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retary-General Ban Ki-moon said neither condition was met and Syria now risks "a descent into a full-scale civil war."
• But with the end of the unarmed observer mission looming, Ban said, "it is imperative for the United Nations to have a presence in Syria" aside from its humanitarian operation in order to support U.N. and Arab League efforts "in mediating and facilitating a peaceful resolution to the crisis."
• "I intend therefore to work in the immediate future towards establishing an effective and flexible United Nations presence in Syria that will support our efforts with the parties to end hostilities," Ban said.
• France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud, the current Security Council president, said members will be discussing the observer mission and Ban's proposal at a closed meeting on Thursday where they will be briefed by Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Edmond Mulet.

• ___

• DENVER (AP) -- Paul Ryan likes exercise, budget charts and the Green Bay Packers. Joe Biden likes train rides, foreign policy and talking -- a lot.
• In some ways, these presidential ticket No. 2s could not be more different. They are separated in age by nearly three decades, were born to families in different regions of the country and have views on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
• But in other ways, the 42-year-old Republican congressman and 69-year-old Democratic vice president are very much alike. Both were born to Catholic families in working-class neighborhoods and were young stars in their parties who became experts on the inner workings of Washington.
• And perhaps above all, these men both do political things their respective No. 1s cannot.
• Biden, with his back-slapping image, big smile and hardscrabble roots in Scranton, Pa., is seen as more effective than President Barack Obama at courting white working-class voters. Ryan, while less known outside his Janesville, Wis., hometown, is a favorite of the Republican Party's conservative base, a group that long has been skeptical of Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney's conservative credentials.

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