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17 May 2012 Last updated at 16:59 ET

Syria opposition head 'to resign'Burhan Ghalioun speaks at a news conference after meeting Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata in Rome on 13 May 2012

The head of Syria's main opposition umbrella body, the Syrian National Council, says he will resign amid growing criticism and rifts within the group.


US strike plan on Iran 'ready'

The US has plans in place to attack Iran if other measures fail to stop it developing nuclear weapons, Washington's envoy to Israel says.

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags next to a drilling tower in northern CyprusTurkey jets 'pursue Israel plane'

Turkey says it scrambled two military jets to chase away an Israeli plane which allegedly violated the airspace of Turkish-held northern Cyprus.

Special Reports

Fleeing shelling in Idlib, Northern Syria - Febrauary 2012Syria crisis

Special report on the challenge to the Assad regime and its regional implications

More Special Reports:

Features & Analysis

  • Syrian President Bashar al Assad is seated in the front row at a Baath Party conference in Damascus on June 20 2000, the day he took office.Syria's Alawites

    The minority religious group that dominates Syrian politics


  • Women cheer at a friendly football match in Tehran in 2006Equality goal

    Iran's women football fans dream of return to terraces


  • 'Red woman' protest in DamascusSqueezed Middle

    The moderate Syrian voices drowned out by violence


  • Shahin NajafiDangerous satire

    Iranian rapper fears for his life following release of 'insulting' song


  • In the shadows

    What is the Syrian Islamist al-Nusra Front?

  • The Prophet

    How did a book snubbed by critics become a touchstone for millions?

  • Rallying round

    Widespread support for Iran cartoonist sentenced to lashings

Elsewhere on the BBC

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