Syria envoy meets Assad,warns of global threat

International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said after talks with President Bashar al-Assad on Saturday that the escalating Syrian conflict posed a global threat.

Activists say more than 27,000 people have been killed in the 18-month-old uprising against Assad,which started as mainly peaceful calls for reform but has become a bloody insurgency which is deepening sectarian tensions in the Middle East.

This crisis is deteriorating and represents a danger to the Syrian people,to the region,and to the whole world, Brahimi told reporters in Damascus after he spoke with Assad for an hour at the presidential palace. It was Brahimis first meeting with Assad.

Meanwhile,Damascus residents reported hearing heavy overnight bombardment followed by the sound of jet planes swooping over the capital shortly after 7 am (0400 GMT) on Saturday.

Congress releases second list for Bihar elections, fields 5 candidates

India4 hr ago

Congress released its second list of candidates for the Bihar Assembly elections, but the Mahagathbandhan is still working on a seat-sharing arrangement for the first phase of polling. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) will contest six seats on its own. The elections will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results on November 14.

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