- Hamilton begins 'new chapter' at Ferrari
- Trump, Biden head to Capitol for inauguration
- Numbers using 'QuitX' service swell before Trump inauguration
- French mother on trial accused of starving teen daughter to death
- Syria phone shops free from Assad-linked monopoly
- A mug shot and a solitary cell for S. Korea's impeached president
- Injured Vlhova to miss Alpine skiing worlds
- Scotland captain Tuipulotu ruled out of Six Nations
- Amorim's blast exposes depth of Man Utd decline
- Biden pre-emptively pardons Trump foes
- McCullum sees India series as ideal prep for Champions Trophy
- Trump 'triumphs' in Albanian art exhibition
- Marquez eyeing seventh MotoGP crown in Ducati dream team
- UK teen pleads guilty to girls' murder that triggered riots
- Sinner defies dizziness to reach De Minaur quarter-final in Melbourne
- Swiatek steps into unknown against Navarro in Melbourne quarters
- Swiatek has 'closure' after WADA says won't appeal in doping case
- Stock markets rise, bitcoin hits high as Trump returns
- Lys says 'nicest week in my life' as historic Melbourne run ends
- Activists slam 'destructive' Indonesia forest conversion plan
- Fire at Belgrade retirement home kills eight
- Qualifier Tien will remember 'surreal' Australian Open forever
- Indian rapist murderer of doctor sentenced to life in prison
- Fashion world in flux for men's week in Paris
- Missing US journalist's mother says new Syria leaders 'determined' to find son
- Indian rapist murderer of doctor sentenced to life in prison: judge
- Djokovic row as 'dizzy' Sinner reaches Australian Open quarters
- Low expectations in Beijing ahead of Trump's second coming
- Merciless Swiatek crushes 'lucky loser' Lys to reach Melbourne quarters
- Shelton halts Monfils to set up Australian Open quarter with Sonego
- Bitcoin hits record above $109,000 awaiting Trump
- Israel-Hamas truce holding after first hostage-prisoner swap
- Markets extend global rally as Trump-Xi talks boost sentiment
- Sinner defies dizzy spells to reach Melbourne last eight
- Triumphant Trump set for return to power
- Djokovic row as ailing Sinner beats heat to reach Melbourne quarters
- Sonego ends teenage qualifier Tien's Australian Open fairytale
- Marcos denounces 'woke' sex education bill in Catholic Philippines
- Sinner beats heat and broken net to make Australian Open quarters
- Indonesia launches international carbon exchange
- Djokovic row as Sinner, Swiatek eye Australian Open last eight
- Svitolina hopes Australian Open run brings 'a little light' to Ukraine
- Champions League giants scrap for knockout spots
- India's 'digital arrest' scammers stealing savings
- Mug shot, solitary cell for South Korea's President Yoon
- Trade wars, culture wars, and anti-immigration: Trump's big promises
- Thunder bounce back to down struggling Nets
- Young Chinese turn to AI pets for emotional relief
- Allen outguns Jackson as Bills beat Ravens, Eagles sink Rams
- Champions Cup success perfect Six Nations warm-up - France skipper Dupont
The battle for Aleppo
Following are key moments in the battle for Aleppo, the former commercial capital of Syria, since civil war broke out in March 2011.
- First demos -
- April-May 2011: Thousands of students demonstrate in Aleppo, a northern city that had been spared the sort of violent protests that erupted elsewhere in the country. The demos are swiftly crushed by students who back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and security forces.
- Aleppo drawn into war -
- July 20, 2012: Fierce fighting breaks out between the army and rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a group comprised of civilians and army deserters, in several city districts.
In August, troops backed by heavy artillery and warplanes secure central Christian neighbourhoods after a two-week offensive.
Since then, the city has been divided between loyalist districts in the west and rebel-controlled areas in the east. Each side has tried to wear the other down.
Aleppo province has become a theatre of operations for most of the factions fighting in Syria's war.
They include the Islamic State (IS) group, the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front, various rebel groups, the army and pro-regime militias, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Kurdish militiamen.
- January 15, 2013: More than 80 people are killed in an Aleppo university massacre over which the regime and rebels accuse each other of responsibility.
- City landmarks destroyed -
- April 24, 2013: Months of fighting around the Ummayad mosque destroys its minaret, an architectural and cultural landmark. Both sides blame the other for the destruction.
Other landmarks that have suffered are the souk, which was partially destroyed by fire in September 2012, and the UNESCO-listed citadel, which was damaged by a blast in July 2015.
- Barrel bombs -
- December 15, 2013: Regime attacks air strikes using "barrel bombs" on rebel districts kill 76 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bombs are made of TNT packed into oil drums that are dropped from the air.
In late July 2014, Human Rights Watch says the number of neighbourhoods hit by barrel bombs has almost doubled in five months, causing almost 1,700 deaths.
- Shredding the ceasefire -
- February 1, 2016: The regime launches an offensive against the rebels in Aleppo province backed by Hezbollah fighters and Russian aircraft. More than 500 people are killed in 10 days, according to the Observatory. The rebels are squeezed between regime forces and unfriendly fighters from the IS and Kurdish groups, and suffer a string of defeats.
- February 27: A "cessation of hostilities" is declared but it excludes IS and Al-Nusra Front. Warplanes begin to strike rebel-held areas of Aleppo again on March 11.
- April 22: The ceasefire is effectively destroyed by the start of large-scale regime raids in Aleppo. Since then, more than 250 civilians have been killed, mostly by barrel bombs.
- May 3: A rebel coalition goes on the offensive in pro-regime areas of Aleppo.
- France's UN ambassador Francois Delattre says Aleppo "is to Syria what Sarajevo was to Bosnia".
- May 4: Fierce fighting rages in Aleppo and regime raids hit rebel regions.
Since April 22, more than 280 people have died in the unrest, according to the Observatory.
L.Adams--AT