tsunami. A local tsunami alert was issued following Monday's quake but was soon cancelled.

Reyes said 13 residents died and at least 29 remained missing in the landslide in Planas, where an army platoon was digging for survivors. Meanwhile the landslide had blocked a mountain river that was threatening to back up and swamp houses along its banks. Residents had been told to leave.

  • Prop 8: California gay marriage ban ruled unconstitutional ? live coverage

California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage does violate the federal constitution, judges rule.

Read a summary of the ruling on Prop 8 here and follow live reaction below

2.21pm EST, 11.21am PST: Newt Gingrich is the first of our four presidential hopefuls to respond to the ruling ? and there you all were thinking it would be Rick Santorum ? tweeting from his @newtgingrich feed:

Court of Appeals overturning CA's Prop 8 another example of an out of control judiciary. Let's end judicial supremacy bit.ly/nyblQ7

— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) February 7, 2012

FYI ? Rick Santorum did retweet this chucklesome bit of commentary, but as we all know, RTs ? endorsements.

2.08pm EST, 11.08am PST: The National Association of Marriage claims in its press release that if the ruling is allowed to stand it could "invalidate the marriage laws of 43 states that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman", writes my colleague Matt Wells.

But in their ruling, the Ninth Circuit judges explicitly say that their decision pertains only to California ? because an estimated 18,000 same-sex couples in the state had already been allowed to marry before the designation was ruled unlawful.

Whether under the constitution same-sex couples may ever be denied the right to marry, a right that has long-been enjoyed by opposite-sex couples, is an important and highly controversial question. It is currently a matter of great debate in our nation, and an issue over which people of good will may disagree, sometimes, strongly. Of course, when questions of constitutional law are necessary to a resolution of a case, courts may not and should not abstain from deciding them simply because they are controversial.

We need not and do not answer the broader question in this case, however, because California had already extended to committed same-sex couples both the incidents of marriage and the official designation of "marriage", and Proposition 8's only effect was to take away that important and legally significant designation, while leaving in place all its incidents. This unique and strictly limited effect of Proposition 8 allows us to address the amendment's constitutionality on narrow grounds.

1.57pm EST, 10.57am PST: Reaction from Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, a campaign to win marriage for all across America:

Today's powerful court ruling striking down the infamous Prop 8 affirms basic American values and helps tear down a discriminatory barrier to marriage that benefits no one while making it harder for people to take care of their loved ones.

The Ninth Circuit rightly held that a state simply may not take a group of people and shove them outside the law, least of all when it comes to something as important as the commitment and security of marriage. We salute the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which brought this challenge to Prop 8.

1.45pm EST, 10.45am PST: The National Organisation for Marriage is, predictably, not pleased with the decision.

"As sweeping and wrong-headed as this decision is, it nonetheless was as predictable as the outcome of a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition game," Brian Brown, NOM's president, said in a statement.

"We have anticipated this outcome since the moment San Francisco Judge Vaughn Walker's first hearing in the case. Now we have the field cleared to take this issue to the US Supreme Court, where we have every confidence we will prevail."

A press release from NOM says that if the ruling is allowed to stand it could "invalidate the marriage laws of 43 states that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman".

1.26pm EST, 10.26am PST: The ruling of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals was pretty conclusive when it came just before 10am this morning.

"Prop 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California," the judgement said.

Proposition 8 was an amendment to the California constitution that ruled people of the same sex could not get married. It was voted in by Californians in 2008.

Following an appeal by supporters of same-sex marriage, however, Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in the federal district court in 2010 that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional.

This morning, the three judges voted 2-1 that Judge Vaughn Walker's interpretation of Proposition 8 was correct.

The ruling said that Proposition 8 "had one effect only".

"It stripped same-sex couples of the ability they previously possessed to obtain from the State, or any other authorized party, an important right ? the right to obtain and use the designation of 'marriage' to describe their relationships. Nothing more, nothing less."

The verdict is unlikely to be the final say on same-sex marriage in California, however. Opponents of same-sex marriage now have 14 days to ask the 9th circuit to rehear the case but with an 11-judge panel. Failing that, its the US Supreme Court.

1.07pm EST, 10.07am PST: You can view the full text of the ruling here.

Here's a key couple of paragraphs from the top:

Prior to November 4, 2008, the California Constitution guaranteed the right to marry to opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples alike. On that day, the People of California adopted Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. We consider whether that amendment violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We conclude that it does.

Although the Constitution permits communitities to enact most laws they believe to be desireable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently. There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted. Because under California statutory law, same-sex couples had all the rights of opposite-sex couples, regardless of their marital status, all parties agree that Proposition 8 had one effect only. It stripped same-sex couples of the ability they previously possessed to obtain from the State, or any other authorized party, an important right ? the right to obtain and use the designation of 'marriage' to describe their relationships. Nothing more, nothing less.

Hat-tip to John Aravosis for the link.

Full text of Prop 8 decision - UNCONSTITUTIONAL! gay.americablog.com/2012/02/appeal? via @AMERICAblogGay

? John Aravosis (@aravosis) February 7, 2012

12.58pm EST, 9.58am PST: Doug Sovern, political reporter for KCBS in Oakland, says that there was one dissenter on the three judge panel.

Breaking: federal appeals court rules #Prop8 unconstitutional, CA cannot ban same sex marriage. 2-1, Judge Smith dissents

? Doug Sovern (@SovernNation) February 7, 2012

12.56pm EST, 9.56am PST: Proposition 8 has been ruled unconstitutional.

12.50pm EST, 9.50am PST: Just 10 minutes to the ruling, and the ninth circuit court's website is, somewhat predictably, down.

Never fear though, we'll have the verdict RIGHT HERE almost the second we hear it.

11.55am EST, 8.55am PST: Tuesday's ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the constitutionality of California's ban on gay marriage "will not put an end to the argument about the rights of same-sex couples in the United States, but it will be a vital stepping stone toward the inevitable final showdown in the Supreme Court in Washington", writes Andrew Gumbel.

The only question is how long the process will take, and what risks are involved. That's true for opponents of gay marriage, who have lost every significant round of the battle so far and have struggled even to be admitted to the judicial process. And it's true, too, for the proponents, who have had mixed feelings about taking issue to federal court from the beginning and remain divided on the wisdom of leaving the final say with a highly ideological Supreme Court which could turn one way or the other on a single justice's vote.

Legal scholars are almost unanimous in their assessment of the merits of the case: there is no good argument to be made, they say, denying same-sex couples their equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution. That is especially true because 18,000 gay and lesbian couples in California managed to tie the knot before gay marriage was halted by a popular referendum in November 2008 and are still recognized by the state as being legally married.

That view was certainly vindicated by Judge Vaughn Walker, who heard the case in federal district court and was very careful to gather evidence on every aspect of the case before declaring, in August 2010, that the constitutional imperatives clearly trumped the will of the voters.

Opponents of gay marriage complained that Judge Walker was biased because he is himself gay ? as he acknowledged publicly following his retirement a year ago ? but their efforts to have his ruling oveturned on that basis were unsuccessful.

Now the case rests with three appellate justices from the Ninth Circuit ? one a solid liberal almost certain to uphold the right to gay marriage, one a centrist appointed by Bill Clinton and one a conservative appointed by George W Bush. The evidence they are considering swings heavily in the pro-gay marriage direction, both in quantity and, according to Judge Walker's previous rulings, in quality too.

One of the oddities of the case is that the named defendants ? first Governor Schwarzenegger and now the new governor, Jerry Brown ? have chosen to stay out of it. That has left the anti-gay marriage movement scrambling for lawyers, for legal funding and even for the standing giving them the right to fight their corner in court at all.

11.08am EST, 8.08am PST: Mercury News has an excellent Q&A on what happens next after the ruling today.

Q What is likely to happen after the 9th Circuit rules Tuesday?

A The losing side can ask the 9th Circuit to rehear the case with an 11-judge panel, a process known as en banc review. A majority of the 9th Circuit's two dozen full-time judges must vote to rehear a case en banc, but this often occurs in high-profile cases where there is disagreement within the court. The losing side has 14 days to ask for such a rehearing. If the 9th Circuit refuses to grant the request, the next step is the U.S. Supreme Court.

Q How long will all this take?

A The legal fight over Proposition 8 isn't likely to be concluded anytime soon. If the 9th Circuit rehears the case with an 11-judge panel, that appeal is likely to stretch through this year. And whatever the outcome in the 9th Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court is almost certain not to get a look at the case before the upcoming presidential election.

Q What would be the impact of a 9th Circuit ruling declaring California's gay marriage ban unconstitutional? Would it legalize gay marriage in all nine Western states covered by the 9th Circuit?

A It depends. The court can take a narrower approach and apply its ruling only to California, finding that Proposition 8 violates the rights of same-sex couples because it stripped away a previous right established in a California Supreme Court ruling in 2008 (Proposition 8 wiped that ruling off the books). Or the court can issue a more sweeping ruling that finds any such state ban unconstitutional, which would extend the ruling's reach.

10.55am, 7.55am PST: Gay rights activists in California "are planning a day of either celebration or protest" in response to the Proposition 8 ruling, according to the LA Times.

The ruling is expected by 10am and events are planned from West Hollywood to San Francisco. Officials plan to gather at West Hollywood City Hall on Tuesday morning to await the decision, which will be posted online. At 10.30am, Mayor John Duran will hold a press conference.

The attorneys for the plaintiffs, noted lawyers Theodore B. Olson and David Boies, will hold a press conference in downtown LA. They have been leading the legal fight arguing that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional.

Various rallies are planned later in the day.

10.30am EST, 7.30am PST: People in California will learn on Tuesday whether Proposition 8 violates the civil rights of homosexual men and women.

In 2008 California voters voted to ban same sex marriage under Proposition 8, however in 2010 Judge Vaughn R Walker ruled that the proposition was in violation of the constitution.

Since then Walker's decision has been held up by appeals, but today the three-judge panel of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will rule on whether Proposition 8 is unlawful.

However even if the panel upholds Walker's ruling, it could be a while before same-sex couples can resume marrying in the state. Proposition 8 backers plan to appeal to a larger 9th Circuit panel and then to the US Supreme Court if they lose today. Marriages would most likely stay on hold while that process plays out.

The three-judge panel, consisting of judges appointed by presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush, heard arguments on the ban's constitutional implications more than a year ago.

It put off a decision so it could seek guidance from the California Supreme Court on whether Proposition 8 sponsors had legal authority to challenge the trial court ruling after California's attorney general and governor decided not to appeal it.

Follow here for live coverage of the ruling and reaction.

  • French cabinet walks out of parliament over Nazi claim

Opposition MP Serge Letchimy accuses rightwing interior minister Claude Guéant of flirting with Nazi ideology

The French prime minister and his cabinet have stormed out of parliament after an opposition MP accused the rightwing interior minister of flirting with Nazi ideology.

The Socialist Serge Letchimy, from Martinique, questioned the interior minister and close Sarkozy ally, Claude Guéant, over his controversial comments this weekend that "not all civilisations are of equal value", and his assertion that some civilisations, namely France's, are worth more than others.

Letchimy said Guéant was "day by day leading us back to these European ideologies that gave birth to concentration camps".

After a loud interruption of protests, he added: "Mr Guéant, the Nazi regime, which was so concerned about purity, was that a civilization?"

In a rare move, the entire French government stormed out of the question-time session.

The French political class has been at each other's throats this week over the latest stance by Guéant, who was once Sarkozy's most senior adviser and is seen as the president's mouthpiece for rightwing views to court voters from Marine Le Pen's far-right Front National.

Over the past year Guéant has been accused of deliberate anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric after saying the number of Muslims in France was a "problem", linking immigrants to crime and unemployment, saying the French wanted their country to "remain French", and that Sarkozy's drive for military intervention in Libya was a "crusade".

This weekend he told a meeting with students: "Contrary to the leftwing relativist ideology, for us, not all civilisations are equal. Those who defend humanity seem more advanced to us than those who deny it. Those who defend freedom, equality and brotherhood seem to us superior to those that accept tyranny, subjugation of women and social or ethnic hatred."

Muslim groups in France sought assurances that Guéant, who is in charge of immigration and religion in the French cabinet, was not referring to Islam and French Muslims. He replied that he had not been targeting any civilisation in particular.

Sarkozy backed Guéant's comments as "common sense" and dismissed the "ridiculous controversy".

The French prime minister François Fillon demanded an apology from the Socialist party for the "indecent" and "shameful" Nazi analogy in parliament. The head of the ruling rightwing UMP party's parliament group, Christian Jacob, said an analogy of this kind was a first in the history of parliament.

The Socialist Letchimy said that as the son of a slave, he refused to apologise. Jean-Marc Ayrault, head of the Socialist parliamentary group, said Guéant's "repeated provocations" had damaged the political climate.

Some in Sarkozy's own camp had distanced themselves from Guéant in recent days. "He makes a better minister than ethnologist," said the former prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

  • As Romney breaks away from the pack, Rick Santorum hopes for an upset

Santorum maintains slight edge in Minnesota and Missouri polls as he aims to snatch momentum away from the front-runner

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum is hoping to revive his campaign with a win in at least one of tonight's contests in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri and upset front-runner Mitt Romney's steady progress towards the party nomination.

Colorado and Minnesota hold their caucuses today while voters in Missouri hold a primary.

Santorum, speaking at a rally in Denver on the eve of election day, said he had a shot of winning one of them. "This is a big day for us to see whether all the work that we put in in the past few weeks, when not so much attention was paid here as to Florida and Nevada, pays off," he said.

Romney, in recognition of the possible threat posed by Santorum, switched from criticising Barack Obama to criticising Santorum on Monday. Campaigning in Colorado, he described him as a champion of pork-barrel spending, lobbying for federal funding for state projects, while he was a Pennsylvania senator.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich opted against campaigning in any of the three states holding contests today, possibly in recognition that they are a lost cause for him. Before leaving Colorado Monday, he predicted: "I think that Santorum's going to have a pretty good day tomorrow, and he will have earned it."

Gingrich has shifted his attention to the Super Tuesday states, in particular Ohio, where he was scheduled to campaign today. Ten states will be in play on Super Tuesday on March 6.

Unlike the January contests, there have been relatively few polls in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. Of those that have carried out surveys, PPP, based on polling conducted Sunday and Monday, found Santorum with a 9% lead over Romney in Minnesota, 33% to 24%. In Colorado, PPP found Romney had a 10% lead over Santorum, 37% to 27%.

PPP, in a survey conducted Monday, found Santorum with a 13% lead over Romney in Missouri, 45% to 32%.

Santorum won the first of the contests in Iowa on January 3, fighting on a deeply social conservative platform that appealed to Christian evangelicals, but failed to make any impression in the following four contests. His social conservative views could be more attractive to voters in Minnesota and Missouri, and in parts of Colorado, such as the stronghold of Christian evangelicals in and around Colorado Springs.

Santorum was in danger of being squeezed out of the presidential debates by Romney and Gingrich but made a series of forceful interventions, aimed mainly at Romney's health care reforms while governor of Massachusetts, regarded by many conservatives as similar to Barack Obama's healthcare reform.

The winner of the Republican nomination needs 1,144 delegates to the party convention in Tampa in August. The Associated Press, which keeps a running tally of delegates awarded so far, has Romney on 101, Gingrich 32, Santorum 17 and Paul 9.

Colorado has 36 delegates at stake and Minnesota 40. Missouri has no delegates up for grabs tonight. Its convention to choose delegates is not until March 17 and it only decided to hold its primary to try to seize a share of media attention.

The fourth candidate in the race, Ron Paul, opted against devoting resources to the Florida primary on January 31 to focus on the caucus states such as Nevada, Minnesota, Colorado and Maine, which completes its caucuses on Saturday. But so far the strategy has failed to pay off, with Paul coming third in Nevada.

  • Prop 8: California gay marriage ban struck down by federal appeals court

Ninth circuit court of appeals rules Proposition 8 unconstitutional and says it 'lessens human dignity of gay and lesbian people'

Gay marriage campaigners were celebrating a major victory on Tuesday after a federal appeals court ruled California's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. The long-awaited ruling paves the way for a US supreme court decision on the voter-approved measure known as Proposition 8.

In a two-to-one decision, a three-judge panel of the ninth US circuit court of appeals in San Francisco agreed with a lower court judge who in 2010 declared the ban to be a violation of the civil rights of gay and lesbian people.

"Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California," judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in Tuesday's ruling.

"Although the constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently," the ruling states.

"There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted."

The ruling is limited to California, which allowed gay marriage but then passed Proposition 8 in 2008.

Campaigners described the ruling as monumental, and said that it added California to the growing list of states that have ended barriers to marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry said: "Today's powerful court ruling striking down the infamous Prop 8 affirms basic American values, and helps tear down a discriminatory barrier to marriage that benefits no one while making it harder for people to take care of their loved ones.

"The ninth circuit rightly held that a state simply may not take a group of people and shove them outside the law, least of all when it comes to something as important as the commitment and security of marriage."

California voters passed Proposition 8 in 2008, but it was ruled unconstitutional by federal judge Vaughn Walker in 2010. But the ban has remained in place since then, because the ninth circuit court put a stay on the Walker ruling pending appeals.

However, even after today's ruling same-sex marriages are unlikely to go ahead any time soon.

Backers of Proposition 8 have said they plan to appeal to a larger 9th circuit panel and then to the US supreme court if they lose.

As a result, same sex couples in California, who enjoyed a brief, four-month legal right to marry in 2008, are likely to have to wait longer to find out if it will be restored.

John Eastman, chairman of the National Organisation for Marriage, which supported the ban, said in statement: "The ninth circuit court of appeals is the most overturned circuit in the country, and Stephen Reinhardt, the author of today's absurd ruling, is the most overturned federal judge in America.

"Today's ruling is a perfect set-up for this case to be taken by the US supreme court, where I am confident it will be reversed."

The case has already been subjected to lengthy delays. Arguments about the constitutional implications of the case were heard by the panel more than a year ago.

But it put off a decision in order to seek guidance from the California supreme court on whether the ban's sponsors had the legal authority to challenge the ruling. The state's attorney general and governor had decided not to appeal it.

In November, the California court gave the ballot measure backers the go-ahead, ruling that the state's citizens' initiative process grants sponsors the right to defend such measures in court even if state officials refuse to do so.

The case was further complicated when lawyers for the coalition of conservative religious groups behind the ballot measure tried to have the trial ruling struck down after it emerged that Walker was in a long-term relationship with another man.

They argued he should have revealed his relation before he declared the measure unconstitutional in August 2010.

Walker disclosed he was gay and had a partner of 10 years after he retired from the bench last year.

However, Walker's successor as the chief federal judge in northern California, James Ware, rejected claims that Walker was unqualified to preside over the 13-day trial.

An estimated 18,000 same-sex couples in California wed during the four-month hiatus before Proposition 8 took effect, according to the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and the Law, a thinktank based at the University of California, Los Angeles.

  • Mediterranean seagrass could be hundreds of thousands of years old

Seagrass plants alive today may have begun life in the late Pleistocene at the dawn of humanity

A sprawling meadow of seagrass in the shallows of the Mediterranean may be the oldest living organisms on Earth.

Scientists calculated the age of the plants from DNA tests on clumps gathered from the seafloor between Spain and Cyprus.

They revealed the typical age of the seagrass, Posidonia oceanica, to be thousands or tens of thousands of years old, though some appeared to more ancient still. A 15km-wide stretch of seagrass lying in waters off the Spanish island of Formentera could be 200,000 years old, the scientists found, dating it to the late Pleistocene and the dawn of humanity.

Until now, a contender for the oldest living organism was a Tasmanian seagrass thought to live more than 40,000 years.

P. oceanica is the most widespread seagrass in the Mediterranean, but populations are in global decline as the meadows are damaged by trawlers, coastal development and warming waters. In the past 100 years, seagrass has declined around 10% in the region.

The team of scientists led by Sophie Arnaud-Haond at the University of Algarve in Portugal describe their work in the journal, PLoS One. The researchers tested seagrass at 40 locations across the Mediterranean, separated by up to 3,500km.

Seagrasses spread by creating clones of themselves, leading to vast meadows of genetically identical plant life that can extend for tens of kilometres. The plants grow very slowly, taking over 600 years to cover around 80m of seafloor.

P. oceanica grows so large and lives so long because it has few native competitors and no major predators in the marine habitat. The extensive subsea meadows support some of the most valuable ecosystems on the planet.

Scientists hope that a better understanding of the giant seagrass meadows will lead to fresh ways to protect them from decline.

  • 'Syrian uprising has sparked proxy regional war' - video

The Guardian's Middle East editor, Ian Black, gives his analysis of recent international diplomatic activity on Syria

  • The Sony World Photography Awards 2012 shortlist - in pictures

This year the photographers were asked to see the world as a haiku poet does: to create one image capturing a 'fleeting moment' or 'the decisive moment'. The winning picture is announced on 26 April

  • Russia claims Assad promised 'cessation' of violence in Syria

Russia's foreign minister claimed to have won a promise of a "cessation" of violence on Tuesday after meeting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

  • US election 2012: Rick Santorum poised to threaten Newt Gingrich's challenger status

Rick Santorum looked poised last night to threaten Newt Gingrich's status as the main challenger to Mitt Romney in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

  • US election 2012: Barack Obama gives controversial 'Super PACs' his blessing

Barack Obama was accused of hypocrisy on Tuesday after opting to follow his Republican rivals in soliciting huge donations from shadowy, corporate-backed fundraising groups that are set to dominate the coming US presidential election.

  • Iran's parliament summons Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for questioning

Iran's parliament entered a power struggle between the country's supreme leader and the eccentric president on Tuesday by issuing a notice compelling the head of government to appear on the floor to answer questions for the first time since the Islamic Revolution 33 years ago.

  • Mormon Church 'owns unregulated gun sale website'

One of the most active and unregulated gun sale websites in America is owned by the Mormon Church, an investigation by New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg has revealed.