BBC News with Zoe Diamond

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has said his country is in a state of war 15 months after the uprising against his rule began. Mr Assad was speaking after a day of fighting between the Syrian army and rebels on the outskirts of the capital Damascus. Earlier, the United Nations Security Council was told that the conflict in Syria is worsening. From neighboring Lebanon, here's Jim Muir.

President Assad was addressing the first meeting of the new cabinet which emerged after general elections held in May, and he made it clear that the country and administration were on a

war footing

. "We are living a state of war, in all its aspects and in every meaning of the word," he told the ministers. "All policies and all directions in every sector had to be directed towards victory in that war." The implication of Mr Assad's remarks is that he expects the conflict to be a

long haul

. Events on the ground seemed to

bear him out

with both sides reporting violent clashes and many casualties in suburbs of Damascus as well as many other places around the country.

Russia has said that it's ready to attend a meeting on the Syria crisis that the international mediator Kofi Annan is trying to organize for Saturday in Geneva. But it's still not clear whether the meeting will take place because there's no agreement yet on either the agenda or who will participate.

Turkey has warned that any Syrian forces approaching its border will be treated as a military target following the shooting down of a Turkish fighter plane by Syria last Friday. The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the rules of engagement for Turkish forces had changed. From Istanbul, here's Jonathan Head.