As diplomats from over a dozen countries meet in New York right now to discuss ending the Syrian crisis and defeating the IS group, AP asks these questions that hang over the talks:
Will Assad and his foreign backers Russia and Iran agree to sit down with rebel groups they routinely denounce as "terrorists"?
And, will the rebels and their foreign backers countenance talks with a regime that has slaughtered thousands of its own citizens with barrel bombs and poison gas?
Even if a ceasefire is possible, who would monitor it? And who would lead the fight against the IS group and others, such as Al-Qaeda's Al-Nusra Front, left outside of the peace process?
Four suspects in the November 13 Paris attacks were processed as migrants on the same day, AFP reports.
Two suicide bombers who died in the Paris attacks and two men held in Austria for suspected links to the operation were all processed as migrants on the Greek island of Leros on the same day, a French source close to the probe told AFP.
The French source said that two of the three Stade de France suicide bombers were processed in Leros on the same day as two suspects arrested in a Salzburg refugee center over the weekend.
A seperate Austrian source said that the two suspects arrested in Salzburg were Algerian and Pakistani.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has said that the International Syria Support Group meeting in New York is proceeding in a "constructive manner."
The UK's mission to the United Nations tweets this from today's talks on Syria.
Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led anti-IS campaign, is giving a press conference.
Tweets about the Ramadi offensive by ISF against IS.
Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led anti-IS campaign, is giving a press conference.
Manned and unmanned aircraft, bombers and drones, involved in the response to the attack by IS in northern Iraq.
This was a penetration. The HQ where the Canadians were -- about 5 miles.
Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led anti-IS campaign, is giving a press conference.
Question regarding IS attack on Peshmerga in north Iraq; Canadians involved on the ground, were any American forces involved?
Battalion sized attack, maybe 500 total IS, maybe less.
Air power killed almost 200 of them.
Don't know how much damage Peshmerga inflicted.
South of peshmerga FLOT (forward line of troops) IS have some freedom of maneuver.
Most of the forces came out of Mosul, their center of gravity in Iraq.
If that is the best they can muster, things don't look good for them. Things will get worse and worse for this enemy.
Some Canadians who were a little bit forward around Bashiqa, behind the FLOT, enemy able to push through fairly rapidly so Canadians forced to respond.
No American forces exchanged fire.
Didn't happen anywhere near any Americans.
Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led anti-IS campaign, is giving a press conference.
Question on how IS attacked the Palestine Bridge in Ramadi.
Attack came from north of Ramadi which has not been cleared.
They continued penetrating south using VBIEDs and infantry but the Iraqi forces impressed us.
So while the initial push caused ISF to withdraw from the bridge they were able to stop that attack, kill the infantry supporting the VBIED and stop the VBIED.
A lot of enemy killed. All positions restored.
Two points: 1. we can't forget that this is still a war. This enemy has fight left in them.
On the other hand, the forces we're aligned with -- ISF. peshmerga -- these are becoming solid fighting forces.
We are seeing fruits of [our] labor (of rebuilding ISF).
Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led anti-IS campaign, is giving a press conference.
Ramadi has been fully isolated and Iraqi forces are carrying out clearing ops.
From a military perspective it is not possible to "seal" something, there will always be rat lines or smuggling routes that the enemy can use to bring people in and out but they can't resupply themselves.
Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led Operation Inherent Resolve against IS, is giving a press briefing: