UN raises pressure on Syria regime as peace talks end first week

The UN's Syria envoy on Friday urged Damascus to make concrete proposals on political transition "next week", ratcheting up pressure on the regime to move peace talks in Geneva forward. As he ended a week of negotiations, United Nations mediator Staffan de Mistura conceded that he was "still detecting large distances" between the government and main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC). The UN envoy restated his praise of the HNC for submitting a proposal outlining its vision for a new S