U.N. hopes for Aleppo truce, U.S.-Russia talks seek wider ceasefire
Last week the long-besieged rebel-held town of Daraya surrendered in a deal with Syrian government-backed forces
INTERVIEW-Syrian opposition says Aleppo battle hides "cleansing" of siege towns
"The threat that we've heard over four years - 'starve or surrender' - is now 'surrender or we will wipe you out'"
Cluster bombs kill more than 400 people, over a third of them children
Most people killed by cluster bombs died in Syria, Yemen and Ukraine
FACTBOX-The deadly legacy of cluster bombs
More than 400 people were killed by cluster bombs in 2015, most of them in conflict-hit Syria, Yemen and Ukraine
After Turkish offensive, Syrian town starts erasing legacy of Islamic State
"Life was not life. There were so many prohibitions, no smoking, women couldn't show their faces"
Pope to oversee migration issues in shakeup of Vatican offices
The leader of the Roman Catholics has often defended refugees and urged Catholic parishes in Europe to host them
UN defends aid work in Syria after accusations of being too close to government
The UN's Syrian contracts came under fire in British newspaper The Guardian which said aid money has gone to a charity set up by President Bashar al-Assad's wife
Talks start at U.N. on possible Syria sanctions over gas attacks
The report's results set the stage for a Security Council showdown between the five veto-wielding powers
Iraq on track to retake Mosul this year, U.S. general says
The U.N. estimates that under a worst-case scenario, more than 1 million people could be displaced from Mosul