Thousands of people have been killed in Syria by the earthquake that struck its border region with Turkey on February 6 but aid has been slow to reach the most affected areas.

The son of Syrian President Bashar Assad said people who call his father a dictator don’t understand the reality of his country and that the population is united with him in fighting “invaders,” Brazil’s O Globo newspaper reported.

More than 50 State Department diplomats signs an internal memo sharply critical of US policy in Syria, calling for military strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's government to stop its persistent violations of a cease-fire in the country's civil war.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Geneva in an attempt to bolster a fragile, partial ceasefire in Syria.

Forget principles and morality. Forget, or try to forget, the quarter-million deaths for which Bashar al-Assad is responsible, directly or indirectly, since choosing to respond with violence to a peaceful uprising of the Syrian people.

The United States announces that Iran may take part in talks to end the civil war in Syria and warned of increased military action against the Islamic State.

US President Barack Obama says the Russian bombing campaign in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad is driving moderate opposition underground and "only strengthening" Islamic State.