GENEVA (Reuters) – The United Nations should send 300 monitors to Syria as soon as possible to try to stop a wave of killing and violence that a ceasefire has failed to halt, a spokesman for U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said on Friday.

Seven unarmed U.N. observers are in Syria monitoring a week-old truce, with two to follow on Monday, and the full advance team of 30 due to be deployed in the coming week, the spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, said.

CAUX, Switzerland (Reuters) – Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Anita Baker return to the Montreux Jazz Festival for the 46th edition that founder “Funky” Claude Nobs hopes will go on into the early hours with improvised jam sessions.

New talents Lana Del Rey and Ed Sheeran, as well as veterans Jane Birkin, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Tony Bennett are also booked at one of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals that runs from June 29-July 14 along the shores of Lake Geneva.

GENEVA (Reuters) – Film star Angelina Jolie will use her powerful box office fame to draw wider attention to some of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Jolie, who has already served more than 10 years as goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is taking on a new role as special envoy for large-scale crises that cause huge numbers of civilians to flee their homelands.

GENEVA, April 16 (Reuters) – U.N. human rights investigators
said on Monday they had received reports of shelling and arrests
by Syrian forces since the ceasefire, as well as executions of
some soldiers captured by rebels, although the level of violence
generally was lower.

The team led by Brazilian expert Paulo Pinheiro said it
hoped the truce brokered by international mediator Kofi Annan
last week would hold and help put an end to gross human rights
violations that it has documented over the past six months.

GENEVA (Reuters) – An initial team of U.N. ceasefire monitors is due to arrive in Syria on Sunday evening and will be deployed on Monday in an effort to keep the peace plan on track, the spokesman for international mediator Kofi Annan said.

The six-person advance team will be joined by two dozen more observers in coming days in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted on Saturday authorizing the deployment of up to 30, Ahmad Fawzi said.

GENEVA (Reuters) – A U.N.-backed ceasefire that took effect in Syria at dawn is only being “partially observed” as heavy weapons and government troops remain deployed in cities, the main opposition movement said on Thursday.

“There is no evidence of a significant withdrawal,” the Syrian National Council’s spokeswoman Basma Kodmani told a news briefing in Geneva.

GENEVA, April 11 (Reuters) – Syria has told international
mediator Kofi Annan that it will halt all fighting by a dawn
deadline on Thursday but reserves the right to respond to any
attack by “armed terrorist groups”, the peace envoy’s spokesman
said on Wednesday.

He also stressed that Annan’s peace plan required Syrian
armed forces to withdraw from urban areas – something a
televised government statement did not mention.

GENEVA (Reuters) – If Syria fails to respect a ceasefire, the world should unite against President Bashar al-Assad, using an arms embargo and other sanctions to force him to end the violence, the main opposition group said on Wednesday, hours before a truce deadline.

The Syrian National Council (SNC) said it doubted Assad would respect the 0300 GMT Thursday ceasefire deadline and called for a new United Nations push to isolate him, something that would require the backing of reluctant Russia and China.

GENEVA (Reuters) – If Syria fails to respect a ceasefire, the world should unite against President Bashar al-Assad, using an arms embargo and other sanctions to force him to end the violence, the main opposition group said on Wednesday, hours before a truce deadline.

The Syrian National Council (SNC) said it doubted Assad would respect the 0300 GMT Thursday ceasefire deadline and called for a new United Nations push to isolate him, something that would require the backing of reluctant Russia and China.

GENEVA, April 10 (Reuters) – Syria forces are not complying
with a deal to halt violence and world powers should take a
strong stand if a U.N. ceasefire plan fails, including imposing
an arms embargo, a spokeswoman for the opposition Syrian
National Council said on Tuesday.

Basma Kodmani said there was no sign yet of government
troops complying with an agreement to withdraw from urban areas
on Tuesday since arrests, house demolitions and shelling were
continuing in various parts of the country.