US missiles targeted Syrian forces Friday in response to a suspected chemical attack that killed up to 86 people earlier this week.

It was the first direct US strike against the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's devastating six-year war.

From strong messages of support to fierce condemnation, here are the main global reactions to a US strike on a Syria air base in response to a suspected chemical attack. 

- Against -RUSSIA: Unsurprisingly, the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was robust in its opposition to the strike.

An air strike hit rebel-held Khan Sheikhun in northwestern Syria on Tuesday morning, leaving dozens of civilians dead from a suspected chemical weapons attack.

Gently placing flowers outside a Saint Petersburg metro station to honour the 14 people killed in Monday's devastating suicide bombing, Ksenia Zashikhina ponders what might have been.

Warplanes carried out a suspected toxic gas attack on a rebel-held town in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 58 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

When America entered World War I, a century ago this week, the European powers were bogged down in a grinding trench war that had killed millions and ravaged the European continent.

Swinging its industrial might and vast manpower behind France and Britain against Germany and its allies on April 6, 1917, the United States tipped the balance of the conflict and marked its own emergence as a global power.

With his popularity battered by food shortages, economic chaos and rampant crime, it is hard to understand how Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has clung to power.

As Britain embarks on the path to Brexit with formal notification of its intention to leave the European Union, here is a short glossary to make the months of negotiations ahead a little bit less confusing:

- BrexitBorn out of the contraction of "British" and "Exit", Brexit means the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

In a slick online video, 22-year-old Turkish student Ali Gul sits in front a drum kit and framed artwork while making tart remarks about Turkey's political leadership. He wraps up by musing that he'll probably get arrested if the video goes viral.

The video clocked tens of thousands of hits. This month, Gul was detained.

Anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has cemented his status as leader of Russia's opposition movement by organizing the largest unauthorized protest in recent years against President Vladimir Putin's rule.