Clinton: 'Writing on the wall' for Assad

The "writing is on the wall" for Syria's President Bashar al-Assad as his regime becomes increasingly isolated, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.

Speaking after a Friends of Syria meeting in Paris, Mrs Clinton urged countries with influence in Damascus, to "step up and use all of their leverage".

Thousands of people have died in more than a year of violence in Syria, with many observers suggesting that the country is now in a state of civil war.