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Human rights activists say Syrian armed forces have killed at least 217
people in the city of Homs in a surge of violence that began Friday, as
the United Nations gets ready to vote on a resolution intended to stop
the bloodshed.

The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights said
Friday hundreds more have been wounded and dozens of buildings have been
destroyed.  Much of the shelling has fallen on the Khalidiya
neighborhood of Homs where there is strong anti-government sentiment. 
The city, located in western Syria near the Lebanese border, has been
one of the main flashpoints of opposition to the regime during the
uprising that began nearly 11 months ago.

As the death toll
rose, the U.N.  Security Council said it will vote Saturday on a draft
resolution on Syria.  Russia has threatened to veto earlier versions of
the resolution and the Obama administration has been pressing it to back
a softened version condemning the violence in that country.

U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke by telephone Friday with
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the resolution. They are
due to meet in person on Saturday in Munich, where both are attending a
security conference. Clinton is expected to pressure Lavrov to get
Moscow to approve the resolution.

Meanwhile, opposition activists
said tens of thousands of people took to the stre... >>>