Almost exactly a year ago US President Barack Obama promised "enormous consequences" if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad crossed a "red line" and used chemical weapons.

United States President Barack Obama has the authority to launch air strikes against Syria.

Over the past few days, American officials have spent a lot of time studying the 1999 Kosovo conflict, with it's parallels to the Syrian conflict readily apparent.

He hasn't been seen for over a year, remaining in the shadows while Bashar al-Assad has been Syria's public face.

If the casualty figures emerging from Syria this week are correct, then Wednesday's massacre on the outskirts of Damascus will be the worst poison gas attack the world has witnessed.

Gwynne Dyer asks, " What, if anything, should the rest of the world do about the tragedy in Egypt?"

Syrian state media had announced that "Operation Northern Storm" would retake Aleppo "within days" after regime forces captured Qusair at the beginning of June.

Regime change would geographically isolate Hizbollah from critical Iranian support, significantly weakening Iran's influence in the region, writes Chris Mahony.

More than half a million people fled Syria's civil war last year, and the UN says that number could double by the end of 2013.

Two years ago, at the beginning of the violence in Syria, I was asked to write a blog in the British Medical Journal on behalf of Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Israel is worried about continued arms supplies to the Syrian regime from Russia.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has made an attempt to bounce Russia into supporting a future for Syria without President Bashar al-Assad.

Sometimes, in diplomacy, a translator is not enough. You need a code-breaker.

It's a long way from Tauranga - but Janna Hamilton is hoping those back home will listen to the stories she tells about the suffering of the Syrian people.

Syrian soldiers have killed three Westerners, including an American woman and a British man, both Muslims, in northwest Idlib province near the Turkish border, a monitoring group says.

The waiters passed between tables carrying silver platters piled with meat, fruits and elaborate desserts.

European leaders revisit British plan for direct assistance as rebels remain split over leader

Israel launched an airstrike into Syria, apparently targeting a suspected weapons site, US officials said.