6 August 2012 Last updated at 13:46 ET

Syria's prime minister defectsFormer Syrian PM Riad Hijab in 2008

Syrian Prime Minister Riad Hijab defects from President Bashar al-Assad's government, two months after he was appointed.

Israeli soldiers stand next to a burnt-out Egyptian armoured personnel carrier captured by gunmen who attacked a border post at Kerem Shalom late on 5 August 2010Egypt hunts border raid gunmen

The Egyptian military vows to hunt down the gunmen who killed 16 policemen on the Israeli border, and declares three days of mourning for its dead.

Standard Chartered, ShanghaiBank 'in $250bn scheme with Iran'

US regulators accuse one of Britain's largest banks, Standard Chartered, of hiding more than $250bn (£161bn) in illegal transactions with Iran.

Special Reports

Fleeing shelling in Idlib, Northern Syria - Febrauary 2012Syria conflict

Features, analysis and background on the violence in Syria and its regional effects

More Special Reports:

Features & Analysis

  • An Egyptian armoured personnel carrier is seen next to the Rafah border crossing with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on 6 August 2012Step change

    Sinai attack marks shift in border violence

  • FSA soldier in Aleppo, 4 AugustLearning to fight

    How Syria's rebels are getting crucial training in Turkey

  • Syrian child refugees at the Zaatari tent city in Jordan on 31 July 2012Limited resources

    Jordan struggles to cope with influx of Syrian refugees

  • Hip-hop group LaTlateh perform in BeirutMood music

    Syrian hip-hop act taking conflict to the turntable

  • Making headlines

    Controversy over Saudi woman athlete at home and abroad

  • Northern danger

    How Israel is making contingency plans for Syrian conflict fall-out

  • Strategy doubts

    Yemen discomfort over US tactics for ridding country of al-Qaeda

Elsewhere on the BBC

  • Swimming in the BahamasInto the blue

    Explore an underwater universe beneath the ocean in the Bahamas

Programmes

  • TypingFast Track Watch

    Are tourists being forced to reveal their personal emails to security on arrival in Israel?

  • Stephen Sackur hosts the BBC World Debate from ParisThe World Debate Watch

    Activists and experts join Stephen Sackur to discuss if it is time for military intervention in Syria

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