Live Israeli TV from Syria

Israeli television has, for the first time, broadcast live from Syria.

Using a satellite link from Damascus, the programme on state-owned Channel One TV featured the small group of Israeli Arab legislators who attended the funeral of President Assad.

As well as being allowed to set up their equipment, the interviewees on the programme spoke in Hebrew -- a language officially banned in Syria.

One of the interviewees Ahmed Tibi described the broadcast as a sign that Syrian society was moving in the direction of openness in all matters.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service