appealed against
the sentence. The ANC's appeals committee led by veteran leader and businessman Cyril Ramaphosa
looked into
his
plea
and still found him guilty on the charges of sowing divisions within the party and for bringing the ANC into disrepute.
Syrian government forces are reported to have tried to advance into the district of Baba Amr in Homs as they
unleash
their heaviest bombardment so far on the area. Government officials said they would clear out opposition fighters in a matter of hours. Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.
Explosions echoed around all parts of Homs as the attack on Baba Amr quarter got underway. Sources on both sides said government troops tried to advance into the embattled quarter on several fronts after weeks of heavy bombardment. Regime officials in Damascus told reporters that clearing out the rebels would only take a few hours and that it had already become a
mopping-up
operation. But activist postings on the Internet said the Free Syrian Army fighters had repelled repeated attacks by army forces and inflicted heavy losses.
A date has been announced for a presidential election in Egypt a year after Hosni Mubarak was ousted by street protests. The election will be held on 23 and 24 May. The military council that's been governing Egypt since the fall of President Mubarak has come
under increasing pressure
to honour its promise to