BBC News with David Austin
Syrian opposition activists say more than 80 people have been killed by government forces mainly in northern Syria on Tuesday. About 30 died during the heavy bombardment of the city of Homs. Jim Muir reports from Beirut.
It was a relentless bombardment. For well over two hours, shells and rockets – several hundred of them – smashed into Baba Amr, where activists say some houses were reduced to rubble. It wasn't clear whether this was the prelude to a big ground offensive. The government has said the action at Homs will continue until all pockets of what it calls 'armed terrorists' are wiped out.
The Red Cross has called on the Syrian government and rebels to agree to a daily ceasefire to allow medical supplies in to the worst affected areas and to get civilians out.
The Venezuelan President Hugo Charvez says he's going to have a further operation for cancer months after he announced that he'd beaten the disease. The left-wing leader, who's governed Venezuela for 13 years, is standing for re-election in October. From Caracas, here's Sarah Grainger.
After several rounds of operations and chemotherapy last year, President Charvez had insisted he'd beaten cancer and was fully recovered. Rumors that that was not the case began to surface over the weekend, prompting the president to address the issue during a public event on Tuesday. He admitted he'd recently travelled to Cuba for medical consultation. Doctors there had found a new lesion in the same area as the president's previous tumor. Surgery to remove the growth will take place in the coming days.