Syria peace conference kicks off in Switzerland

MONTREUX: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday opened a long-awaited international peace conference for Syria in the most serious effort yet to end the bloodshed.

The Syrian parties "can make a new beginning... This conference is your opportunity to .. show unity," Ban told representatives of Syria´s two warring sides and of some 40 nations, gathered in the Swiss town of Montreux. (AFP)