Western leaders call for Syrian president to step down   Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad (Photo: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom,
Wikimedia Commons)   Player utilities  The leaders of the US,
UK, France and Germany have all called for Syria's President
Bashar al-Assad to step down over his suppression of protesters.
"The time has come for President Assad to step aside," President
Barack Obama declared.  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put
it this way: "The people of Syria deserve a government that
respects their dignity, protects their rights and lives up to
their aspirations. Assad is standing in their way. For the sake
of the Syrian people, the time has come for him to step aside
and leave this transition to the Syrians themselves."  This
marks a significant increase in pressure on Assad who for five
months had overseen the violent suppression of street protests
against his leadership.  According to reporter Ben Gilbert, who
is monitoring events from Beirut, an Assad spokesperson told
newswire AFP, "the West