TOKYO (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 hit east of Tokyo on Wednesday but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no initial reports of damage or troubles at area nuclear plants, the Japan Meteorological Agency and local media said.

  The earthquake, which caused substantial shaking in Ibaragi and Chiba prefectures east of Tokyo, followed just a few hours after a magnitude 6.8 quake jolted northern Japan.

  A tsunami warning was issued but later lifted after the northern Japan earthquake.

  Just over one year ago, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, Japan's strongest on record, and a massive tsunami, triggering the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

  (Reporting by Tokyo news room Editing by Edmund Klamann)

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

  AMMAN (Reuters) - Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad attacked rebel strongholds in various parts of Syria on Wednesday, intensifying their assault as the uprising entered its second year with a negotiated solution as far off as ever.

  The U.N.-Arab League envoy, Kofi Annan, said he had received a reply from Damascus to peace proposals that he laid out at the weekend, and wanted further clarifications.

  " But given the grave and tragic situation on the ground, everyone must realise that time is of the essence. As (Annan) said in the region, this crisis cannot be allowed to drag on," his spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said in a statement from Geneva.

  Official Syrian media accused " armed terrorists" of massacring 15 civilians, including young children, in a pro-government district of the central city of Homs, which has been the focal point of much fighting in recent weeks.

  In the southern city of Deraa, cradle of what began a year ago as a peaceful uprising but has gradually evolved into an armed insurgency, opposition activists said government troops had raked buildings with anti-aircraft fire.

  There were also reports of a tank bombardment on the village of al-Janoudieh in the northern Idlib region.

  Reports from Syria cannot be independently verified as the authorities deny access to rights groups and journalists.

  The United Nations says Assad's forces have killed more than 8,000 people in their drive to crush the uprising. Its refugee agency said on Tuesday that some 230,000 Syrians had fled their homes during the past 12 months, of whom around 30,000 have sought safety abroad.

  Amnesty International said in a report that Syrians detained during the uprising had suffered widespread torture that amounted to a crime against humanity.

  Diplomats have warned that Syria, riven by sectarian divides, will descend into a Balkans-style civil war unless a political solution can be found.

  Annan presented Assad with a five-point plan to end the fighting at talks on Saturday and Sunday. A Middle Eastern diplomatic source said the Syrians had asked for more details.

  " The Syrians are dealing seriously with Annan. There is not a 'no', but they are discussing some of the points they are not convinced about ... The reply that Annan (got) will need a week to understand," he added.

  FLEEING THE FIGHTING

  Fighting has raged unabated across Syria in recent days, with the army appearing to push back the lightly armed rebels.

  Following a pattern seen in recent weeks in Homs, it has taken control of much of the northern city of Idlib, striking first with heavy gun fire before launching house-to-house raids, activists said.

  A stream of refugees crossed into Turkey early on Wednesday, saying they had been warned that their villages in Idlib province would be targeted by the army in the coming hours.

  " They are bombing Idlib. They are bombing the city. They have tanks and they have rockets," said Abdul Samad, one of the refugees waiting for help at a fog-bound border post.

  The al-Balad district of Deraa, on the southern border with Jordan, came under attack from around 20 tanks and armoured vehicles, activist Rami Abdelhaq told Reuters.

  " The attack began early this morning. The rebels are firing back, but they are outgunned," Abdelhaq said, speaking by phone.

  Fighting also broke out in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor, in Syria's Sunni desert heartland.

  The country comprises a mix of faiths, sects and ethnic groups. Assad's minority Alawite sect dominates the levers of power and holds sway over the Sunni Muslim majority.

  Wednesday's reported massacre in Homs took place in an Alawite district. On Sunday, rebels and government traded blame for the murder of up to 50 people in a mixed area of the city.

  The authorities say rebels have also killed 2,000 soldiers during the months of fighting.

  The turmoil, coupled with Western sanctions, has cost Damascus billions of dollars in lost revenue from crude oil sales and tourism receipts. The Syrian pound has halved in value, foreign investment has dried up and trade has collapsed.

  Yet there is no sign of the Assad family and their allies losing their grip on power, or of significant defections from the government or army.

  While Western powers and much of the Arab world have slammed the bloody crackdown, Syria has been able to count on the support of both Russia and China, which have vetoed two U.N. resolutions that were critical of Damascus.

  Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday that Beijing was taking no sides in the crisis, and that he was " deeply pained" by the suffering of the Syrian people, though his remarks did not suggest China's diplomatic position will change.

  State media said China would offer $2 million in humanitarian aid through the Red Cross.

  The United Nations said on Tuesday that it would soon deploy human rights monitors in countries bordering Syria to collect eyewitness testimony on atrocities committed in the country.

  The Amnesty report said Syria should be referred to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. However, only the U.N. Security Council can do that, and it remains divided.

  " The testimony presented in this report ... is yet further evidence that torture and other ill-treatment in Syria form part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population," Amnesty said.

  (Writing by Crispian Balmer Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon in Beirut Editing by Kevin Liffey)

* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.7 pct

  * Financials lead gainers after Fed outlook, Italian auction

  * Auto stocks rally, led by Peugeot

  LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - European shares were higher at midday on Wednesday, extending their march towards last summer's highs, on upbeat comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve and a successful auction of Italian bonds.

  Financials and other cyclical stocks rallied after the Fed improved its outlook for the United States, the world's largest economy and Europe's biggest export market, and said most U.S. banks had passed stress tests.

  Italy, Europe's largest debtor, sold 6 billion euros of bonds at a debt auction on Wednesday, with yields at their lowest since October 2010, suggesting investors were turning more upbeat following Greece's successful debt restructuring deal.

  " A little bit of good news goes a long way, and we're seeing it played out in the market at the moment," said Peter Sullivan, HSBC's head of equity strategy for Europe and the U.S.

  " It's a classic second-derivative point when earnings and economic momentum start to bottom out: things don't have to get materially better once they stop getting a lot worse that has an important influence on equities."

  So far in the fourth-quarter earnings season, European companies have beaten analysts' estimates by an average 2.1 percent, Thomson Reuters Starmine data shows.

  The FTSEurofirst 300 pan-European index of top European shares was 0.7 percent higher at 1,102.42 points, a level not seen since July 26, having traded 48 percent of its 90-day volume average.

  It was echoing strong advances on Wall Street, which posted its best day this year on Tuesday.

  The euro zone blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 1.1 percent to 2,584.11 points, confirming a break-out from the 2,550 points-2,555 points resistance zone.

  Charts showed the index had roughly another 60 points to go before encountering the next resistance level at around 2,640 points, which corresponds to the 61.8 percent retracement of last summer's downward move.

 

 

  FULL GAS

  German utility E.ON topped the chart, rising 6.8 percent on volume 160 percent the average after saying it expected renewable energy and foreign expansion to lift core profit in 2012-13 and announcing a renegotiated supply deal with Statoil.

  Auto stocks also rallied, led by France's PSA Peugeot Citroen, which rose 5.7 percent, having traded nearly double its volume average on optimism that the slump that followed its rights issue announcement might have been overdone.

  Banks and insurers were also among the top gainers, with Britain's Legal & General up 4.2 percent after reporting forecast-busting full-year profits and hiking its dividend by more than a third.

  " Everybody assumes now that the biggest risks are out of the system, especially for U.S. and Asian banks, and with the European debt crisis improving at the moment, the stress test results are taken as a positive sign," a banking analyst said.

  " We had some good news on the capital front with the 4Q results, and we see no reason why this should not be continued into Q1 results." (Additional reporting by Blaise Robinson Editing by Will Waterman)

By Jonathan Stempel

  (Reuters) - The majority of the largest U.S. banks passed the Federal Reserve's annual stress test, the central bank said on Tuesday, while also allowing JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and others to raise dividends or buy back stock.

  The Fed said 15 of the 19 largest U.S. banks would have satisfactory capital buffers, even if they suffered a financial shock that would see unemployment hit 13 percent and housing prices drop 21 percent.

  The regulator said Citigroup, Ally Financial and SunTrust fared worst under that hypothetical financial shock, with Tier 1 common capital ratios of 4.9 percent, 4.4 percent, and 4.8 percent respectively.

  MetLife, the largest life insurer in the United States, failed the stress tests on the basis of its risk-based capital ratio. At a 6 percent minimum, it was lower than any of the other banks examined.

  The bank holding companies that came out top were Bank of New York Mellon with a Tier 1 common capital ratio of 13.1 percent under the hypothetical financial shock, State Street Corp with 12.5 percent and American Express with 10.8 percent.

  The Fed is using the stress tests to give the markets a window into the health of the U.S. bank industry. It also uses the results of the exams to determine whether banks can withstand great financial turmoil and still have enough of a capital cushion.

  Based on that determination, the Fed gives a thumbs up or thumbs down on dividends and stock repurchases.

  " The test wasn't designed to create failures but to promote confidence in the system and to help the stronger guys to return capital," said Anton Schutz, financial services mutual fund manager for Mendon Capital in Rochester, New York.

  The Fed gave JPMorgan permission to raise its quarterly dividend by a nickel to 30 cents and buy back as much as $12 billion of stock this year.

  Wells Fargo was allowed to increase its quarterly cash dividend rate to 22 cents, while U.S. Bancorp got permission for a 56 percent increase in its dividend to 78 cents.

  (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York Writing by Karey Wutkowski Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. current account deficit widened much more than expected to $124.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, as imports rose and exports dropped, a government report showed on Wednesday.

  The Commerce Department said the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the United States, widened to 3.24 percent of gross domestic product. That compared to a revised third-quarter current account deficit of $107.6 billion, or 2.84 percent of GDP.

  The current account gap for all of 2011 was 3.1 percent of GDP, down slightly from 3.2 percent in 2010.

  Analysts polled by Reuters before the report had expected the current account gap to widen to $114.2 billion.

  The U.S. trade gap widened to $141.1 billion in the fourth quarter, helping to widen the current account deficit.

  In addition, the U.S. surplus on income flows declined to $50.3 billion, the department said. (Reporting by Doug Palmer, Editing by Andrea Ricci)

* Dollar near 7-week high versus basket of currencies

  * Fed seen unlikely to offer QE3 as U.S. economy improves

  * Coming up: FOMC meeting at 1815 GMT API inventories data (Adds fresh quotes, updates prices)

  By Claire Milhench

  LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Crude oil traded sideways at around $125 a barrel on Tuesday after positive U.S. consumer spending data stoked a dollar rally and reduced the likelihood of further monetary stimulus from the U.S. central bank, which meets later in the day.

  Brent crude was down 4 cents at $125.30 by 1346 GMT, giving up earlier gains after a 1.1 percent rise in U.S. retail sales for February reinforced the view the economy was on the right track. U.S. April crude fell 39 cents to $105.95.

  U.S. retail sales for February recorded their largest gain in five months, leading to some profit-taking in oil futures as the chances of a third round of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve dwindled.

  " It's a continuation of the recovery trend in the U.S.," said Christopher Bellew, a trader at Jefferies Bache in London.

  The market had been keen to see whether high oil prices were hitting the pocket of the U.S. consumer, but Americans snapped up motor vehicles and bought a range of other goods even as they paid more for gasoline.

  The dollar was boosted by the news, up 0.46 percent against a basket of currencies at 1324 GMT. A stronger dollar weighs on commodities priced in dollars as it makes them more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

  " The dollar bouncing back up, because the Fed is expected to acknowledge things have improved, is helping limit crude prices despite the boost in retail sales," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.

  A U.S. Federal Reserve meeting tonight will be closely watched, but QE3 is now thought likely to be on the back burner.

  " The oil market is going sideways," said Bellew. " We will probably see some builds in U.S. crude stocks tonight but prices are holding up because of the continued uncertainty around Iran, Syria and the Sudan."

  A Reuters poll of analysts sees U.S. commercial crude stocks up 2.2 million barrels in the week to March 9.

  Industry group American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly report on Tuesday at 2030 GMT while the Energy Information Administration data will follow on Wednesday.

 

  ELEVATED LEVELS

  Oil prices remain at elevated levels, supported by geopolitical tensions with Iran and an agreement on the Greek bail-out package, as well as the improving economic picture in the United States.

  " From a psychological point of view, all these factors are very supportive for the market and the demand outlook," said Andy Sommer, energy market analyst at EGL.

  However, he does not see much upside for Brent from these levels: " Underlying oil demand, especially in the U.S., is still relatively weak. It also looks like the strong Chinese imports are going more into inventories, not actual consumption."

  On the supply side, Libyan volumes are coming back into the market along with incremental Iraqi volumes, he said. " So we see a cap at the front end of the curve. All this keeps Brent trading in a relatively narrow range."

 

 

  Escalating tensions between the West and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme and supply disruption from Syria, South Sudan and Yemen have underpinned oil prices this year.

  A special U.N. Security Council meeting on the " Arab Spring" uprisings on Monday showed the five permanent members were no closer to breaking their impasse over Syria, with Russia and China continuing to back a defiant Assad. (Additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore and Robert Gibbons in New York editing by James Jukwey)

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Several leaders of Russia's fragmented opposition urged the United States on Monday to remove a largely symbolic Cold War trade provision, in a rare display of unity.

  They included anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and other organisers of demonstrations against Vladimir Putin who recognise the need to refocus their protest movement away from the street after his election as president but have found a common policy agenda elusive.

  In an open letter they criticised U.S. politicians who say the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a 1974 legal provision that still affects trade with Moscow, would benefit only Putin and his " cronies" and that its removal should be tied to an improvement in Russia's human rights record.

  " We, leading figures of the Russian political opposition, strongly stand behind efforts to remove Russia from the provisions of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment," the letter said.

  " Although there are obvious problems with democracy and human rights in modern Russia, the persistence on the books of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment does not help to solve them at all."

  The group said that the trade restrictions imposed under the amendment limited Russia's competitiveness in international markets and trapped it in its " petro-state model of development" .

  " Jackson-Vanik is not helpful in any way - neither for promotion of human rights and democracy in Russia, nor for the economic interests of its people," the group said.

  The 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment tied trade relations with the former Soviet Union to the rights of Jews and other religious minorities to emigrate freely.

  The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Russia has been in compliance since at least the 1990s.

  The provision contradicts the global trade rules defined by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which Russia is set to join. The Obama administration is pushing the U.S. Congress to strengthen trade ties with Russia by repealing Jackson-Vanik, and an intense debate on the matter is expected in Congress later this year.

  The U.S. envoy to Russia said on Monday that he had been telling U.S. lawmakers they could not make Russia more democratic by refusing to lift Jackson-Vanik.

  " If you don't believe me, ask Navalny," Ambassador Michael McFaul said in Washington, referring to the open letter Navalny and others signed in Moscow.

  Instead of clinging to a Cold War amendment, U.S. lawmakers who want to advance the cause of democracy in Russia should authorize $50 million proposed by the Obama administration to help fund human rights organizations in Russia, McFaul told an audience at the Peterson Institute.

  McFaul said he was somewhat shocked by what he described as the anti-Americanism of the recent Russian presidential campaign, but added that he was waiting to see whether it would subside.

  The six signatories to the open letter in Moscow included liberal politician Vladimir Ryzhkov and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov as well as others who organised a wave of protests in Moscow following a disputed parliamentary election on December 4.

  Putin, who won a six-year term as Russia's president in an election on March 4 which international observers say was skewed in his favour, has accused the opposition of serving the interests of Western governments.

  The opposition, which includes liberals, nationalists and leftists, has struggled to united around a common agenda beyond their main demands for fair elections, general political reforms and calls for Putin to leave office.

  (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington Reporting by Gleb Bryanski, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Paul Simao)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The package of new financing, debt restructuring and reforms can put Greek debt on a sustainable path, but Athens will have to stick to good policies until 2030 to make it work, an updated debt sustainability analysis by international lenders showed.

  The analysis, prepared by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, showed that after the debt swap at the weekend, Greek debt could fall to 116.5 percent of GDP in 2020 and below 90 percent in 2030.

  " Results show that the programme can place Greek debt on a sustainable trajectory," said the analysis, obtained by Reuters.

  " However, there are significant risks that debt declines may be interrupted or even reversed by shocks. Under an alternative, less favourable scenario, the debt ratio in 2020 would still be above 145 percent of GDP," the document said.

  " Moreover, given the high prospective level and share of senior debt, the prospects for Greece to be able to return to the market at the end of the programme are uncertain," it said.

  (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski editing by Rex Merrifield)

* Greece gets final OK for second bailout

  * German economic sentiment data tops expectations

  * U.S. February retail show biggest gain in five months

  * Futures up: Dow 69 pts, S& P 5.2 pts, Nasdaq 10 pts (Adds retail sales data, updates prices)

  By Chuck Mikolajczak

  NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were poised for a higher open on Tuesday after a report on better-than-expected retail sales last month and easing concerns about the euro-zone's economy.

  Investor sentiment about economic prospects in Europe was boosted after euro-zone finance ministers gave final approval to a second bailout for Greece and data in Germany showed analyst and investor sentiment rose significantly more than expected in March.

  Data in the United States once again indicated a slowly improving domestic economy, as retail sales recorded their largest gain in five months in February, despite rising gas prices.

  " Just maybe a little bit of a relief with some of that uncertainty out of the way and the retail sales, highest in five months, is helping. It is all good news," said Terry Morris, senior vice president and senior equity manager for National Penn Investors Trust Co in Reading, Pennsylvania.

  But Morris cautioned that the trend of low market volume was unsettling, reflecting a lack of commitment from investors.

  Monday's volume of 5.24 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq represented the lowest tally of the year.

  " The mentality has shifted from selling rallies to buying dips, so a lot of people are just sitting there, keeping their powder dry and hoping the market pulls back so they can get in," said Morris.

  S& P 500 futures rose 5.2 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 69 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 10 points.

  Later in the session, investors will look to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is expected to hold steady on monetary policy when it concludes its one-day meeting, acknowledging a mildly brighter economic outlook while refraining from any suggestion that further easing is now off the table.

  Markets were unnerved recently after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stopped short of giving a strong signal of more economic stimulus during congressional testimony.

  Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drugmaker, has scrapped a deal to sell insulin products made by Biocon Ltd , leaving India's biggest biotech company without a partner to sell the drugs in key global markets such as the United States. Pfizer edged up 0.3 percent to $21.60 in premarket trade.

  Yahoo Inc sued Facebook Inc over 10 patents that include methods and systems for advertising on the Web, opening a major legal battle among big technology companies in social media. Yahoo gained 0.8 percent to $14.60 premarket.

  Great Wolf Resorts Inc jumped 26 percent to $5.28 after private equity firm Apollo Global Management said its affiliate will buy the operator of indoor waterpark resorts for about $703 million, including debt.

  Midas Inc jumped 27.4 percent to $11.45 in premarket after the auto aftermarket repair chain said it would be taken private by TBC Corp for $173 million in cash. (Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

By Florence Tan

  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude rebounded towards $126 on Tuesday as investors awaited comments from the U.S. central bank after the outlook improved for the world's largest economy amid simmering tension between the West and Iran that could threaten oil supply.

  The Federal Reserve could later on Tuesday reinforce a view prompted by recent data that the U.S. economy is recovering, buoying the demand outlook for the world's largest oil consumer, but it is unlikely to kick off further quantitative easing (QE).

  Brent crude rebounded 64 cents to $125.98 by 0519 GMT, after settling down on Monday for the first time in four sessions. The April Brent contract expires on Thursday. U.S. April crude was up 50 cents at $106.84.

  " The FOMC could recognise that the economy has improved and this will have a positive impact on the market," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund manager at Astmax Investments.

  Oil prices were also supported as the dollar retreated from a seven-week high against a basket of major currencies. A weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated oil more attractive for holders of other currencies.

  " The market appears to be lowering its expectations of a further round of quantitative easing given the generally positive tone of recent US data," Natalie Robertson, an ANZ analyst, said in a note.

  " This could generate some volatility in commodities, and potential downside risks."

  More positive news also emerged from the euro zone as finance ministers gave their final approval to a second bailout for Greece on Monday and turned their fire on Spain, demanding it aim for a tougher deficit target this year in order to get back on target in 2013.

  TOUGH MESSAGE TO IRAN

  Escalating tensions between the West and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme and supply disruption from Syria, South Sudan and Yemen have underpinned oil prices.

  The West is expected to reinforce its tough stance against Iran's nuclear programme this week when United States President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron meet.

  The top officials are expected to send a strong message to Iran to " meet its international obligations or face the consequences" .

  " Prices remain supported by the uncertainty as negotiations continue," Astmax's Emori said.

  The conflict in Syria appeared to inch closer to civil war even as the West clashed with Russia at the United Nations Security Council over the country, with activists and the Damascus government trading blame for a massacre of civilians in the city of Homs.

  In the United States, the American Petroleum Institute will release weekly stockpile data later in the day. U.S. crude oil inventories are expected to have increased 2.2 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters survey of analysts showed.

By Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon

  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces killed dozens of people near a mosque in the city of Idlib, opposition activists said on Tuesday, and rebels killed at least 10 troops in an ambush in the same area, focus of the latest government crackdown.

  Video footage showed the bloodied bodies of several unidentified men strewn on the floor of the mosque. An unseen voice said it was impossible to move them due to heavy shelling.

  Army defectors ambushed a checkpoint in Idlib region in the northwest, killing the 10 soldiers and possibly more, while rebels also killed 12 members of forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in the southern town of Deraa, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

  Fighting was reported, too, in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor and in Syria's third largest city Homs, as a year-long uprising against Assad's authoritarian rule increasingly resembles a full-blown civil war.

  Speaking after meeting opponents of Assad in Turkey, U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said he was expecting to hear later on Tuesday the response from Syria to " concrete proposals" he had made to end the escalating violence.

  The Syrian parliament said Assad, who has promised reforms short of his resignation, had ordered a legislative election for May 7. It would be held under a new constitution, approved by a referendum last month which the opposition and their Western and Arab backers dismissed as a sham.

  Despite mounting international pressure on him in the form of sanctions, Assad has significant allies, notably in Iran. And world powers remained at odds over how to tackle the crisis, with Russia and China continuing to back the Syrian leader.

  As growing numbers of refugees seek to flee the fighting, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said Syrian forces were laying landmines near the borders with Lebanon and Turkey, along routes used by the civilians to escape the mayhem.

  Idlib province borders Turkey and has become a hiding place for rebels, drawing regular army reprisals.

  An activist in the city of Idlib, speaking by telephone, said security forces had killed 11 people trying to leave the area two days ago and dumped them in al-Bilal mosque.

  More bodies were brought to the mosque on Monday, but when locals went to inspect the corpses, they too came under fire, pushing the death toll above 50, he said. Another activist contacted by Reuters confirmed the killings.

  " When people came from the neighbourhood early this morning, the security forces also started firing at them. In total, about 45 people were massacred," said the man, who like many in Syria gave only his first name, Mohammed, for fear of reprisals.

  Activists said the bodies of six other people were found in the nearby village of Maarat Shureen.

  Reports from Syria cannot be independently verified as the authorities deny access to rights groups and journalists.

  WAITING ON DAMASCUS

  Following meetings with Assad at the weekend in Damascus, former U.N. chief Annan held talks in Ankara with the Syrian National Council (SNC) - a fractious assortment of Assad opponents whose leadership lives abroad.

  " I am expecting to hear from the Syrian authorities today, since I left some concrete proposals for them to consider," Annan told a subsequent news conference.

  " Once I receive their answer we will know how to react."

  Annan has not disclosed what his proposals entailed, but a diplomatic source said the U.N. envoy had told Assad he wanted an immediate cessation of hostilities, humanitarian access to the conflict zones and political dialogue.

  SNC leader Burhan Ghalioun said the aim remained to secure a political and diplomatic solution, otherwise foreign governments would deliver on promises to supply weapons to rebel forces.

  Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Qatar have called for arms to be sent to help in the fight Assad, who is a member of the minority Alawite sect and is allied to Shi'ite Iran.

  Syria lies in a pivotal position, bordering Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Iraq and Lebanon. Its 23-million-strong population comprises a mix of faiths, sects and ethnic groups, and analysts say the gathering conflict could destabilise the entire region.

  While the rebels have only light weapons, the army has repeatedly used tanks, mortars and artillery, and has regularly shelled built-up areas, apparently indiscriminately.

  " I have heard shelling in the Old City since 8 this morning," one activist in the city of Homs told Reuters. " There is gunfire everywhere," he added, asking to be referred to only as Sami for fear of arrest.

  More than 8,000 people have died in the Syrian uprising, including many women and children, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, president of the U.N. General Assembly, said on Monday.

  The Syrian government says more than 2,000 police and regular army soldiers have been killed by " armed terrorist groups" , blaming foreign interference for the unrest. It has not given any figures for civilian deaths.

  Human Rights Watch said anti-personnel and anti-vehicle mines of Russian origin had been found near Syria's borders, with indications they had been planted by the army this year.

  Syria, like Russia, the United States and over 30 other states, has not signed up to a global ban on landmines.

  " Any use of anti-personnel landmines is unconscionable," said Steve Goose, Arms Division director at HRW. " There is absolutely no justification for the use of these indiscriminate weapons by any country, anywhere, for any purpose."