New Syria assault as diplomats meet

Syrian government troops shelled rebel-held central areas today, killing at least four people, activists said, as the US, Europe and Arab nations met in Tunisia to seek ways to ease the crisis.

Four people died in the renewed shelling of the Baba Amr neighbourhood of Homs, activists said, the latest of hundreds killed there in recent weeks. The neighbourhood, under siege and intense shelling for three weeks, has become the centre of the revolt.