Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations urged world powers on Sunday to work harder to end Syria's civil war. The conflict has taken half a million lives and created an international refugee problem since it started in March of 2011.
Addressing an emergency session of the Security Council, Ban asked, "What excuse is there for anything less than determined action to stop the
mayhem? How much longer will all those with influence allow such cruelty to continue? I urge all involved to work harder for an end to the nightmare."