BREAKING NEWS

UN team arrives in Syria, Assad to speak on TV

BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad will give an interview to Syrian television on Sunday, state media said, as a UN team arrived in Damascus to assess humanitarian needs after five months of turmoil.
Assad's interview, only his fourth televised appearance since an uprising erupted against his rule, will address "the current situation in Syria, the reform process and ... implications of the US and Western pressures on Syria politically and economically".
Assad last spoke in public in June. He said he would introduce reforms within months to address the wave of protests sweeping Syria, but blamed saboteurs for the violence and warned that no deal could be reached with gunmen.