Here's an updated summary of today's developments:

Syria

The Syrian Red Cross has succeeded in evacuating just three people from the besieged city of Homs. The International Committee of the Red Cross said a pregnant woman, her husband and a sick elderly woman had been taken out of the city by ambulances. None of the wounded western reporters were among those evacuated: there are reports they wanted stronger assurances that they would not be detained by Syrian authorities before they would board an ambulance.

• Unconfirmed reports from Homs claim Syrian forces killed more than 60 people attempting to flee the city. The families from the Baba Amr district, which has been ravaged by near-constant shelling in recent weeks, were reportedly loaded onto buses at a checkpoint by solders who promised them safe passage; at least 60 male bodies were later found dumped in two locations. The whereabouts of women who were among the families is unknown.

• A hawkish wing of the opposition Syrian National Council has formed a splinter group to unequivocally back armed resistance against the Syrian government. The move further weakens the already divided opposition.

• Qatar has now joined Saudi Arabia in saying that the international community should arm Syria's opposition. Meanwhile, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has cautioned against arming the opposition, suggesting that arms could fall into the hands of terrorists.

• The Syrian government says yesterday's referendum on a new constitution produced a "yes" vote of 89.4%, with a turnout of 57.4%. Iran and Russia have objected to plans for an emergency debate on Syria at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Yemen

• After 33 years in power, Ali Abdullah Saleh is no longer president of Yemen. He formally handed over to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, this morning.

My colleague Ryan Devereaux has been attempting to get more details of the killings near Homs of residents who were attempting to flee. Activists say government forces killed at least 64 people attempting to flee the besieged city late last night. This is what he has found so far:

I spoke to Nidal, an administrator for the Sham news network in Homs this afternoon. (Sham is one of the sources used by reporters and agencies covering the conflict in the country.) According to Nidal, between 10pm and 11pm last night, families attempted to leave the neighborhood of Baba Amr, which has been ravaged by near-constant shelling in recent weeks. Nidal isn't an eyewitness, but he says the incident is being widely discussed in Homs. According to the account established by Nidal, the families were stopped about 1km from the Baba Amr, between the Abdel area and what he called the "international roadway". According to Nidal, the soldiers asked the families where they were headed and they replied that they "wanted to go to a safe place". Nidal claims that the soldiers said they would secure passes for the citizens so they could travel safely. Then, four buses were driven to the checkpoint to transport the traveling families. Shortly after the buses departed, Nidal says they stopped again, and the older men were forced out of the vehicles and onto the roadway. The men who remained on the bus were then killed, according to Nidal. The bodies of 47 young men were later picked up in ambulances near Ghajar village and Al-Tanouna, while 17 were allegedly found north of the Shandakheya dam. Nidal said the bodies were not buried but were found "on the soil". The corpses were reportedly driven to the national hospital in Homs. According to Nidal, a nurse working in the hospital who is sympathetic to the revolution saw the bodies of the young men as they were being loaded into the "refrigerator". She is said to have noted that the wounds on their bodies indicated that they had been killed with knives. Meanwhile, the location of the women who were loaded onto the buses remains unknown, as does their number. For Nidal and his fellow activists, the apparent mass kidnapping of the women – as they sought refuge – has pushed the conflict into new territory. "This is a red line for us," Nidal said. "We're very, very angry". He predicted the reaction from Syria's opposition forces as a result of the incident will be "more heavy". It's unclear if there were children among those who reportedly taken captive.



There have been suggestions that the bodies were handed over to the Red Crescent, but we've not been able to contact them to see if they can verify all or part of this story.

Ryan did manage to reach Eva Voors, head of communications for the live stream website Bambuser, who said she received the same reports from three independent sources in Syria. Bambuser has been in close contact with activists on the ground in Syria since the uprising began. Voors says she is in "daily communication" with Syrian activists.

The death of a Syrian videographer in Homs has brought the number of journalists killed in the country in the last week to four, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports.

Anas al-Tarsha, 17, was reportedly filming in the Qarabees district of Homs Friday when he was hit by mortar fire and died. He was said to have posted videos on YouTube under the name Anas al-Homsi.

Another Syrian videographer, Rami al-Sayed, was killed in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs on Tuesday. Journalists Marie Colvin and Rémi Ochlik were killed there on Wednesday.

A Twitter account belonging to wounded French journalist Edith Bouvier @danslesrues, – her handle translates as "on the streets" – has been actively re-tweeting messages of support from other accounts all day.

Confirmation is coming in now of the details of the Homs evacuation. My colleague Ben Quinn reports from London:

An ICRC spokesman confirmed that no foreign journalists were on board the ambulances of the Syrian Red Cross which tonight brought out three Syrian citizens from Baba Amr – a pregant woman, her husband and a sick elderly woman. "We don't know the reasons. The situation is very tense and communications are very difficult," the spokesman said. The ICRC indicated that the ambulances would not attempt to re-enter Baba Amr on Monday evening. A previous attempt at evacuation failed after the two journalists, Bouvier and Conroy, reportedly required further reassurances before getting into a Red Crescent ambulance. It is thought they feared being detained by the Syrian authorities for entering the country illegally.

News of the evacuation attempt came as one of the main activist groups in Syria, the Local Coordination Committees, said that 135 people were killed in violent conflicts across the country Monday. The number included 64 said to be killed at a security checkpoint as they tried to flee Homs.

Forty-seven bodies were reportedly found between the villages of al-Ghajar and al-Tanouna, near Homs, the group said. Seventeen others were found north of the village of Sid al-Shindakhiyeh.

A second activist group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told the Associated Press it had unconfirmed reports that the dead were families who had been killed by security forces while fleeing the city.

Red Crescent workers delivered the bodies to the natioanl hospital in Homs Monday, according to a CNN report.

This is Tom McCarthy in New York with an update from Homs and the attempted evacuation.

The Syrian Red Crescent says it has evacuated three people from the besieged city, Reuters reports – but two gravely wounded journalists were not among them.

It had been hoped that the journalists, French reporter Edith Bouvier of Le Figaro and British photographer Paul Conroy of the Sunday Times, could be removed from the city late Monday. The two have been stranded in Homs since Wednesday, when they were gravely wounded in an attack that killed two other journalists, American reporter Marie Colvin and French photographer Remi Ochlik.

Sean Maguire of the International Committee of the Red Crescent in London confirmed that members of the organization had entered Homs. "The objective is to bring in medical supplies and evacuate people who need help," Maguire said.

ICRC:volunteers evacuated an old lady, a pregnant lady and her husband from #BabaAmr Syrian #RedCrescent. #Homs — Carla Haddad Mardini (@CarlaMardini) February 27, 2012

Here's a roundup of today's developments:

Syria

• A hawkish wing of the opposition Syrian National Council has formed a splinter group to unequivocally back armed resistance against the Syrian government. The move further weakens the already divided opposition.

• Qatar has now joined Saudi Arabia in saying that the international community should arm Syria's opposition. Meanwhile, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has cautioned against arming the opposition, suggesting that arms could fall into the hands of terrorists.

• The Syrian government says yesterday's referendum on a new constitution produced a "yes" vote of 89.4%, with a turnout of 57.4%.

• Efforts to evacuate wounded western reporters from the besieged city of Homs are continuing. French president Nicolas Sarkozy said a solution is in sight; Poland says its diplomats are involved, too.

• Iran and Russia have objected to plans for an emergency debate on Syria at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Yemen

• After 33 years in power, Ali Abdullah Saleh is no longer president of Yemen. He formally handed over to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, this morning.

Iran and Russia are attempting to block an emergency debate on Syria at the UN Human Rights Council, news agencies report from Geneva.

Iran, which is an observer but not a member of the council, has lodged a formal objection, the Council's current president, Laura Dupuy Lasserre, said today. Russia is also objecting – apparently on the grounds that the situation in Syria has not changed since the council last discussed the issue in early December.

Qatar had asked for a debate on Syria to be held tomorrow – a request that was backed by most Arab League members, as well as the EU and the US – though approval of a resolution criticising Syria would be largely symbolic.

Last week a panel of UN experts issued a report accusing Syrian government officials of "crimes against humanity".

Poland says its diplomats are working to get wounded Western journalists evacuated from Homs, AP reports.

Poland's Embassy in Damascus represents US interests in Syria, following the recall of US ambassador Robert Ford.

Foreign ministry spokesman Marcin Bosacki told The Associated Press on Monday that Poland's embassy is cooperating with US , British and French authorities "to obtain the evacuation of Western journalists from Homs" and to bring out the bodies of American Marie Colvin and Frenchman Remi Ochlik. Colvin and Ochlik were killed Wednesday in a government attack near Homs. Two other journalists, Edith Bouvier of France and Paul Conroy of Britain, were wounded in the attack. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday plans to evacuate the two injured journalists are taking shape.

Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, has begun his new role as UN/Arab League envoy on Syria with separate talks with the foreign ministers of Iran and France, Reuters reports.

In his first statement on Friday, Annan called for the full cooperation of all parties and stakeholders to help bring an end to Syria's violence and human rights abuses.

Annan's appointment was welcomed by Russia.

One of the main leaders of the Free Syrian Army, Colonel Riad al-Asaad, has praised Saudi Arabia for calling for his rebel group to be armed.

In an interview he described the move as "courageous", according to Now Lebanon.

Today Qatar also said it backed arming the opposition and it emerged that a hawkish splinter group within the opposition Syrian National Council has formed Syrian Patriotic Group to openly campaign for an armed resistance.

The SNC has had a strained relationship with the FSA. It attempts to persuade the FSA to focus only protecting civilians have largely failed.

The result of the referendum ballot have already prompted widespread scepticism.

Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch tweets:

Parallel universe of SANA: 89.4% of #Syria approves new constitution. 57.4% participation rate. sana.sy/ara/157/2012/0… — Nadim Houry (@nadimhoury) February 27, 2012

The Egyptian blogger the Arabist tweets:

I've just conducted an internal referendum - results show 89.4% in favor of me helping myself to another slice of cake. — arabist (@arabist) February 27, 2012

Syrian opposition activist Kareem Lailah tweets:

57.4% of eligible voters have voted in favor for the new referendum... the rest are killed or arrested. #Syria — Ḱ@яℯℯм ℒαḯł@н (@KareemLailah) February 27, 2012

Breaking news on the new Syrian constitution: Around 89% of Syrians voted "yes", state television is reporting. Turnout is put at 57.4%

BREAKING #Syria TV: New constitution passes with 89.4% positive vote and 57.4% participation rate. — Shakeeb Al-Jabri (@LeShaque) February 27, 2012

An apparent direct hit on mosque in the Baba Amr area of Homs provoked screams of outrage in one of the latest video clips from the Syria Pioneer YouTube channel.

The same mosque has featured in a number of clips from the city, but until now has not serious damaged, unlike the buildings around it.

Meanwhile, the BBC reports artillery fire at civilians areas in the town of Binnish, west of Idlib.

Syrian troops have begun a ground invasion into the Insha'at neighbourhood of Homs, witnesses have told the campaign group Avaaz.

The area lies between Baba Amr in the south-west of the city and the city centre.

Avaaz claims dozens of tanks have been seen entering the Insha'at. It is not the first time tanks have been reported in the area, as as last week's Guardian interactive map of the area shows.

Today Avaaz quoted one eyewitness as saying:

Insha'at borders Baba Amr so the regime is now very close to its main target. They are close enough to shell it with tanks. Baba Amr is full of resistance fighters so the regime knows it will be difficult to defeat them. So they want to destroy it completely from outside before they send in forces on the ground so they kill as many FSA fighters as possible.

The report could not independently verified.

Qatar appears to be shifting its position on military intervention in Syria.

Speaking on Friday at the Friends of Syria conference in Tunis Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said: "There is a need to create an Arab force and open humanitarian corridors to provide security to the Syrian people."

Now he says the international community should arm the opposition.

Reuters quotes him saying:



I think we should do whatever is necessary to help them, including giving them weapons to defend themselves ... Since we failed in the Security Council to do something, I think we have to try to do something to send enough military help to stop the killing.

Many suspect that both Saudi Arabia and Qatar are already covertly helping to arm the opposition Free Syrian Army.

Here's a roundup of the latest developments:

Syria

• A hawkish wing of the opposition Syrian National Council has formed a splinter group to unequivocally back armed resistance against the Syrian government. The move further weakens the already divided opposition. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton cautioned against arming the opposition, suggesting that arms could fall into the hands of terrorists.

• The EU announced a new round of sanctions against Syria this morning, following a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. The latest measures include freezing the assets of several Syrian government officials, imposing sanctions on the country's central bank, banning purchases of gold, precious metals and diamonds from Syria, and banning Syrian cargo flights from the EU.

• Syrian government troops have fired heavy barrages of artillery and rockets into districts across Homs, where rebels have been holding out through weeks of bombardment, opposition activists said. The siege continued as the Syrian authorities count the vote in referendum on a new constitution after a mixed turnout.

• Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin has warned against military intervention in Syria, AP reports. In an article Putin defended a Russia-China veto of a United Nations resolution condemning the Assad regime's crackdown on protests, saying that Moscow wouldn't allow the replay of what happened in Libya.

• French president Nicolas Sarkozy said that a solution for getting wounded Western reporters out of the besieged Syrian city of Homs was in sight, AFP reports. "We have the beginnings of a solution," he told RTL radio. "It seems that things are starting to move."

• The crisis in Syria is expected to dominate the annual session of the UN Human Rights Council which opens today. "We want Syrian authorities to give up being in denial," one diplomat told AFP. The Human Rights Council must "continue to put pressure on Syrian authorities".

Yemen

• After 33 years in power, Ali Abdullah Saleh is no longer president of Yemen. He formally handed over to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, this morning.

Libya

• Efforts are continuing to secure the release of two British journalists who are being held by a group of former rebel fighters in Libya, the BBC reports. Reporter Nicholas Davies and cameraman Gareth Montgomery-Johnson were detained by members of the Misrata Brigade on Tuesday and are being held in Tripoli.

A hawkish wing of the opposition Syrian National Council has formed a splinter group to unequivocally back armed resistance against the Syrian government.

Reuters says at least 20 members of the SNC have formed the Syrian Patriotic Group.

It quotes a statement from the group criticising the caution of the SNC on the issue of armed resistance.

Syria has experienced long and difficult months since the Syrian National Council was formed without it achieving satisfactory results or being able to activate its executive offices or adopt the demands of the rebels inside Syria. The previous mode of operation has been useless. We decided to form a patriotic action group to back the national effort to bring down the regime with all available resistance means including supporting the Free Syrian Army.

30 Syrian soldiers have defected to Iraqi Kurdistan, according to an AFP update published by Now Lebanon. It cites a deputy minister as a source.

The Syrian economy continues to nosedive, according to the National. It claims that Syrian bank deposits have reduced by more than a fifth over the last year.

It quotes a stock-market official as saying: "We are in the danger zone, but it could get much worse."

After 33 years in power, Ali Abdullah Saleh is officially no longer president of Yemen. The formal handover to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi (pictured on an election poster) took place this morning.

Hadi, who is due to serve a two-year term, indicated at the inauguration ceremony that he would not stay in office beyond that. "In two years I hope to be standing where Ali Abdullah Saleh is now, with a new president standing where I am," he said in remarks quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that Saleh is planning to go into exile in Ethiopia. Even though he has stepped down, Yemeni protesters are still calling for him to leave the country, fearing that he will continue to pull strings behind the scenes if he remains in Yemen.

The Asian Football Confederation has told Syrian and Yemeni clubs they should play at neutral venues outside their own countries during the group stage of this year's AFC Cup.

In a letter to the Yemeni and Syrian Football Associations, AFC cited Fifa's assessment of the security situation in Yemen and Syria, which recommends not to organise any international match in either country for the time being.

The clubs affected are al-Ittihad and al-Shorta in Syria and al-Orouba and al-Tilal in Yemen.

CBS has an interesting interview with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Towards the end of it, CBS correspondent Wyatt Andrews presses Clinton on the question of arming Syria's opposition:

Andrews: The US has repeatedly said that it is reluctant to support the direct arming of the dissidents. Why? Clinton: Well, first of all, we really don't know who it is that would be armed. We have met some of the people from the Syrian National Council. They're not inside Syria. This is not Libya where you had a base of operations in Benghazi, where you had people who were representing the entire opposition to Libya, who were on the road meeting with me, rather, constantly meeting with others. You could get your arms around what it is you were being asked to do, and with whom. We don't have any clarity on that. Andrews: Madame Secretary, what's the fear of arming the rebels? Clinton: Well, first of all as I just said, what are we going to arm them with and against what? We're not going to bring tanks over the borders of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. That's not going to happen. So maybe at best you can smuggle in, you know, automatic weapons. Maybe some other weapons that you could get in. To whom? Where do you go? You can't get into Homs. Where do you go? And to whom are you delivering them? We know al-Qaida - Zawahiri is supporting the opposition in Syria. Are we supporting al-Qaida in Syria? Hamas is now supporting the opposition. Are we supporting Hamas in Syria? So I think, Wyatt, despite the great pleas that we hear from those people who are being ruthlessly assaulted by Assad, you don't see uprisings across Syria the way you did in Libya. You don't see militias forming in places where the Syrian military is not, trying to get to Homs. You don't see that, Wyatt. So if you're a military planner or if you're a Secretary of State and you're trying to figure out do you have the elements of an opposition that is actually viable, that we don't see. We see immense human suffering that is heartbreaking and a stain on the honour of those security forces who are doing it.

The EU announced a new round of sanctions against Syria this morning, following a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.

The latest measures include freezing the assets of several Syrian government officials, imposing sanctions on the country's central bank, banning purchases of gold, precious metals and diamonds from Syria, and banning Syrian cargo flights from the EU.

Names of the newly-sanctioned officials will be announced tomorrow, the Associated Press reports.

There are three key threats to a political transition in Syria, according to a report co-written by the International Crisis Groups' Peter Harling - one of the most respected analysts of the current crisis.

Writing with Sarah Birke for the Middle East Research and Information Project, they list the following dangers:



1) Bashar's power base has weakened but remains an incontrovertible fact on the ground 2) The divisions and naïveté of the opposition Syrian National Council 3) Help from foreign government will make matters worse



But despite their concern about an all-out civil war, Harling and Birke see grounds for optimism.

They say:

Syrian society is better prepared to manage a transition than it would have been had the power structure collapsed early on. It has been forced into learning how to organise itself to prevent its own collapse.

They cite the example of an emergence of civil society in Homs.

Over the course of the uprising, Syrians have articulated a now deeply rooted culture of dissent and developed sometimes sophisticated forms of self-rule by setting up local councils: Homs, which is also home to unruly armed groups, has developed a revolutionary council with an 11-member executive that presides over committees responsible for different aspects of the crisis, from interacting with the media to procuring medical supplies. Within revolting communities there is a greater sense of purpose, solidarity and national unity than at any time in recent Syrian history.

The report criticises the opposition Syrian National Council for failing to reach out to the Alawite community, of which the Assad family are members.

It has most notably failed to reach out to the 'Alawis, many of whom are poor and disgruntled but afraid to change sides lest they suffer a backlash due to their association with the security forces and army units responsible for much of the violence.

To response to such criticism the SNC says it is extending its hand to the Alawite community.

In a press statement it said:

We in the SNC consider members of the Alawite sect to be an essential element of Syria's cultural and ethnic fabric. It is shameful for us, the people of an undivided nation, to target a community by name instead of calling upon their national citizenship. However, this is the result of the regime's actions. The Alawites remain an important component of Syria, and will continue to enjoy the same rights as other citizens as we build one nation of Christians, Muslims, and other sects. The regime will not be successful in pitting us against one another. We are determined to unite our society, and the first step is for us to extend our hand to our Alawite brothers and sisters, to build in Syria a nation governed by citizenship and the rule of law

Syria Pioneer the YouTube channel of a citizen journalist killed in Homs last week continues to show clips of what it purports to be the continuing bombardment of the Baba Amr area - for the 24th day in a row.

It also show activists mocking Sunday's referendum on a new constitution by showing ballot boxes being stuffed with artillery shells.

Wounded journalists stranded in Homs refused to be evacuated by a Red Crescent team on Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed.

The team rescued 27 injured people from the city last Friday after negotiations with the governor of Homs. But wounded journalists including Le Figaro reporter Edith Bouvier and Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy declined to enter the Red Crescent vehicles.

"The journalist refused to be evacuated by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent last Friday," a ICRC spokesman told the Guardian.

He suggested renewed attempts to reach journalists and other wounded people would be made today.

He said:

We are still attempting to enter Baba Amr to carry out evacuations for those who need it. We also very much want to bring in food and medical assistance. Whenever we manage to go back we will continue to evacuate all those in need of help, including the journalists.

Asked about the journalists' apparent mistrust of the Red Crescent, the spokesman said:

There are real communications challenges in Syria. Unsurprisingly in a volatile and dangerous situation there maybe instances of mistrust. We work closely with the Syria Arab Red Crescent volunteers who have risked their lives in the current crisis. However we have heard reports of instances of misuse of the Red Cross/Red Crescent emblems.

Earlier today, both the ICRC and the Syrian Red Crescent were able to enter the city of Hama, which has also been under attack by the Syrian army.

The ICRC spokesman said the team delivered enough food to feed up to 12,000 people for up to a month. It also deliver blankets and hygiene kits. A similar operation is being planned for Homs.

WikiLeaks has begun releasing what it says are 5.5m emails from the servers of Stratfor, a US-based "global intelligence" company with about 300,000 subscribers. The emails appear to have been obtained in a hacking attack by the Anonymous group last December.

One question this raises is whether the emails will cast any light on

a report about Syria published by Stratfor last year which said:

Most of the opposition's more serious claims have turned out to be grossly exaggerated or simply untrue ...

The report has since been much quoted by those sympathetic to the Assad regime. The same report also mistakenly said that two of the regime's key figures were Sunni Muslims and a correction was later added to make clear that they are in fact Alawites.

The Red Cross rescue mission in Baba Amr, has "run into some difficulties", according to Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human Rights Watch.

Writing on a Facebook page for foreign journalists which he runs, Bouckaert said:

The FSA [Free Syrian Army] is not creating any obstacles in the evacuation of the journalists - the problem is on the Syrian [government] side, and the difficulty of trying to do anything under the continuing bombardment. Many people continue to work very hard to make the evacuation happen.

Last week Bouckaert expressed concern that the bodies of Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin and photographer Rémi Ochlik would have to be buried in Homs, because of the lack of refrigeration in Baba Amr and the difficulty in getting them out. Today he said the bodies had not been buried, and there was still hope that they could be repatriated.

Syrian state TV said because Colvin and Ochlik entered Syria without permission, the Syrian government had no responsibility for their safety. You can see subtitled version of the broadcast here (via @Brown_Moses).

(all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live. Efforts to rescue wounded people from Homs, including the journalists Edith Bouvier and Paul Conroy, are being thwarted by the Syrian army's continuing bombardment of the city, but French president Nicolas Sarkozy claims a solution is in sight.

Here's a roundup of the latest developments:

Syria

• Two western reporters stranded in Homs, Edith Bouvier and Paul Conroy, could be rescued today, according to the New York Daily Post. "The evacuation will not happen Sunday because it is dangerous to send ambulances at night. It will take place most likely on Monday," it quoted Saleh Dabbakeh, spokesman for the Red Crescent in Damascus as saying. Since the deaths last Wednesday of Sunday Times correspondent Marie Colvin and French photographer Rémi Ochlik, the ICRC has been trying to get scores of wounded out of Syria to hospitals in Lebanon.

• French president Nicolas Sarkozy said that a solution for getting wounded Western reporters out of the besieged Syrian city of Homs was in sight, AFP reports. "We have the beginnings of a solution," he told RTL radio. "It seems that things are starting to move."

• Kate Conroy, the wife of wounded Sunday Times photographer Paul Conroy (pictured), said her husband refused to leave with the Syrian Red Crescent ambulances because he was advised they could not be trusted. "They were advised that the Syrian Red Crescent were not to be trusted and so they refused to leave with them unless they had somebody from the British or French embassy with them," she told the BBC, the Independent reports.

• Syrian government troops have fired heavy barrages of artillery and rockets into districts across Homs, where rebels have been holding out through weeks of bombardment, opposition activists said. The siege continued as the Syrian authorities count the vote in referendum on a new constitution after a mixed turnout.

• Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin has warned against military intervention in Syria, AP reports. In an article Putin defended a Russia-China veto of a United Nations resolution condemning the Assad regime's crackdown on protests, saying that Moscow wouldn't allow the replay of what happened in Libya.

• The crisis in Syria is expected to dominate the annual session of the UN Human Rights Council which opens today. "We want Syrian authorities to give up being in denial," one diplomat told AFP. The Human Rights Council must "continue to put pressure on Syrian authorities".

• China's People's Daily described US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's criticisms of Beijing's stance on Syria "super arrogant" and argued that, after the Iraq war, the United States has no right to speak for Arab people. Reuters quoted it saying:

The United States' motive in parading as a 'protector' of the Arab peoples is not difficult to imagine. The problem is, what moral basis does it have for this patronising and egotistical super-arrogance and self-confidence?

• What we should fear most is not western military intervention, since it isn't in prospect, but eastern intervention, writes Brian Whitaker.

There is something surreal about a group of "friends" promoting change in Syria that includes so many autocrats and, as one of its leading lights, the country most notorious for resisting progress: Saudi Arabia. At one point during Friday's meeting, the Saudi foreign minister reportedly stormed out, self-righteously complaining about "inaction" (though some reports deny it). Later, asked if arming the Syrian opposition would be a good idea, he replied: "I think it's an excellent idea." Indeed, some suspect the Saudis are already doing just that. Meanwhile Qatar, a less oppressive autocracy than Saudi Arabia but an autocracy nevertheless, called for the creation of "an Arab force" for Syria. None of that bodes well for Syria's future ... From a Saudi perspective, getting rid of Assad will help to shift the balance back in Sunni Islam's direction. Most Syrians are Sunnis, though the regime itself is dominated by Alawites – a Shia offshoot – and closely allied to Iran. Saudi "support" for the Syrian opposition, therefore, is likely to make the conflict more sectarian rather than less.

Egypt

• The controversial Egyptian trial of employees of western-backed pro-democracy groups got off to a tumultuous start in Cairo as defendants and their supporters chanted for the military government to step down. The prosecution of NGO workers trying to nurture Egypt's young pro-democracy movement has strengthened doubts about the readiness of the country's generals to hand over power to an elected civilian government.

Libya

• Efforts are continuing to secure the release of two British journalists who are being held by a group of former rebel fighters in Libya, the BBC reports. Reporter Nicholas Davies and cameraman Gareth Montgomery-Johnson were detained by members of the Misrata Brigade on Tuesday and are being held in Tripoli.