Paris / AFP The ceasefire in Syria “is about to collapse,” an official from the opposition said in an interview published on Sunday, just days before the resumption of peace talks in Geneva. “Over the last 10 days we have seen a very serious deterioration and the ceasefire is about to collapse,” BassmaKodmani, a member of the High Negotiations Committee ...

Beirut / AFP Clashes around Syria’s second city Aleppo have killed at least 16 pro-regime fighters and 19 members of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate and allied rebel groups within a 24-hour period, a monitor said on Sunday. “Fierce fighting raged past midnight (Sunday) on several fronts in the south of Aleppo province,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah ...

Philippines / AFP A Philippine offensive against the extremist Abu Sayyaf group after a spate of kidnappings has left 18 soldiers and five fighters dead in the worst violence in the troubled south this year, authorities said on Sunday. Saturday’s clashes on the strife-torn island of Basilan came after an April 8 ransom deadline set by Abu Sayyaf, who had ...