Syria Officially Misses Deadline to Remove Certain Chemical Weapons Components

Ships return to Cyprus

A December 31 deadline to remove part of the Syrian regime's chemical weapons arsenal from the country for destruction has been missed, with ships due to receive the materials returning to Cyprus.

In Syria, meanwhile, a newspaper quoted government officials as saying invitations to a peace meeting in Switzerland next month had not been issued, blaming the delay on disarray among the country's opposition groups.

And in northern Aleppo, at least 10 people were killed when a regime tank shell slammed into a bus in Aleppo city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.