President Bashar al-Assad

Five-storey building in the Sheikh Maksoud district of Syria's second largest city collapsed due to water leakages

Parliament announced the election on Sunday

Numerous rounds of UN-led peace talks have failed to end a war that killed more than 370,000 and displaced millions

Harasta was once home to 250,000 people, most of them Syrians from elsewhere in the country who worked in the capital

Assad: War must target those who seek to "divide and weaken states"

Manar television station cited casualties but gave no details

The army says it regularly stages operations targeting Islamic State and former al Qaeda-linked militants

The evacuations are part of a deal between Syria's ally Iran and Qatar

Washington believes government jets launched a chemical attack that killed at least 87 civilians

The West is also pushing for Russia to rein in the Syrian regime, with the war now in its seventh year

More than 320,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests

Rebels this week launched two surprise offensives on government positions in Damascus and central Hama province