BBC News with Sue Montgomery

People in the Northeastern United States have begun clearing up after a ferocious snow storm force the region into a partial shutdown. Rajesh Mirchandani reports

People here have gone a difficult job of shoveling out after the storm. In some places it’s snowed for around 18 hours affecting nine US states and parts of Canada. Across the Northeastern US thousands of flights were canceled train and bus services too. Some motorists were forced to sleep in their cars as road conditions worsened overnight. Electricity was knocked out to more than 600,000 homes also to a nuclear power plant in Massachusetts. Although authorities say it shut down automatically and there was never any danger to the public.

The Tunisian Prime Minister Hamdi Jebali has threatened to resign if his proposal to dissolve the cabinet and replace it with a new technocratic government is not accepted. But other members of the governing Islamist party Ennahda came out against the proposal. Several thousand Islamists held a rally in Tunis in support of Ennahda. Wayne Davis was there.

“We are all Muslims and we will not be moved” with the message from this vocal but largely peaceful demonstration in the heart of Tunis. After as many as a million people attending yesterday’s funeral of the leading opposition politician Shokri Belaid, the main Islamist parties and factions today urged as many of their own supporters as possible to come out onto the streets. Many of the protest rejected allegations that Ennahda was ultimately responsible for the death of Mr. Belaid who was assassinated last week.

A Russian opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov has been placed under house arrest by a court in the capital Moscow. Prosecutors argued Mr. Udaltsov who is the leader of the Left Front had breached restrictions imposed in him before his trial for inciting mass disorder. The charges relate to protest in May following the reelection of President Putin. Oleg Byrdrove, reporter for the BBC Russian Service was in court.

Mr. Udaltsov is not a stranger to the court hearings or temporary detentions but never before has he pointed any other Russian opposition activists been placed under house arrest. The court ruled that he stayed inside his flat, limited his communications to just his closest relatives and his lawyers. Additionally he is not allowed to use the Internet. Speaking to journalists before the verdict, Mr. Udaltsov said that he considered the new restrictions a purely political move.

NASA’s unmanned explorer on Mars Curiosity has for the first time drilled into the bedrock of the planet. The rover used to drill at the end of a robotic arm to penetrate the rock and will now analyze the powder collected. A spokesman called it the biggest accomplishment for the explorer team since it landed last August.

World News from the BBC

In the United States, the funeral is taking place of a teenage girl who was shot dead in Chicago, a week after performing at President Obama’s inauguration. The country’s first lady Michelle Obama will be among the mourners. Hadiya Pendleton’s death has attracted widespread attention in the US amid a national debate over gun violence. Her mother has called for stronger gun controls.

The head of Findus’ France, the manufacturer of ready-meals found to contain unlabelled horsemeat says it will sue meat suppliers who had defrauded the company. Legal action has also been threatened by one of its suppliers, the French firm Spanghero who said it was ready to sue a Romanian company it buys its meat from. Spanghero said the meat had been labeled as European origin beef.

Bad weather has been causing havoc along the Pacific Coast of South America. In the southern Peruvian city of Arequipa landslides caused by torrential rain left thousands of people without electricity and drinking water. At least six people are said to have died. Mattia Cabitza reports

Rivers of mud descended from the hilltops. And entire streets and homes in Arequipa were submerged underwater. Roads and bridges were damaged. Power and water supplies cut and landslides buried vehicles under mud and rubble. The authorities are still assessing the extent of the damage but the government has already offered to send helicopters and humanitarian aid. The last major disaster in Arequipa happened almost exactly 24 years ago when the banks of the River Chile collapsed bringing flooding to low land areas of the city.

Football and, Mali have beaten Ghana three goals to one to finish third in the Africa Cup of Nations. Mali scored first in the 21st-minute and sealed their victory with a third goal in extra time. Ghana scored its only goal in the second half after missing an earlier penalty kick.

BBC News