Syria negotiations: opposition presses for time limit on talks Syria's government and opposition sat down Tuesday for their first face-to-face talks this month, on the second day of a new round of rocky peace negotiations. Monzer Akbik, advisor of the head of the Syrian National Coalition, said the opposition has asked UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi for a time limit for the talks, so they do not "go on with the regime games". Images and soundbites