Russian warplanes carried out intense air strikes on rebel strongholds in Syria on Friday hours before a ceasefire is due to come into force, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.
Heavy air strikes were reported to have hit rebel-held areas near Damascus as fighting raged across much of western Syria on Friday, hours before a plan aimed at halting the fighting was due to take effect.
Two Turkish journalists charged in a hugely controversial case with revealing state secrets and held in jail for the last three months were released after Turkey's constitutional court ruled their rights had been violated.
The Syrian army retook a strategic town from the Islamic State group on Thursday, paving the way for the reopening of its sole supply route to main northern city Aleppo.
The United Nations on Wednesday carried out its first humanitarian airdrop in Syria to help civilians besieged by Islamic State jihadists, the UN aid chief said.
Singapore has deported four suspected Indonesian extremists allegedly heading to Syria to fight with the Islamic State (IS) group, authorities said Tuesday.
The United States and Russia announced Monday that a landmark "cessation of hostilities" in war-torn Syria will take effect on February 27
Syria's main opposition umbrella group was meeting in the Saudi capital on Monday as Washington and Moscow worked to secure a ceasefire.
Bomb attacks in Syria's central city of Homs and near a shrine outside Damascus killed at least 87 people on Sunday, as Washington pursued efforts for a ceasefire.
At least 46 people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday in a double car bomb attack in the central Syrian city of Homs, a monitor said.
Western powers Friday rejected a Russian bid at the United Nations to halt Turkey's military actions in Syria, as France warned of a dangerous escalation in the nearly five-year conflict.
Russia's envoy to the UN warned long-term ally President Bashar al-Assad over his vow to retake all of Syria, saying he faced dire consequences if he did not comply with Moscow over the peace process.
