Demands from regional powers that the Syrian National Coalition expand its membership have divided the group and stalled progress at a key meeting in Istanbul, opposition members said May 25, AFP reported.
U.S. President Barack Obama decreased his funding request for the war in Afghanistan by 10 percent in a letter to Congress on May 17, Reuters reported May 18.
Rival Islamic militant groups in Aleppo have carried out a wave of retaliatory kidnappings, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said May 18, AP reported.