Middle East

Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he expected a proposed Syria peace conference backed by Washington and Moscow to be held in early June, and he denied reports that the Damascus government did not plan to attend.

After more than two years of bloodshed in Syria the heads of five UN agencies called on the international community to make a meaningful contribution to end the civil war, which has already claimed the lives of more than 70,000 people.

Al Jazeera has learned that the United Nations is now considering all options, including a peacekeeping force, as part of its plan if Syria's government falls.

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria beseeched a five-nation group of emerging powers on Wednesday to help halt the Syrian conflict, one day after the Arab League moved to further isolate Mr. Assad by ceremoniously filling his government’s vacant seat with the opposition coalition that has sworn to topple him.

(Reuters) – Russia called on the United States on Tuesday to press the Syrian opposition to hold direct talks with Damascus, saying President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents must appoint negotiators. 

WASHINGTON — Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have fired Scud missiles at rebel fighters in recent days, Obama administration officials said on Wednesday.

Dec 12 (Reuters) - France is not yet ready to supply weapons to Syrian insurgents fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad despite the setting up of a new rebel military council, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday.

The United States Senate has voted overwhelmingly for an accelerated withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting, reflecting the wishes of a war-weary nation.

The road to the airport in the Syrian capital Damascus has been closed and flights cancelled amid reports of fierce clashes with rebels in the area.  The government appears to be mounting an unprecedented offensive against rebel-held districts in the east of the city, BBC correspondents report.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel shelled Syrian fighters after gunfire from their civil war spilled over to the Israel-controlled Golan Heights, the military said Sunday, as the conflict appeared to inch closer to the Jewish state.