Powers considering humanitarian, peacekeeping steps in Syria

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday that the solution for the crisis in Syria was the establishment of humanitarian corridors which would allow the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad to survive.

China said on Thursday it was considering sending observers to monitor a week-old truce in Syria that has so far failed to put an end to a year of bloodshed. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said an expanded UN monitoring mission for Syria would be composed of "an initial deployment" of up to 300 unarmed observers who would supervise the fragile week-old ceasefire in the country. (Reuters)