BBC News with Mike Cooper
The official body overseeing the upcoming presidential election in Egypt has barred 10 candidates. They include the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat al-Shater, and the former spy chief Omar Suleiman. Jon Leyne reports from Cairo.
This is a big surprise and could dramatically alter the race to become the next president of Egypt. Those
disqualified
include the former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman apparently because he failed to get enough signatures to endorse his last-minute candidacy. Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, the candidate of the
hard-line
Islamists, is disqualified because his mother allegedly held American citizenship. And Khairat al-Shater, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, is
ruled out
because of his time in prison under the Mubarak regime. All are appealing against the decision, and big demonstrations are expected.
The UN Security Council has decided to send an advance team of ceasefire monitors to Syria. The council also condemned human rights violations by Syrian forces and abuses by what it termed "armed groups". But as the council began meeting, the UN-backed truce, which began on Thursday, appeared in danger of collapsing. Heavy shelling by government forces was reported to have killed 17 people in the third biggest city Homs. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says the advance team of ceasefire monitors will be
dispatched
to Syria as soon as possible. Mr Ban said he would make firm proposals by next Wednesday for a larger team of about 250 people. He said the international community needed to make sure the truce held.