Restricted embryo growth 'predicts miscarriage risk' BBC

The study looked at the growth of embryos up to the age of 12 weeks old

The growth of an embryo during the early stages of pregnancy is linked to its risk of miscarriage, says a University of Nottingham study.

Scientists found that 78% of single-baby pregnancies which ended in miscarriage were in the smallest 5% of embryos.

Researchers measured the length of more than 500 single and twin embryos during the first trimester.

An expert said the study added to our knowledge of miscarriage risk.

The research was presented at the British Fertility Society annual meeting in Leeds.

The Nottingham researchers tracked the growth of 247 singleton and 264 twin embryos conceived through IVF, because this allowed them to know the embryos' precise gestational age.

For each embryo, the distance from top of the embryo's head to the bottom of its buttocks (the crown-rump length), was measured once during the first trimester using an ultrasound scan.

The pregnancy was then monitored until birth.

Poor growth

Using the measurements, the researchers discovered that poor growth in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy was a good predictor of miscarriage.

They calculated that 77.8% of single embryo pregnancies that miscarried were growth restricted, while 98.1% of single embryo pregnancies that did not miscarry were not growth restricted.

This was not the case in twin pregnancies, however, where only 28.6% of pregnancies that miscarried were growth restricted.

Ninety-eight per cent of twin pregnancies that did not miscarry were not growth restricted.

Dr Shyamaly Sur, who led the research, said the findings should help to identify pregnancies at risk of miscarriage.

"There are various reasons why some embryos show restricted growth in the early stages of pregnancy. It could be down to an abnormality in the foetus or something in the environment of the womb."

Underlying causes

"More research is now needed to investigate the relationship between growth and the underlying causes of miscarriage in more detail.

"We are focussing on how blood flow to the womb lining and embryo quality influence conception rates and subsequent miscarriage."

Dr Raj Mathur, consultant gynaecologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, said it was a very good study which made biological sense.

But he said there were other factors to consider when looking at miscarriage risk.

"We also need to consider the woman's health history, look at the picture of the whole woman.

"This study adds to our knowledge about risk but we also need to look at blood supply to the embryo and whatever genes are passed on from the father too."

The study also found that twin embryos grew at the same rate as single embryos during the first trimester, which was not expected.

"There is something else going on with twin embryos. We need more research in this area. It could be that twins grow normally and then miscarry."

Dr Sur said the research seemed to suggest that embryo growth patterns are similar in non-IVF pregnancies.

South Africa clinch series 2-1 despite Samaraweera ton

CAPE TOWN: South Africa beat Sri Lanka by ten wickets to clinch the series 2-1 on the fourth day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Friday, despite a fighting century by Thilan Samaraweera.

Samaraweera's 115 not out and some bold hitting by the tailenders enabled Sri Lanka to avoid an innings defeat.

They were bowled out for 342, leaving South Africa needing only two runs to win the match and the series.

The first delivery of the final innings was a no-ball by Dhammika Prasad which Alviro Petersen pushed past the bowler for the winning run.

Jacques Kallis finished off the Sri Lanka innings to claim bowling figures of three for 35.

He also equalled two South African Test records by taking four catches in the innings and six in the match after making a career-best 224 in South Africa's first innings.

Samaraweera and vice-captain Angelo Mathews put on 142 for the fifth wicket and prevented South Africa from taking a wicket before lunch.

But the introduction of the second new ball, which was taken one over before lunch, brought a breakthrough when Vernon Philander trapped Mathews leg before wicket for 63 in the fourth over after the interval with a ball which kept low.

Philander followed up by having Dinesh Chandimal caught at second slip by Jacques Kallis.

Samaraweera went to his second century of the series after batting for 283 minutes, facing 201 balls and hitting 13 fours.

He reached his hundred during a seventh wicket stand of 56 with Thisara Perera which was marked by some big hitting by Perera before the left-hander was caught in the deep by Morne Morkel off leg-spinner Imran Tahir for 30.

Kallis caught and bowled Rangana Herath before the last two batsmen, Dhammika Prasad and Chanaka Welegedera, both hit out effectively enough for Sri Lanka to avoid an innings defeat.

Welegedera hit Kallis for four and six off successive balls to take Sri Lanka one run ahead before he was comprehensively bowled by Kallis attempting another big hit.

It was South Africa's first series win at home since they beat Bangladesh in 2008-09. Since they had lost and drawn series against Australia and shared series with England and India.

South Africa won the first Test at Centurion by an innings and 81 runs but Sri Lanka hit back by winning the second Test by 208 runs. (AFP) 
AFP

US Navy rescues Iranians held hostage by pirates BBC

The Iranian vessel is believed to have been boarded by pirates several weeks agoThe US Navy has rescued 13 Iranian fishermen being held by pirates in the Arabian Sea, the Pentagon says.

The 13 were rescued on Thursday after a distress call was received from an Iranian fishing vessel which had been boarded by pirates over a month ago.

Fifteen suspected pirates were detained and are being held by the US Navy.

The rescue comes days after Iranian officials warned the US to keep the carrier group involved in the operation out of the Gulf.

The Iranians had been kept in harsh conditions and are thought to have been forced to assist the pirates in their operations, according to the Pentagon.

'Kindness and respect'

The freed hostages are now on their way back home, the US Navy said.

The hostages "had been through a lot", said Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent Josh Schminky.

"We went out of our way to treat the fishing crew with kindness and respect," he said.

The captain of the Al Molai, a fishing dhow, "expressed his sincere gratitude that we came to assist them. He was afraid that without our help, they could have been there for months," he added.

The rescue was carried out by forces assigned to the John C Stennis aircraft carrier group, which recently left the Gulf to assist US military operations in Afghanistan.

Earlier this week Iranian officials had warned the carrier not to the return to the region.

Tensions between Iran and the US have risen recently because of Western concerns over Iran's nuclear programme.

Faced with the prospect of fresh sanctions over the programme, Iran threatened to block the transport of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

It has also recently concluded a 10-day naval exercise near the Strait, test-firing several missiles.

US economy creates 200,000 jobs in December BBC

The rise was much more than expected. Analysts had forecast an increase of about 150,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.5%, which was the lowest level in nearly three years, from a revised 8.7% in November, the Labor Department said.

Large job gains were seen in retail, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing and healthcare.

For 2011 as a whole, some 1.6 million jobs were created, which was the highest since 2006, led by rises in the private sector.

Employment in the private sector rose by 212,000 in December and by 1.9 million over the year.

Government employment was little changed in December but was down by 280,000 over the year.

The unemployment rate had remained stubbornly high at about 9% for several years, peaking at 10.1% in October 2009. But December marked the fourth month in a row that it had fallen, after routine updates were made to previous months' data at the end of the year.

However, November's figure was revised up slightly from 8.6% to 8.7%.

'Showboating'

The euro, which has fallen sharply against the dollar in recent days, continued its decline after the better-than-expected jobs report.

On Friday the euro fell under $1.27 for the first time since September 2010.

However, the jobs report failed to bolster Wall Street, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes opening down on continuing worries about the eurozone debt crisis.

But the fall in the unemployment rate will come as a welcome boost to President Obama who is bidding for re-election this year.

He said the report showed that the US economy was "moving in the right direction. We are creating jobs".

Marcus Bullus, trading director at MB Capital, said the data would "cheer everyone bar Republican spin doctors".

"The Obama administration could be forgiven for showboating over this convincing evidence that America's economy is pulling away from Europe's," he said.

But he added: "From a market perspective, strong US data like this will add to optimism, but nobody doubts the considerable downward pressure the eurozone will continue to place on the global marketplace during 2012."

Seasonal hiring

Some 28,000 jobs were created in retail in December, 23,000 in manufacturing, and 23,000 in healthcare.

The transportation and warehousing sector was boosted by a rise of 42,000 jobs in the couriers and messengers industry, although the Labor Department said that seasonal hiring had been particularly strong.

"At first glance, [it] looks like the trend is going in the right direction. The number might be suspect, but if we get a second month of hiring like this, that will suggest a stronger trend," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities in New York.

"But there's still a long way to go until the labour market is strong, and there's still a lot that could happen with Europe."

Michelle FleuryBBC business correspondent, New York

The figures reinforce the view that the US recovery gained momentum as 2011 drew to a close. It is also raising hopes for 2012.

More hiring, the thinking goes, will fuel enough spending to boost the economy. And if jobs continue to be created at this pace - while not reducing the unemployment rate drastically - it might change the political calculus this year.

Central to Republican efforts to dislodge President Obama from the White House is the claim that his policies cannot deliver jobs and growth.

Job creation of 200,000 each month might blunt that line of attack. Of course that relies on this trend continuing, something that is far from certain.

Iran nuclear crisis: EU moves towards crude oil ban BBC

The Iranian leadership insists the country's nuclear programme is entirely peacefulEU member states have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian crude oil to put pressure on the country over its nuclear programme.

The move is expected to be announced formally at an EU foreign ministers' meeting at the end of January.

The US, which recently imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, welcomed the news.

Iran has dismissed the threat of new sanctions and denies Western claims that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapons programme.

Iran has also denied that a record low of its currency this week was linked to punitive US measures against its banks.

Oil prices on international markets rose on news of the EU agreement.

"We have an [EU] foreign ministers' meeting on January 30, and on this occasion I hope we will be able to take the decision on the embargo of oil and petrol from Iran", said French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.

"We have to reassure some of our European partners who purchase Iranian oil. We have to provide them with alternative solutions", he added.

On Tuesday France had called for "stricter sanctions" on Iran.

However, even if sanctions are adopted at the end of the month, it may be several months before they are implemented.

'Tightening the noose'

"These are the kinds of steps that we would like to see not just from our close allies and partners in places like Europe but from countries around the world", said US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

"We do believe that this is consistent with tightening the noose on Iran economically," she added.

The Iranian state gets more than half of its revenue through the export of crude oil, says the BBC's James Reynolds.

If Europe does stop buying, Iran will have to turn to countries in Asia to replace its lost trade, who will demand a discount, he adds.

The EU currently accounts for around 17% of Iranian oil exports.

The US has longstanding bilateral sanctions in place which prohibit almost all trade with Iran.

In November, the US, Canada and the UK announced new sanctions against Iran in the wake of a report from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), that said Iran had carried out tests related to the "development of a nuclear device".

Last week President Obama signed into law a bill cutting off from the US financial system foreign firms that do business with Iran's central bank.

But Iran was not referred to the UN Security Council because Russia and China were opposed to the move.

The Security Council has already passed four rounds of sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment. Highly enriched uranium can be processed into nuclear weapons.

These sanctions include a ban on the supply of heavy weaponry and nuclear-related technology to Iran, a block on Iranian arms exports, and an asset freeze on key individuals and companies.

Iran has been holding a series of naval exercises in the Gulf in recent days, test-firing several missiles.

The exercises were held near the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of the world's traded oil passes.

Tehran said on Monday that "mock" exercises on shutting the strait had been carried out, although there was no intention of closing it.

Hepatitis C vaccine: Oxford researchers' trial 'promising' BBC Report

The scientists devised a vaccine which would target the "inner engine" rather than the surface

An early clinical trial of a hepatitis C vaccine has shown "promising" results, according to researchers at Oxford University.

Designing a vaccine has been difficult as the virus changes its appearance, making it hard to find something to target.

Writing in Science Translational Medicine, researchers say their trial on 41 patients shows it is possible.

The Hepatitis C Trust said the findings were very promising.

The virus can go unnoticed for years, but during this time it can cause considerable liver damage.

In the UK, up to 500,000 people may be infected with the virus. The World Health Organization believes the global figure could be as high as 170 million people.

It spreads through blood-to-blood contact such as sharing needles. While infection can be controlled with antiviral drugs, the Oxford University researchers say a vaccine "would be a major step forward".

Shifting target

They attempted to target the inner workings of the virus, rather than the variable surface markings.

One of the researchers, Prof Paul Klenerman, said: "That's where the engine of the virus is, where we may be able to successfully target many of the crucial pieces of machinery."

Cold viruses were modified with genetic material from the hepatitis C virus in order to prime the immune system to attack the hepatitis C virus.

The aim of the Phase I trial was to determine whether the treatment was safe and to help plan future trials.

Forty-one healthy patients were given the vaccine. Scientists said it produced a "very strong" immune response which lasted for at least a year and had no major side-effects.

Prof Klenerman said: "The immune responses we've seen are exciting and we are beginning the next stage of trials. While we are hopeful, it could be a long road to any vaccine that protects people against hepatitis C."

The next step will be to give the vaccine to people at-risk of hepatitis C infection to see whether it protects against the virus.

Charles Gore, chief executive of the Hepatitis C Trust, said: "This is very promising research.

"There has been rapid development in drugs to treat hepatitis C, but vaccine development has lagged behind. Yet, if we only treat existing infections, we will always be behind the curve.

"We badly need to improve prevention and this is an excellent step in that direction."

Calories, not protein, boost body fat: study

WASHINGTON: People who eat too much of a high-calorie, low-protein diet tend to gain more body fat than people who overeat high amounts of protein, US researchers said Tuesday.

A study published in the January 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association included 25 people in Louisiana who agreed to live as in-patients in a weight-gain experiment for a 56-day period.

Over the course of about two months, they were overfed by about 1,000 calories per day.

Some were fed a diet that was five percent protein, some ate 15 percent protein -- considered a normal level -- and others ate 25 percent protein, or a high amount.

The researchers' aim was to uncover how different levels of protein might affect overall weight gain, body fat and energy expenditure.

They found that people on the low-protein diet gained less weight overall, but that more of their extra energy was stored as fat than people on the mid-level and high-protein diets.

Low-protein eaters gained about half as much as the others -- putting on an average of 3.16 kilograms (seven pounds) during the study compared to 6.05 kg in the normal protein group and 6.51 kg in the high-protein group.

But a lot of that extra weight was in the form of lean body mass, which people on the mid- and high-level protein diets gained while those on the low-protein regime lost.

Ninety percent of the extra energy consumed by people on the low-protein diet was stored as fat, compared to about 50 percent in the other two groups.

"The key finding of this study is that calories are more important than protein while consuming excess amounts of energy with respect to increases in body fat," said the research, led by George Bray of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (AFP) 
AFP

Stephen Lawrence murder: Dobson and Norris found guilty BBC Report

Doreen Lawrence: "How can I celebrate when my son lies buried?"

Two men have been convicted of the racist murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, 18 years after he was stabbed to death near a south London bus stop.

Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty by an Old Bailey jury after a trial based on forensic evidence.

Scientists found a tiny bloodstain on Dobson's jacket that could only have come from Mr Lawrence.

They also found a single hair belonging to the teenager on Norris's jeans. Sentencing will be on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC's Panorama, Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence said: "I don't forgive the boys who killed Stephen. They don't think they have done anything wrong.

"They took away Stephen's life and there is nothing in their behaviour or anything to show they regret what their actions have done and the pain it has caused us as a family."

In a statement read by his lawyer outside the Old Bailey, Stephen's father, Neville Lawrence, said the convictions were a moment of joy and relief - but he could not rest until all of those who killed his son were brought to justice. He described the investigation and preparation of the case as "faultless".

Duwayne Brooks, Stephen's best friend who had been with him on the night of the murder,tweeted: "Some justice at last"

Gary Dobson and David Norris: Denied murder

'Prime suspects'

The original failed investigation into the murder led to the Metropolitan Police being branded as institutionally racist.

Stephen Lawrence was 18 when he was stabbed to death near a bus stop in Eltham, south London, in April 1993.

By that time, there had already been a catalogue of police errors and two failed prosecutions, one brought by Stephen's parents.Police identified five men who were later named in a damning public inquiry as the "prime suspects".

But in a four-year-long cold case review, a fresh team of forensic scientists uncovered microscopic evidence linking two of the five men to the murder - evidence that the police had held all along.

The material - bloodstains, clothing fibres and a single hair belonging to the teenager - were recovered from the clothes of the suspects which had been seized in 1993.

Scientists recovered the material using advanced techniques which were not available to the original case scientists.

Dobson, 36, and Norris, 35, denied the murder. They said their clothing had been contaminated as police mixed up evidence over the years. Detectives spent months establishing the movements and handling of the exhibits since 1993 - and the jury were told that contamination was implausible.

Dobson was jailed for five years in 2010 for drugs trafficking. He is among a small number of men to have been tried twice for the same crime after the Court of Appeal quashed his 1996 acquittal for the murder.

Norris was convicted in 2002 of a separate allegation of racially threatening behaviour.

In mitigation, ahead of sentencing on Wednesday, counsel for Dobson said there was no evidence he had been the leader or prime motivator of the group that attacked the teenager.

Eyewitness

Matt ProdgerHome affairs correspondent

The courtroom was completely silent as the jury delivered their verdicts.

It was only afterwards, as the implications sank in, that people began to react.

Stephen Lawrence's mother remained composed, as she did throughout the trial. She wept a little, but also smiled at her solicitor. She was comforted by Stephen's brother Stuart. Stephen's father, Neville, wiped a tear from his eye as he left court.

Above, in the public gallery, Pauline Dobson, the mother of Gary Dobson, began to sob loudly, before crying out: "He did not kill that man."

As he was led away with his co-defendant David Norris, Dobson turned to the jury and shouted: "You have condemned an innocent man here today."

• The Lawrences' road to justice

Panorama follows Stephen Lawrence's mother, Doreen, as she returns to her son's grave in Jamaica

Norris's counsel repeated his client's pleas of innocence - and revealed his client had been beaten up while on remand at Belmarsh prison, suffering a broken nose and four broken ribs.

Mr Justice Treacy discharged the jury and thanked them for their "dedicated service". He told them the public owed them a debt of gratitude.

As the defendants left the dock, Dobson told his family not to worry, and Norris waved to the gallery. Members of both men's families shouted back.

'Unique case'

Continue reading the main storyActing Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who ordered the 2006 cold case review that led to the convictions, said the case had been extremely important for the Lawrence family, the Metropolitan Police and society at large.

She said: "It's a matter of huge regret to the Met that it has taken 18 years to get to this point.

"It has been a unique case in policing. Firstly the horrible, horrible nature of the attack on the night, the time in which it has taken to bring anybody to justice, and the tireless campaigning of the Lawrences.

"There is no comparable case. All homicide cases are terrible, but for us it is a very important case.

"Most importantly, we wanted to be able to bring people to justice for the killing and try to give Doreen and Neville Lawrence and their family some sense of justice."

18 YEARS ON: THE EVIDENCE

• Tiny bloodstain on Dobson's jacket
• Scientists found DNA and matched it to Stephen
• Clothing fibres matched victim's clothes
• Single 2mm hair found on Norris's jeans matched to teenager

• Find out more: The Forensic evidence that caught the killers

Kenya recalls 'faulty' South Korean HIV kits BBC Report

There has been a sharp increase in the number of Kenyans who go for HIV testsKenya has recalled one million HIV testing kits because of fears about their accuracy, a health official has said.

The WHO had raised an alert about the kit after finding half the test results could be wrong, said Shahnaz Sharif.

But there was no reason to panic as the South Korean-manufactured kit was one of several used to diagnose the HIV status of people, Dr Sharif said.

Kenya, like most of Africa, is trying to contain the HIV/Aids pandemic.

International aids charity Avert says HIV testing has increased sharply in the past decade in the East African state, following a government-backed campaign to create more awareness about the illness.

In 2000, Kenya had only three voluntary testing and counselling sites, but the number had risen to nearly 1,000 by 2007, it says.

'Tie-breaker test'

Dr Sharif, Kenya's director of Public Health and Sanitation, told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that the Standard Diagnostic Bioline (SDB) kit, manufactured by a South Korean company, had wrongly diagnosed people.

"The discrepancy rate was about 50% and the WHO [World Health Organisation] has asked all countries to put on hold use of Bioline," he said.

"About 50% of positives may have been reported as negative and 50% of negatives as positive."

The WHO had detected the unreliability of SDB, which was widely used by countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Dr Sharif said.

But Kenyans should not be alarmed because the SDB test is one of three tests that health officials carry out on people to make sure their HIV status is correctly diagnosed, he said.

"People are really worried and asking if it is going to affect them. The answer is no," Dr Sharif said, adding that a "tie-breaker" test was normally conducted if there were conflicting results.

More than one million Kenyans are HIV-positive.

Syria unrest: Arab League calls for end to shooting BBC Report

The Arab League secretary general has called for an end to shootings in Syria, warning snipers remain a threat

Protesters are frustrated with the Arab League's efforts

Nabil al-Arabi said "all signs of military presence" had left the cities, with tanks and artillery removed.

Some 60 Arab League monitors are checking compliance with a peace plan, but correspondents say protesters are frustrated they cannot stop killings.

The UN says more than 5,000 people have been killed in a crackdown on anti-government protests since March.

There has been no let-up in violence, and activists say 390 people have been killed since the observers arrived last week.

Activist group the Local Co-ordination Committees said 15 people were killed on Monday, 10 of them in the flashpoint city of Homs.

Meanwhile in northern Idlib province, mutinous troops killed, wounded or captured a number of government soldiers in attacks on three checkpoints, London-based opposition group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

There has also been criticism of the head of the monitoring team, Sudanese Gen Mustafa al-Dabi - who is regarded by some as biased towards the Syrian government.

And on Sunday, the Arab Parliament, an advisory body to the league, said the observers should be withdrawn because of the continuing violence.

Rooftop snipers

At a news conference at the league's headquarters in Cairo, Mr Arabi said the mission needed more time to complete its work.

The league would then report on the monitors' activities and decide if more work was needed, he added.

He said the military had withdrawn heavy weapons from residential areas and was on the outskirts of cities, but the violence had not ended.

"All signs of military presence have been withdrawn from the cities; tanks and cannons have been removed ... and are now away from residential areas," he said.

"The observer mission was able to take food supplies into some cities, specially Homs. It also managed to bring out corpses.

"I have spoken with the head of mission and yes, shots are still being fired and there are still snipers in action. We want all these signs of violence to disappear."

He added that it was difficult to tell who was firing on whom.

Mr Arabi added that the government had released about 3,500 prisoners since the mission arrived.

The Arab League had asked the opposition to provide it with a list of those they think are still in custody, he said.

The removal of heavy weaponry and freeing of political prisoners are two key points of the Arab League plan, and this will enable the Syrian government to say it is in compliance, says the BBC's Jon Donnison.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad says it is fighting armed groups and that 2,000 security forces personnel have died.

Casualty figures and other information are hard to verify as most foreign media are barred from reporting freely in Syria.

Arab Parliament urges end to Syria monitors' mission BBC Report

Both protests and the crackdown have continued since the monitors arrived

An advisory body to the Arab League has called for the organisation's observers to be withdrawn from Syria because of the ongoing crackdown on protests

The speaker of the Arab Parliament said the monitors had to leave "considering the continued killing of innocent civilians by the Syrian regime".

There has been no let-up in the violence since the observers started their work on Tuesday.

Their mission is to monitor a peace plan drawn up by the Arab League.

The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Salem al-Diqbassi, said in a statement that the continuing repression "in the presence of Arab monitors has roused the anger of Arab people and negates the purpose of sending a fact-finding mission".

"This is giving the Syrian regime an Arab cover for continuing its inhumane actions under the eyes and ears of the Arab League," Mr Diqbassi added.

The parliament is an 88-member advisory committee of delegates from member states. Its recommendations are non-binding and it operates separately from the league.

'Nothing frightening'

Correspondents say many demonstrators are becoming frustrated at the league's inability to stop the violence.

About 60 monitors are in the country to verify the implementation of the Arab League plan, which calls for an end to all fighting, the withdrawal of troops from the streets and the release of political prisoners.

Although some tanks have reportedly pulled back, snipers have been visible during demonstrations and rallies.

The Local Co-ordination Committees, a network of anti-government groups inside Syria, said at least six people had died in various parts of Syria on Sunday.

More than 150 people have been killed since the monitors arrived in the country, according to activists. The UN says puts the number of deaths in the 10-month uprising at 5,000.

There has also been criticism of the head of the monitoring team, Sudanese Gen Mustafa al-Dabi - who is regarded by some as biased towards the Syrian government.

On Saturday he appeared to contradict one of his officials who was quoted as saying during a visit to the southern city of Deraa that he and other monitors had seen government snipers "with our own eyes".

Gen Dabi later told the BBC that the observer had made no such claim and was only speaking hypothetically.

On Thursday, after a visit to the restive northern city of Homs, Gen Dabi said that "some places looked a bit of a mess but there was nothing frightening".

The general has held a number of senior posts in Sudan, including in the troubled Darfur region.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad says it is fighting armed groups and that 2,000 security forces personnel have died.

Casualty figures and other information are hard to verify as most foreign media are barred from reporting freely in Syria.

Syria deaths

• More than 5,000 civilians have been killed, says the UN
• UN denied access to Syria
• Information gathered from NGOs, sources in Syria and Syrian nationals who have fled
• The death toll is compiled as a list of names which the UN cross-references
• Vast majority of casualties were unarmed, but the figure may include armed defectors
• Tally does not include serving members of the security forces

Source: UN's OHCHR