At least 48 people killed in a string of bomb blasts across war-battered country

Top diplomats from the United States and Russia on Monday failed to reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria, US officials said, after government troops encircled rebel-held parts of Aleppo and a string of bomb blasts hit across the war-battered country.

However, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday agreed on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians. The meeting was held as a series of bombings on Monday killed several dozen people.