Syria's Assad to make rare public address

DAMASCUS: Syria's embattled President Bashar al-Assad is to make a rare public address Sunday expected to focus on the uprising against his rule in which according to the UN more than 60,000 people have died.

The speech comes as Patriot missiles are deployed along the Turkish border in a move the US military said was to help Turkey defend itself against any threat from Syria, which is in the throes of a 21-month civil war.