Peace talks struggle to get off the ground

Urgent need to find solution to conflict as multiple explosions kill 71 people in Damascus

The UN special envoy for Syria faced an uphill task in Geneva on Monday to get talks to end the brutal civil war off the ground, as the opposition hesitated to join negotiations.

The urgency to find a solution to the four-year war was brought home on Sunday when multiple explosions killed 71 people near a revered Shiite shrine outside the capital Damascus, according to a Britain-based monitor.