Syria truce deadline passes, no reported violence

The deadline for a UN-backed ceasefire aimed at halting more than a year of violence in Syria passed on Thursday with no immediate reports of fighting, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the sound of explosions in the town of Zabadani, close to the border with Lebanon, shortly after the 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) deadline expired, but said it was not clear what had caused the blasts. (Reuters)