Nasser al-Qudwa

The Palestinians called on Wednesday for an international probe into veteran leader Yasser Arafat's death after reports he may have been poisoned, raising the possibility of an exhumation.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regretted that his country's defence forces shot down a Turkish fighter jet on June 22, he said in an interview with the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet published Tuesday.

Russia insisted that new action against its ally Syria would be premature, amid Western calls for increased pressure on the regime as the death toll rises.

Arab foreign ministers met on Wednesday in Baghdad to debate a draft resolution calling on Damascus to end violence and hold talks with the opposition, on the eve of a landmark summit in Iraq.

Arab foreign ministers met on Wednesday in Baghdad to debate a draft resolution calling on Damascus to end violence and hold talks with the opposition, on the eve of a landmark summit in Iraq.

Syrian forces on Wednesday stormed a rebel bastion despite President Bashar al-Assad's reported acceptance of Kofi Annan's peace plan and an opposition plea that tanks be withdrawn, monitors said.

Arab foreign ministers were meeting in Baghdad on Wednesday ahead of a crucial summit to thrash out the Syrian crisis after Damascus reportedly accepted Kofi Annan's plan to end the year-long bloodshed.

Arab foreign ministers will discuss a draft resolution on Wednesday calling on Syria's government to hold talks with the opposition and to end the violence, on the eve of a landmark summit in Baghdad.

The death toll in Syrian protests rose as long-time Damascus ally Russia said President Bashar al-Assad had made "a lot of mistakes" in clamping down on the year-old demonstrations.

United Nations and Arab League special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, warned Thursday that further militarisation in Syria will worsen a conflict there that has left thousands dead in a year.

United Nations and Arab League special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan, urged the Syrian opposition on Thursday to cooperate to resolve the conflict that has left thousands dead in the past year.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan, who has been named special envoy to strife-torn Syria for the United Nations and the Arab League, was in Cairo on Thursday for talks with officials ahead of trip to Damascus.

Syrian forces pursued armed rebels on Tuesday in a number of flashpoint areas ahead of a peace mission by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, as a top US senator called for air strikes to protect civilians.

Syrian forces on Monday bombarded the city of Rastan for a second day running, monitors said, as former UN chief Kofi Annan and other world envoys prepared a diplomatic drive to end the year-long bloodshed.

Syrian forces on Monday bombarded the city of Rastan for a second straight day, monitors said, as former UN chief Kofi Annan and other world envoys prepared a diplomatic drive to end the bloodshed.

Syrian forces on Monday bombarded the city of Rastan for a second straight day, monitors said, as former UN chief Kofi Annan and other world envoys prepared a diplomatic drive to end the bloodshed in Syria.

Former UN chief Kofi Annan, who has been named special envoy to Syria for the UN and Arab League, will head to Damascus on March 10, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi told reporters on Monday.