• UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Western nations and allies in the Middle East meet Friday to urge Syria's fractured opposition to unite, seeking a new path for ending the country's conflict amid deadlock between major powers on the U.N. Security Council.
• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hosting talks among the Friends of Syria -- a coalition which includes the United States, the European Union and the Arab League -- on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, seeking to encourage better cooperation among groups which oppose Syrian President Bashar Assad.
• The talks, which don't include Russia, China or Iran, take place with the Security Council at a stalemate on efforts to halt the 18-month long conflict, which activists say has led to more than 30,000 deaths.
• Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed resolutions aimed at pressuring Assad to end the violence and enter negotiations on a political transition, paralyzing the U.N.'s most powerful body and denting chances of any progress during the General Assembly.
• Clinton has decried Assad's "murdering of his own people," while Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov -- who will address the General Assembly on Friday -- has accused the U.S. and other countries of encouraging terrorism in their stance on Syria.
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