Barack Obama is back and China has a new leader in Xi Jinping, but world leaders face heavyweight issues in the coming year, from lingering economic crises to bloody tumult in the Middle East.
Syria's uprising has shifted from popular street protests against President Bashar al-Assad to a full-fledged war, increasingly influenced by armed Islamists, in a far cry from the idealism of the Arab Spring.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi hoped on Sunday that the United States and Russia could reconcile their views over Syria in order to facilitate a settlement of the crisis in the war-ravaged country.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed fresh support Wednesday for a new coalition of Syrian opposition groups seeking to counter the Assad regime.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday issued a "strong warning" to the regime of Bashar al-Assad over the potential use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a landmark visit to Istanbul on Monday to discuss their differences over the crisis in Syria.
Washington is weighing what further help it can give the Syrian opposition rebels, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday, without spelling out if they would win full US recognition.
Delegates from more than 60 countries gathered in Tokyo Friday, seeking to ramp up pressure on Bashar al-Assad's regime as the US moved towards recognising the newly-unified opposition as true leaders of Syria.
In less than 24 hours, rebels used surface-to-air missiles to strike down two aircraft in northern Syria, marking a turning point in their war with forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian rebels on Sunday seized the training camp of a pro-regime Palestinian faction in Damascus province and took control of an arms depot after fierce clashes.
Britain formally recognised a newly-formed opposition bloc as the sole representative of the Syrian people on Tuesday, as UN head Ban Ki-moon said he feared Syria could become a "regional battleground."
A record 110 countries on Monday backed a resolution voted every two years at a UN General Assembly committee calling for the abolition of the death penalty.
Kazakhstan Foreign Minister considers the situation in Syria a direct threat to the international stability, while its administration "missed numerous opportunities to meet the lawful strives of its people halfway".
British Foreign Secretary William Hague indicated Friday he would decide within days whether to officially recognise the new Syrian opposition after "encouraging" talks with its leaders in London.
The United Nations has protested to the Syrian government for claiming it had UN permission to attack rebel opponents in the Golan Heights demilitarized zone.