Syria's crisis

The Security Council will most likely not renew the mandate of the U.N. observer mission in Syria later this month, which would require it to pull out of the conflict-torn country, France's envoy to the United Nations said on Thursday, August 2.

In this citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN, taken on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, smoke leaps the air from purported shelling in Damascus, Syria. Syrian opposition activists say regime forces have swept through neighborhoods south of the capital Damascus in a deadly military operation that has inflicted casualties. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)

Members of the Free Syrian Army get ready after they were told a tank belonging to forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad is heading to their area in Aleppo's district of Salah Edinne July 31, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

A member of the Free Syrian Army carries ammunition as he prepares for their patrol in Attarib, on the outskirts of Aleppo province July 30, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Free Syrian Army members place frozen water bottles on the bodies of civilians killed by shelling, to prevent rapid decomposition, in Aleppo July 29, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

A Free Syrian Army member takes position while people flee after hearing shelling at Aleppo's disctrict of al- Sukkari July 29,2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

In this Sunday, 22 July, 2012 photo a Syrian rebel fires his weapon during clashes with Syrian troops in Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo/Fadi Zaidan)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2012 photo, a Syrian rebel sits in the back of truck mounted with an anti aircraft weapon during clashes with Syrian troops in Idlib, Syria. (AP Photo/Fadi Zaidan)

In this Sunday, 22 July, 2012 photo a Syrian rebel takes cover after he fires his weapon during clashes with Syrian troops in Idlib, Syria. uly is set to become the bloodiest month of an uprising that activists say has claimed 19,000 lives since it began on March 2011. (AP Photo/Fadi Zaidan)

Damaged buildings are seen at Barza in Damascus July 27, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Demonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad at Binsh near Idlib July 27, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Residents carry the body of Khaled Saad Eddin, whom activists say was killed by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, during his funeral at Houla, neighbourhood of Homs July 25, 2012. Picture taken July 25, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Free Syrian Army soldiers pray at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey July 22, 2012. Syrian forces regained control of one of two border crossings seized by rebels on the frontier with Iraq, Iraqi officials said, but rebels said they had captured a third border crossing with Turkey, Bab al-Salam north of Aleppo. "Seizing the border crossings does not have strategic importance but it has a psychological impact because it demoralises Assad's force," a senior Syrian army defector in Turkey, Staff Brigadier Faiz Amr, told Reuters by phone. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

A Free Syrian Army soldier steps on portraits of President Bashar al-Assad at the Bab Al-Salam border crossing to Turkey July 22, 2012. Syrian forces regained control of one of two border crossings seized by rebels on the frontier with Iraq, Iraqi officials said, but rebels said they had captured a third border crossing with Turkey, Bab al-Salam north of Aleppo. "Seizing the border crossings does not have strategic importance but it has a psychological impact because it demoralises Assad's force," a senior Syrian army defector in Turkey, Staff Brigadier Faiz Amr, told Reuters by phone. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

A Syrian refugee flashes the victory sign at a refugee camp near Zakho, an Iraqi border town with Syria, June 23, 2012. As Syria's crisis escalates, Syria's Kurdish provinces have been spared most of the violence. But increasingly, Syrian Kurds say they are fleeing to Iraqi Kurdistan to escape from growing economic hardship, kidnappings and instability. Picture taken June 23, 2012. To match Feature SYRIA-CRISIS/IRAQ REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour, Syrian soldiers stand next to burned cars after they regained control of the district of Midan, in the southern part of Damascus, Syria, Friday, July 20, 2012. Syrian troops and tanks on Friday drove rebels from a Damascus neighborhood where some of the heaviest of this week's fighting in the capital left cars gutted and fighters' bodies in the streets. Hundreds of people were killed in a single day, activists said, as the military struggles to regain momentum after a stunning bombing against the regime's leadership. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

A burnt tank belonging to government forces is seen in Azzaz, Aleppo province July 19, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout

Stunning images from around the world

China's Ding Ning watches the ball as she serves during her table tennis women's gold medal singles match against compatriot Li Xiaoxia of the London 2012 Olympic Games at The Excel Centre in London on Wednesday. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

An elephant sprays water ahead of the Sri Lankan Esala Perahera festival in the ancient hill capital of Kandy on Wednesday. The festival features a nightly procession of Kandyan dancers, fire twirlers, traditional musicians, elephants, and draws thousands of tourists and spectators. (August 1, 2012) Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

A national parks ranger inspects a dead 30-tonne humpback whale in the Newport Beach rockpool north of Sydney on Wednesday. The 11.6 metre adult humpback, which appears to have been dead for several days, washed up in the ocean baths overnight as rough seas lashed parts of Australia's east coast. (August 1, 2012) Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

A rescued baby pangolin is released in the forest by government wildlife and conservation officer in Karo district located in North Sumatra province on July 31, 2012 after Indonesian police intercepted 85 endangered pangolins, most of them alive despite being stuffed into sacks by suspected smugglers. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Streets are packed with heavy traffic following a power outage and rains in the central part of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 31, 2012. India's energy crisis spread over half the country Tuesday when both its eastern and northern electricity grids collapsed, leaving 600 million people without power in one of the world's biggest-ever blackouts. Photo Credit: AP

An Indian girl carries an idol of Hindu goddess Dashama as she looks for reusable material amid idols left by devotees on the banks of the River Sabarmati at the end of Dashama festival in Ahmadabad, India. The 10-day festival celebrated in the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar culminates with the immersion of the idols of Hindu goddess Dashama. (July 29, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

People throw colored powder into the air during the Holi Festival in Berlin, Germany. The original Holi, also known as the festival of colors, is a festival celebrated in India and other Hindu countries. Some thousands of people celebrated this event with Indian Djs, acrobatics and dance in the German capital. (July 29, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

Carnaval des Fleurs queen, Kimberley Benoit, 22, poses for a photo during a presentation ceremony of carnival royalty at the national palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Carnival of Flowers, a three-day celebration, will mark new beginnings and the revitalization of Haiti with a Sunday parade, concerts and street dancing. (July 27, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

Many hands join in to help as an anaconda snake at the Oklahoma City Zoo has dental floss taped to it's head and along it's body as it is measured at the zoo in Oklahoma City. The floss and tape are necessary because it would be nearly impossible to stretch out the snake. The anaconda weighed 152 lbs. and measured 16 feet. (July 26, 2012) Photo Credit: AP

Water is released from the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze river, in Yichang, central China's Hubei province, after heavy downpours in the upper reaches of the dam caused the highest flood peak of the year. (July 24, 2012) Photo Credit: Getty Images

Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity

People aren't always awful. Sometimes, they're maybe even just a little bit wonderful. This picture of two Norwegian guys rescuing a sheep from the ocean.

Monk and a tiger

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Zhangjiajie, China

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My blueprint for success at the early Tony Hawk games.

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Casualities of 9/11, The War on Terror And The Invasion of Iraq

Somalia famine to kill thousands - Part 1

The UN in Somalia says tens of thousands of people will have died of starvation by the time the famine in the Horn of Africa ends. East Africa's drought is battering Somali children, with hundreds left for dead on the journey to the world's largest refugee camp.

A Somali woman from southern Somalia holds her malnourished child in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Wednesday, Aug, 17, 2011. The World Food Program said Saturday that it is expanding its food distribution efforts in famine-struck Somalia, where the U.N. estimates that only 20 percent of people needing aid are getting it.(AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

A Somali girl from southern Somalia sit behind barbed wire in a line to receive food at a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Wednesday, Aug, 17, 2011. The World Food Program said Saturday that it is expanding its food distribution efforts in famine-struck Somalia, where the U.N. estimates that only 20 percent of people needing aid are getting it.(AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Hassan Abdulkadir Adan, left, and Moktar Hassan Garad, right, from southern Somalia carry their dead 7 and 5 year-old boys from a local hospital in Mogadishu, for burial Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011, The World Food Program said Saturday that it is expanding food distribution efforts in famine-ravaged Somalia, where the U.N. has estimated that only 20 percent of people needing aid are able to receive it because an al-Qaida-linked group controls large portions of the country. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Internally-displaced women queue for food rations at a feeding centre as thousands flee severe drought in southern Somalia, in 2011. Global food prices -- a major catalyst for social unrest in the Middle East and Africa -- will remain high in 2012, the head of a UN body said Tuesday as he warned there was no simple formula to beat hunger. (AFP Photo/Mohamed Abdiwahab)

An aid worker using an iPad films the rotting carcass of a cow in Wajir near the Kenya-Somalia border in this July 23, 2011 file photo. Since drought gripped the Horn of Africa, and especially since famine was declared in parts of Somalia, the international aid industry has swept in and out of refugee camps and remote hamlets in branded planes and snaking lines of white 4x4s. From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather. While it is too early to predict what 2012 will be like, insurers and weather prediction agencies point to a clear trend: the world's weather is becoming more extreme and more costly. REUTERS/Barry Malone/Files (KENYA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT DISASTER SOCIETY BUSINESS)

Refugee Abshiro Isakbul sits at the Transit Centre in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia. Over 300,000 refugees have fled severe drought, conflict and famine in southern Somalia this year, according to the United Nations. Many have streamed into Ethiopia, which continues to receive hundreds of refugees every day as fighting rages between Al-Qaeada-linked Shebab insurgents, government troops and regional armies. (AFP Photo/William Davies)

A boy tries to collect water at the Transit Centre in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia. Over 300,000 refugees have fled severe drought, conflict and famine in southern Somalia this year, according to the United Nations. Many have streamed into Ethiopia, which continues to receive hundreds of refugees every day as fighting rages between Al-Qaeada-linked Shebab insurgents, government troops and regional armies. (AFP Photo/William Davies)

A woman and her children walk to the Transit Centre in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia. Over 300,000 refugees have fled severe drought, conflict and famine in southern Somalia this year, according to the United Nations. Many have streamed into Ethiopia, which continues to receive hundreds of refugees every day as fighting rages between Al-Qaeada-linked Shebab insurgents, government troops and regional armies. (AFP Photo/William Davies)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - AUGUST 13: Aden Madow carries the body of Hamza Ali Faysal, 3, from a camp of displaced Somalis within the rubble of the Cathedral of Mogadishu on August 13, 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The malnourished child died of sickness two weeks after fleeing with his family from famine and drought in far southern Somalia. The US government estimates that some 30,000 children have died in southern Somalia in the last 90 days. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - AUGUST 14: Halima Hassan holds her severely malnourished son Abdulrahman Abshir, 7 months, at the Banadir hospital on August 14, 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The US government estimates that some 30,000 children have died in southern Somalia in the last 90 days due to famine and drought. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2011 - People roll and drag water containers in Wajir in this recently taken handout photo released on July 21, 2011. A wide swathe of east Africa, including Kenya and Ethiopia, has been hit by years of severe drought and the United Nations says two regions of southern Somalia are suffering the worst famine for 20 years, with 3.7 million people facing starvation. REUTERS/Jakob Dall/Danish Red

A Somali man from southern Mogadishu carries his dead child in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20; 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

A Somali father from southern Somalia lowers the body of his dead child in the grave in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20; 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

Severely malnourished child from southern Somalia is being held in a makeshift shelter in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somali men from southern Somalia offers funeral prayers next to a dead child in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20; 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

Severely malnourished child from southern Somalia seen in a makeshift shelter in a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011. The United Nations World Food Programme is bolstering its nutritional support for malnourished children and mothers in the Horn of Africa. WFP is also expanding its use of cash transfers to help drought-hit families get the food they need. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

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Best Picture 1000 Stories

TAURANGA, NEW ZEALAND - JANUARY 09: Residents check washed up containers at Waihi Beach on January 9, 2012 in Tauranga, New Zealand. Floating containers and debris have been washed ashore after Rena split in two during high seas Saturday night. Cargo ship Rena struck Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Mt Maunganui on October 5, 2011 and has spilled 350 tonnes of oil, and almost 100 shipping containers. (Photo by Hannah Johnston/Getty Images)

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow celebrates with fans after the Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime in the NFL AFC wildcard playoff football game in Denver, Colorado, January 8, 2012. REUTERS/Marc Piscotty (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrives for the UK Premiere of 'War Horse' in aid of The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry, at a central London cinema, London, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Ian Gavan, Pool)

An anti-Syrian regime protester chants slogans during a demonstration outside the Arab League as the body meets on the situation in Syria in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. Arab League ministers responsible for monitoring the Syrian crisis say they need more observers and greater independence on the ground. Ministers at a meeting in Cairo said those are conditions for successfully carrying out an observer mission aimed at pressuring Damascus to stop its 10-month-old crackdown on protesters that has killed thousands, according to a statement Sunday. (AP Photo/Mohammed Abu Zaid)

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, center, and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, watch a military honor guard at the start of a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors of the 2011 shooting that left six dead and 13 injured, including Giffords, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Angelina Jolie, left, poses for photographers as Brad Pitt, recipient of the Desert Palm Achievement Award Actor, looks on at the 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, in Palm Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 08: (EDITORS NOTE: A polarising filter was used for this image). Volunteers stand and read the morning newspaper while 'waiting for the bus' at Henley Beach on January 8, 2012 in Adelaide, Australia. Surrealist artist, Andrew Baines recruited 100 volunteers for this human installation, meant to illustrate corporate workers enjoying nature rather than waiting in a long queue for a trip to work. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)

A masked Basque police officer walks between several relatives of more than seven hundred prisoners of the Basque separatist armed group ETA as they participate in a rally calling to general amnesty and the returned for, in Bilbao northern Spain, Saturday Jan. 7, 2012. This is the first demonstration against the new Spanish Government with Primer Minister Mariano Rajoy, of the Conservative Popular Party. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

About 200 demonstrators, many brandishing shoes in a reference to protests in the Arab world, gathered in front of German President Christian Wulff's residence the Bellevue Palace, background, and chanting "Wulff must go", in Berlin on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. Protesters have gathered outside the German president's palace to call for President Christian Wulff to quit following a scandal involving a private loan and an angry call to a newspaper. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

COTONOU, BENIN - JANUARY 06: Traffic builds up at rush hour on January 6, 2012 in Cotonou, Benin. Much of Cotonou's hectic traffic comprises of motorcycles and scooters. The primary fuel known as 'Kpayo', imported from Nigeria, has a hold over almost 90 percent of the fuel market in Benin where removal of subsidy on fuel by the Nigerian Government has been reflected in higher prices. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

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