BBC News with Nick Kelly

The Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has said he’ll form a government of technocrats without political affiliations following the assassination of a prominent opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, on Wednesday. The killing of Mr Belaid, an outspoken critic of the Islamist government, sparked violent anti-government protests in several cities. Officials say a policeman was killed. In a televised address to the nation, Mr Jebali said a non-partisan government would run the country until national elections could be held.

“I’ve decided to form a national government made of technocrats that is not affiliated to any party. It will work for the sake of this country and it will have a defined mission.”

Reports from Syria say that fighting between government forces and rebel fighters around Damascus is the most intense for months. Local residents say they’ve heard unusually heavy bombing throughout the day, while a security official said the army was launching an all-out offensive.

The United States government is tightening existing sanctions on Iran in an effort to persuade the government in Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme. The latest moves also include financial sanctions against Iran’s state-run media. Paul Adams reports from Washington.

Under the terms of a bill passed by Congress six months ago, the Treasury department is taking moves to further restrict Iran’s access to its own oil revenues. Any money Iran now makes from the sale of oil to nine countries currently granted exceptions, including China, India and Turkey, must now be credited to an account in those countries and not repatriated to Iran. Administration officials call this a significant turning of the screw.

The British bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, has been fined more than $600m for manipulating the Libor interest rate, a benchmark for consumer and business loans around the world. The fine is to be paid to financial regulators in Britain and the United States. Britain’s financial services authority says more than 20 individuals, at least one manager, were involved in Libor rigging. The bank has fired those involved and the head of its investment arm has quit. Stephen Hester is the bank’s chief executive.

“What these 20, 21 people did is wrong. There can be no place in RBS, or in the banking industry, for wrongdoing of this nature. It is an extreme example of a selfish and self-serving culture, of which there are too many other milder examples across the banking industry.”

France has called on the United Nations Security Council to replace the African military mission in Mali with a UN peacekeeping force as soon as possible, preferably by April. It’s also called for the rapid deployment of human rights observers. French troops are currently trying to clear northern Mali of Islamist groups.

World News from the BBC

Work has begun in Italy on a multi-million dollar project to preserve one of the world’s greatest archaeological sites, the ruins of Pompeii. The city was buried nearly 2,000 years ago in a volcanic eruption, which preserved many of its buildings. But in recent decades, the site has suffered from neglect and mismanagement. Alan Johnston reports from Rome.

Pompeii is a town frozen in that catastrophic moment when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted. Much of the site is so dilapidated that it can no longer be visited. But now a major effort has begun to restore Pompeii. An EU delegation was present as work started on one particularly famous villa. A spokesman said that preserving Pompeii could have enormous economic benefits. But everyone involved knows that the local mafia, the Camorra, will also be drawn by the money now being invested in the site.

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The Women’s League of South Africa’s governing National Congress has highlighted the issue of gang-rape after a teenage victim died in hospital in the Western Cape. The Women’s League said it was disgusted by the incident. The girl, who was 17 years old, is reported to have identified one of her attackers before she died and the man is now in custody.

And Nigeria’s footballers have booked their place in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. They beat Mali 4:1 in Durban. In the other semi-final, Ghana and Burkina Faso have drawn 1:1 in Nelspruit. The match is now going to be decided in a penalty shoot-out after both sides failed to score in extra time.

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