Europe, Syria | featured news

Foreign ministers from the G8 group of rich countries failed to patch up deep divisions over Syria or come up with a plan on North Korea during a meeting in London on Thursday.

France said on Thursday there were no signs that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is about to be overthrown, something Paris has been saying for months was just over the horizon.

France's foreign minister raised the prospect Thursday of sending "defensive weapons" to Syrian rebels, saying his country will ask the European Union to consider lifting its arms embargo on the Middle East nation....

France on Tuesday became the first European country to recognize the newly formed Syrian rebel coalition, going beyond other Western pledges of support.

The United States, Europe and Arab nations are preparing to demand that Syrian President Bashar Assad agree within days to a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid into areas hardest hit by his regime's brutal crackdown on opponents.