BREAKING NEWS

Clinton says Assad must cede all power in Syria transition

ISTANBUL - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Western and Arab nations at a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday that a transition strategy in Syria must include President Bashar Assad's full transfer of power, a senior US State Department official said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the official said Clinton had also told the group that transition in Syria must include a fully representative interim government that would lead to free and fair elections.
France also announced at the meeting it would hold a full "Friends of Syria" meeting in Paris on July 6, the official said.