Syria: living on the frontline An eight-hour truce has been held in Damascus between a government-held district and an area controlled by the opposition. Sky News filmed rare scenes of residents of the Syrian capital going about their daily lives. Crowds of people from the Yarmouk neighbourhood flooded into state-held Midan to gather supplies. But this is calm in the eye of a storm. An uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which began more than two years ago, has escalated into a bloody civil war. This week the United States and Russia announced plans for an urgent international conference to push for a transitional government in Syria. British Prime Minister David Cameron is to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 10. The UN-Arab League Envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi praised the US-Russian initiative, but cautioned that it is only "a first step." Brahimi, who had been on the brink of resignation, has also said he will stay on in the role. Meanwhile, The Foreign Minister of the Philippines Albert del Rosario has recommended that his government pull its peacekeepers out of the Golan Heights, after four were seized by Syrian rebels on May 7. Filipinos make up about a third of the UN peacekeeping force in the area, which was captured from Syria by Israel in 1967. More about: Armed conflicts, Syria, Syrian politics