Syria
More than 32 million US television viewers watched President Barack Obama outline his policy toward Syria in a speech aired live on 13 broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen ratings data on Wednesday.
The Tuesday night address attracted a smaller audience than the 56 million who tuned in to see the president announce the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011.
It pulled in more viewers than a March 2011 speech on US military involvement in Libya, which drew 25.6 million viewers, and an August 2010 speech declaring the end of the US combat mission in Iraq, which was watched by 29.2 million.
Syria
Violence continued today when government warplanes hit a field hospital in the town of al-Bab near Aleppo, killing 11 people and wounding dozens more, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The group, which relies on reports from activists on the ground, said a Yemeni doctor was among those killed in the airstrike. [AP]
Syria
AFP has some photos of the pro-government troops on the streets of Maaloula today.
A predominantly Christian village northeast of Damascus, Maaloula was reported to have been the ground for fighting between pro and anti-regime forces.
Earlier on September 7, Syrian rebel group led by al-Qaeda-linked fighters had said they seized control of the village.
The fighters had swept into the mountainside sanctuary in heavy fighting which forced hundreds of residents to flee.
The ancient village that is home to two of the oldest surviving monasteries in Syria, was a major tourist attraction before the civil war.
Some of its residents still speak a version of Aramaic, the language of biblical times believed to have been used by Jesus.
Syria
A plane carrying 107 Syrian refugees landed in Germany today as part of a programme to temporarily house some 5,000 refugees.
The German government chartered a plane from the Lebanese capital Beirut to the northern German town of Hanover where the refugees were welcomed by Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich.
The refugees are to be resettled in Germany until it is safe for them to return home, as part of the German government's Humanitarian Admissions Programme (HAP).
"For us it was important to send a clear signal that we believe we can no longer have the refugees in camps on the Syrian border. Rather, we must accept at least a part of them," Friedrich said, adding that Austria was also to accept some 500 refugees.
"I think that for humanitarian reasons, no government in Europe can afford to ignore our example," he added.
Some 30 men, 40 women and 35 children were on board the first flight and were firstly to be included in a so-called " cultural orientation programme" to help them integrate into their communities in Germany.
The rest of the refugees are expected to be flown to Germany in the coming weeks on around 25 charter flights.
Two million people have fled Syria to neighbouring countries, escaping bloodshed in which at least 100,000 people have died, according to the United Nations.
[Photos: AFP]
Syria
Interactive: Fighting words
We have tracked the war rhetoric of US presidents over the past three decades.
It starts in August 1990, when the US launched Operation Desert Shield, covers Operation Desert Storm, the Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo wars, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and more, and ends with Obama's most recent speech where he tried to push Congress to approve strikes on Syria.
Syria
Envoys from the P5, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, will meet in New York later today to discuss plans to place Syrian chemical weapons under international control, diplomats have said.
Among the topics to be discussed by US, British, Chinese, French and Russian diplomats is the French draft resolution that would give the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad an ultimatum to give up its chemical arsenal or face punitive measures, a text that Russia has said is unacceptable.
Al Jazeera has learned that there have been some slight changes to the original draft resolution so the French will present the new draft to the other P5 members.
The meeting will be at 4 pm New York time, but it is not known where.
Syria
We tweeted and blogged earlier Senator John McCain's appearance on Al Jazeera. Here's the whole interview, and some reactions from Twitter.
[As always, outside sources used on our site do not necessarily reflect our views.]
Syria
In Paris like in Washington, the threat of military action against Syria appears to be on hold.
Senior ministers gathered at the Elysee Palace to discuss the latest diplomatic developments.
France has been working on a resolution to put to the UN security council, but Russia has raised objections to including a threat of military action if Syria doesn't comply.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Paris.
Syria
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called on the United States and Russia to also address the obstacles to delivering aid in Syria at talks on Thursday focusing on the use of chemical weapons.
ICRC President Peter Maurer called on the international community to work together to ensure that assistance reaches people in dire need in Syria. He said that while diplomatic discussions were taking place around chemical weapons, fighting in Syria was intensifying, and the suffering of the Syrian people needed urgent attention. The ICRC needs rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for people in sealed off areas, mainly Eastern Ghouta, the old city of Homs, Yarmouk and Moadamiyah.
Syria
The Arab League Council welcomed the Russian initiative on Syria to impose international supervision on its chemical weapons.
It issued a statement saying that it will "deal positively" with all initiatives seeking to solve the Syrian crisis and expressed its hope that the Russian initiative will succeed.
The Arab League Council called on the International community to take its responsibility and work on putting the Syrian chemical weapons under international supervision. More details on the statement to follow.
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