The thorniest point in a declaration by EU leaders at a summit in Rome this week to mark the bloc's 60th birthday is about a so-called multi-speed union.

As the EU turns 60 amid a divorce from Britain and other mid-life crises, the question is increasingly not how it can bounce back, but how it can survive.

Today's European Union is the product of efforts led by France and Germany in the wake of World War II to bring peace to a continent that had seen centuries of war.

In fluorescent uniforms, dozens of inmates blink in the afternoon sun as they line up in the yard for lunch, the low murmur of their chatter punctuated suddenly by a solitary plaintive cry.

"This is horrible!" the voice cries out, before another quickly follows: "We aren't criminals!"

Israel said its warplanes struck several targets in Syria early Friday, prompting retaliatory missiles launches, in the most serious incident between the two countries since the Syrian conflict erupted six years ago.

In Aleppo, portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin hang shoulder-to-shoulder with those of his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad, signalling Moscow's rise at the expense of Damascus's other ally, Iran.

The rivalry between the two primary backers of the Syrian government is becoming increasingly palpable, according to Syrian officials and a Russian analyst.

US President Donald Trump may not be popular in much of the Muslim world but he has been embraced by Saudi Arabia and, in turn, has reached out to the oil-rich kingdom.

It was the year that ended centuries of royal rule, brought two revolutions, ushered in Soviet domination and changed the course of Russian history irrevocably.

Peaceful protests against the regime of President Bashar Assad began in March 2011. They were harshly repressed, prompting an armed uprising that descended into a complex nationwide conflict.

Russia this year marks the 100th anniversary of the 1917 February and October revolutions that saw the Bolsheviks come to power, dismantling the Tsarist empire and paving the way to the Soviet Union's creation. 

Rolling around 200 Marines backed with howitzers into northern Syria, the United States is shifting from working quietly behind the scenes in Syria's conflict, turning instead toward overt displays of U.S. force in an attempt to shape the fight.

The latest deployment widens America's footprint in a highly toxic battlefield, with U.S. credibility and prestige on the line. It also risks drawing troops into a long and costly war with unpredictable outcomes.