Homs military attacks continue

Syrian military forces have resumed attacks in the city of Homs, activists say, despite agreeing to withdraw from urban areas under an Arab League deal. Tanks have been shelling parts of the city, and medics at the main hospital told the BBC more than 100 bodies had arrived in the past two days. Activists say at least 19 people were killed in protests in Homs and other cities on Friday.

Wednesday's Arab League deal had called for an end to suppression of protests. On Friday, Syrian state TV announced an amnesty for anti-government fighters. "The interior ministry invites those who carry arms, who sold them, distributed them, bought them or financed their purchase and who have not committed any murder to turn themselves in and surrender their weapons to the nearest police station," it said. 'Machine-gun fire' Homs has been a focus of opposition to President Bashar al-Assad since the uprising against him began in March. Local human rights groups report continued operations against opposition strongholds, including artillery bombardments of residential areas. The killings over the past two days have mostly been in the Baba Amr district. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group said the area had been "raked with heavy machine-gun fire" on Friday, with a number of deaths. It also reported that troops had opened fire in the city's Ghuta neighbourhood, killing two civilians and wounding four. At least seven protesters were also killed by troops in the town of Kanaker, outside Damascus, the Observatory said. One Kanaker resident told Reuters by telephone: "Lots of people fell on the ground with bullet wounds and we are afraid some will not make it."

Conrad Murray jury to return after weekend

The jury has ended its first day of deliberation in the trial of the man accused over Michael Jackson's death. The panel will resume considering the involuntary manslaughter charge against Dr Conrad Murray on Monday. Fans of Jackson, who died in June 2009, are camped outside the Los Angeles court, carrying signs asking for a "one way ticket to jail" for the accused. If convicted, Dr Murray, 58, could face four years in prison and lose his licence to practise medicine. The cardiologist denies giving Jackson an overdose of the powerful sedative propofol to help him sleep. The jury of seven men and five women heard from 49 witnesses and saw more than 300 pieces of evidence over the six weeks of the trial. Dr Conrad Murray chose not to testify in his own defence. There was no sign of Dr Murray on Friday or his legal team, but they are to receive a two-hour notice once a verdict is reached. During closing statements on Thursday, the prosecution said the world had lost a "genius", while the defence characterised Murray as "a little fish in a big dirty pond". Prosecutors said Dr Murray's care of the pop star had been "bizarre" and left the pop star's children fatherless.

China mine disaster

Dozens of miners have been trapped in a coal mine in China after a "rock burst", officials say. Four miners were killed and 50 more are missing after the accident, which happened late on Thursday in the city of Sanmenxia in Henan province. State media reported that the rock burst - an explosion caused by the sudden release of built-up pressure - happened shortly after an earthquake. Hundreds of Chinese miners die every year in pit accidents. The industry is one of the most dangerous in the world, and is notorious for its lax safety standards. Earlier this week a gas explosion at a mine in neighbouring Hunan province killed 29 people.

Preparing for default Quick!

More sandbags

The beachfront of Cannes is deserted. The streets are still. The city is quiet, apart from the rumbling of journalists pulling their rolling bags and motorcades whisking G20 leaders to and from their hotels. One can almost hear the scraping of shovels as European leaders rushed to fill the sandbags in the hope of surviving the impending explosion in Greece, perhaps followed by Italy.

What they need is bags and bags of money to strengthen the existing rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). But there is no more cash to be had, so it must be conjured up through financial engineering. European leaders claimed at their last summit that the EFSF would be expanded to €1 trillion, but this never seemed adequate, while legal and political problems are hampering progress. "There are some creative solutions," is all one person close to the discussions would say, expressing doubt that it could be concluded by the end of November. This is uncomfortably close to the mid-December moment when Greece runs out of money and, unless it receives more money, must default.

One source of extra money might be the IMF, which helps to explain why Barack Obama joined European leaders for crisis talks last night. The fund can only lend to states, rather than buy bonds on the markets, as the revamped EFSF is intended to do.

But perhaps, say European leaders, richer emerging economies could contribute more money to the IMF. Another option, likely to be approved, is for the IMF to make available new lines of credit for well-managed countries suffering from "exogenous shocks", though it is unclear whether this would apply to Italy.