Israel said it hoped the United States would veto any moves at the United Nations to set a timeframe for its withdrawal from territory Palestinians seek for a state, but a senior US official said it was too early to say.

World powers yesterday backed military measures to help defeat Islamic State fighters in Iraq, boosting Washington’s efforts to set up a coalition, but made no mention of the tougher diplomatic challenge next door in Syria.

Iraq’s parliament has officially named Haider Abadi the country’s new prime minister and approved most of his proposed cabinet.

The Arab League has agreed to combat extremists such as the Islamic State group as one of its suicide bombers killed 16 people at a meeting of Sunni tribal fighters and security troops in Iraq.

The UN secretary-general said it is his “hope and belief” that his emergency mission to the Middle East will lead to an end to the fighting between Hamas and Israel.

The overall Palestinian death toll passed 560 as high-level attempts to end Israel-Hamas fighting hit serious problems.

Israeli air strikes targeting Hamas in Gaza have hit a mosque as the Palestinian death toll topped 120 in an offensive that shows no signs of slowing down.

Israel has broken off Middle East peace talks and brought the US-brokered process to the brink of collapse.

Israel’s prime minister has abruptly halted a plan to explore the potential construction of thousands of new homes in West Bank settlements.

A suicide truck bomb attack on a government checkpoint on the edge of the city of Hama in central Syria has left 30 dead, according to state media and activists.

The United Nations will hear its experts’ verdict on the alleged poison gas attack in Syria after the chief chemical weapons inspector turned over his report to the world body.

President Barack Obama and French president Francois Hollande have said they are committed to a political solution in Syria even as they prepare for potential military strikes.

Britain “cannot allow diplomatic paralysis to be a shield” for President Bashar Assad, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

In the face of a UN Security Council deadlocked on Syria, the US and its allies could seek other means of legitimising any retaliatory strike they launch against Syria’s government for last week’s alleged gas attack on civilians.

Israeli and Palestinian officials will meet soon in Washington to work out final details on relaunching Mideast peace negotiations for the first time in five years, US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

The UN General Assembly is poised to approve an Arab-backed resolution calling for a political transition in Syria and strongly condemning president Bashar Assad’s regime for its escalating use of heavy weapons, UN diplomats said.

Arab foreign ministers have offered the Syrian opposition coalition the country’s seat at the Arab League on condition that it first forms a representative executive council.

Syrian rebels used captured tanks to launch a fresh offensive on a government complex housing a police academy near Aleppo today, and clashed with government troops protecting the strategic installation.

The international envoy tasked with pushing to end Syria’s civil war has said the situation is still “worrying” after discussing the crisis with president Bashar Assad.

Thousands of opponents and supporters of Egypt’s Islamist president have flocked to key locations in the nation’s capital ahead of rival mass rallies, four days before a nationwide referendum on a contentious draft constitution.

Syria’s civil war spilled over into neighbouring Lebanon once again yesterday, with gun battles in the northern city of Tripoli between supporters and opponents of president Bashar al-Assad’s regime that left four dead.

The world’s top diplomats were today trying to end the week-long convulsion of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Israel bombarded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with about 300 airstrikes today and shot down a Palestinian rocket fired at Tel Aviv, the military said.

The leader of Syria’s new opposition coalition has urged European states to recognise it as the legitimate government, enabling it to buy the weapons it needs to overthrow president Bashar al-Assad.

Japan says it will host international working-level talks in late November on sanctions imposed against Syria.

The Syrian army promised to observe a four-day ceasefire for a Muslim holiday starting today, while rebels claimed to have taken control of new areas in the key battleground of Aleppo.

An explosion has hit the Old City of Damascus, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens of other civilians, Syrian activists said.

Syria has banned Turkish Airlines flights from its air space, according to state-run news agency SANA.

Hundreds of Pakistanis angry at an anti-Islam film have clashed with police in the capital Islamabad, the most violent show of anger in a day that saw smaller demonstrations in Indonesia, Iran and Afghanistan.

France has stepped up security at its embassies across the Muslim world after a French satirical magazine published crude caricatures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

After two decades as a diplomatic troubleshooter in hotspots from Afghanistan to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi firmly believes that every conflict can be solved.

Refugees are fleeing Syria in ever greater numbers, UN agencies said yesterday, as the conflict between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels intensifies.

Lakhdar Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and long-time UN diplomat, has agreed to replace former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria, the United Nations has announced.

The United Nations has called an end to its doomed observer mission in Syria, as the battle between rebels and government forces in Aleppo continues.

The Security Council has agreed to end the UN military observer mission in Syria in the face of an escalating civil war.

The UN General Assembly is preparing to denounce Syria for unleashing tanks, artillery, helicopters and warplanes on the people of Aleppo and Damascus, and demand that the Assad regime keep its chemical and biological weapons warehoused and under strict control.

Kofi Annan delivered blistering criticism of world powers’ failure to unite over Syria’s escalating violence as he submitted his resignation as special envoy to the country.

The EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton has called for a rapid appointment by the UN and the Arab League of a successor to Kofi Annan.

Kofi Annan has submitted his resignation as special envoy to Syria, saying he plans to step down on August 31.

The Syrian government launched an offensive yesterday to retake rebel-held neighbourhoods in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo, unleashing artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships against poorly armed opposition fighters.

The Syrian government launched an offensive to retake rebel-held districts in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo today, unleashing artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships against poorly armed opposition fighters.

Arab nations have said they will go to the UN General Assembly and seek approval of a new resolution on Syria.

Syria acknowledged for the first time that it had chemical and biological weapons, saying they could be used if the country faced foreign intervention.

Syria has threatened to use its chemical and biological weapons in case of a foreign attack, the first time it has admitted having weapons of mass destruction.