Syria: aid for besieged city

(Vatican Radio) The United Nations is welcoming reports the Syrian government and opposition have agreed to allow civilians to leave the old city of Homs, an area that has been cut off from humanitarian aid for more than a year.
Listen to this report from Nathan Morley:

Syria’s state-run news agency says the deal covers "innocent civilians" including women, children, the elderly and the injured. The agreement was also reported to include a plan to provide humanitarian assistance to civilians in the old city.

Meanwhile, the delays regarding Syria's chemical weapons elimination and destruction programme are not "insurmountable" according to a top UN official.

“The deadline of 30th of June 2014 we have stated and reiterated by the Secretary-General can be met. That is an important one. Intermediate milestones ideally should have been met. What we are now doing is to ensure that a plan will be available against which further benchmarking can take place which allows for planning, preparation, swift implementation.” said Sigrid Kaag, the Special Coordinator of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Ms. Kaag said she will be travelling to Syria to work with her team to ensure that "everything is done", from verification to inspection.