Syria has said it will co-operate with the mission, set up after a US-Russia deal endorsed by the UN.

It is the first time the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has been asked to destroy a country's chemical arms during a war.

Correspondents say the OPCW inspectors face a daunting task.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said that seven out of the 19 chemical weapons sites declared by the government last month are in combat zones.

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says it could be complicated for the inspectors to gain access to these areas; local truces may be needed to allow the work to proceed.

A spokesman for the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Monzer Akbik, told the BBC that the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) would ensure that inspectors "will be protected, and granted access to all locations".

However, the FSA is only one of several rebel factions operating in Syria, and its local commanders have often displayed a high degree of autonomy.

UN chemical weapons inspectors filed an interim report last month confirming that the nerve agent sarin had been used in an attack on the outskirts of Damascus on 21 August that killed hundreds of people.

Syria's chemical weapons arsenal is believed to include more than 1,000 tonnes of sarin, the blister agent sulphur mustard and other banned chemicals stored at dozens of sites.

Last month, it submitted to the OPCW a full account of its arsenal, as part of the US-Russian initiative that saw it accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

An OPCW official told the AFP news agency on Sunday: "At this point, we have absolutely no reason to doubt the information provided by the Syrian regime."
Logistics talks

The OPCW inspectors - based in The Hague - stayed overnight in Beirut, Lebanon, before crossing into Syria on Tuesday.

They were first expected to visit the foreign ministry in Damascus to discuss operational logistics before verifying the sites and making assessments.

The arms monitors are then expected to destroy the equipment used for mixing and preparing chemical weapons, as well as the munitions used to deliver them.

Under the agreement between the United States and Russia, this work should be finished by November. Some chemical stocks will be removed safely and destroyed outside Syria, while others will be collected up for destruction inside the country.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who has his own distinct style of dancing, will be seen teaching a contestant of Kaun Banega Crorepati a step or two of what he learnt from actor Shahid Kapoor recently.

During a recent episode of the game show, Shahid taught Big B a few steps on the song Agal bagal from his latest movie Phata Poster Nikla Hero.

When Amitabh Bachchan came to know that one of the hot seat contestants, Deepika, cannot dance, he decided to don the role of a dance teacher and taught her a few moves.

The duo then grooved and matched steps on the same song. Not bad that the 70-year-old is not just preaching the show's theme - Seekhna bandh toh jeetna bandh (No learning means no winning) - but also practising it by imparting some of his talent.

Sonam Kapoor has been dazzling India with her chic fashion sense and authentic style statements. Buzz is that the young glam diva has now joined the list of 500 people who influence the fashion industry.

Interestingly, this is for the first time any Indian actress has featured on this list. As a matter of fact, the survey is done by an online portal called the Business Of Fashion.

Every year there is a list drawn by BOF 500, of 500 people worldwide who build the fashion industry.

The BOF 500 is a live, visual index of these talented shapers of the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion and powered by social media.

This list consists of people from designers to entrepreneurs to behind-the-scenes catalysts, hailing from 27 countries and representing 50 different nationalities.

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, in prison since May, arrived at his Mumbai home this afternoon after being granted 14 days of leave because he is unwell.

"I'm a law abiding citizen. I want to spend this time peacefully with my family," he said to reporters before entering his house in Bandra where he used to live with his wife Maanyata and their two children Iqra and Shahraan.

The 53-year-old actor was sentenced in March by the Supreme Court to five years in prison in a case linked to the 1993 terror attack in Mumbai, in which 250 people died in serial bombings. He was convicted for possession of an automatic rifle and a pistol that were supplied to him by men subsequently convicted for the bomb blasts.

The Supreme Court reduced his prison sentence to five years from the six-year term initially handed down.

The actor had served 18 months in jail before being released on bail in 2007 pending an appeal, so he was ordered to spend the next 3 1/2 years behind bars.

Mr Dutt had earlier been acquitted of the more serious charges of terrorism and conspiracy.

The 1993 bombings were seen at the time as the world's worst terrorist attack, with 13 bombs exploding over a two-hour period across Mumbai. Powerful explosives were packed into cars and scooters parked near India's main Bombay Stock Exchange and other sites in the city. Apart from the 257 dead, more than 720 people were injured in the attack.

Lady Gaga sat down with Andy Cohen to discuss sex and drugs, among other topics. She admitted to "sleeping naked," having taken "a ride on a disco stick" in the woods ... "on the floor, in the grass," and -- perhaps even less surprisingly-- using Molly.

Admitting she used to use the drug a bit more frequently in her "raver days" (whatever that means), Gaga cautioned against use of the pure form of MDMA. "Be careful with Molly," she warned.

Following her PSA, Gaga spoke out about her feud with Christina Aguilera, saying wisely, "I just think it's very unfair for somebody to pit another woman against another woman."

Agreed. However, we'll just have to wait on an explanation regarding Gaga's feuds with Azealia Banks, Perez Hilton and Adam Levine ...

Synth-pop band Chvrches is currently all the rage, dropping an outstanding full-length album last week and even delivering a sterling cover of a Whitney Houston classic. All the fame, however, isn't without it's downsides: Singer Lauren Mayberry has penned a sharply worded editorial ripping would-be fans who regularly proposition and/or sexually harass her on the internet.

The entirety of the op-ed is posted over on the Guardian's website, but here are a few choice passages:

    Last week, I posted a screengrab of one of the many inappropriate messages sent to the band's social networks every day. After making the post, I sat back and watched with an increasingly open mouth as more and more people commented on the statement. At the time of writing, Facebook stats tell me that the post had reached 581,376 people, over five times the number of people who subscribe to the page itself, with almost 1,000 comments underneath the image. Comments range from the disgusted and supportive to the offensively vile. My current favourites from the latter category include:

    "This isn't rape culture. You'll know rape culture when I'm raping you, bitch"

    "I have your address and I will come round to your house and give u anal and you will love it you twat lol"

    "Act like a slut, getting treated like a sluy [sic]"

    "It's just one of those things you'll need to learn to deal with. If you're easily offended, then maybe the music industry isn't for you"

    But why should women "deal" with this? I am incredibly lucky to be doing the job I am doing at the moment – and painfully aware of the fact that I would not be able to make music for a living without people on the internet caring about our band. But does that mean that I need to accept that it's OK for people to make comments like this, because that's how women in my position are spoken to?

Mayberry notes that sexism can cut against men, too, but states that she is speaking from her own experience as a woman who fronts a band.

    What I do not accept, however, is that it is all right for people to make comments ranging from "a bit sexist but generally harmless" to openly sexually aggressive. That it is something that "just happens". Is the casual objectification of women so commonplace that we should all just suck it up, roll over and accept defeat? I hope not. Objectification, whatever its form, is not something anyone should have to "just deal with"

     I read them every morning when I get up. I read them after soundcheck. I read them, as we all do with our emails and notifications, on my phone on the bus or when I have a break in the day. And, after a while, despite the positive messages in the majority, the aggressive, intrusive nature of the other kind becomes overwhelming. During this past tour, I am embarrassed to admit that I have had more than one prolonged toilet cry and a "Come on, get a hold of yourself, you got this" conversation with myself in a bathroom mirror when particularly exasperated and tired out. But then, after all the sniffling had ceased, I asked myself: why should I cry about this? Why should I feel violated, uncomfortable and demeaned? Why should we all keep quiet?

Counting down the days until the second "Hunger Games" movie, "Catching Fire," hits theaters? This new gem from the star-studded soundtrack should tide fans over for at least a few days. Called "Elastic Heart," the track is out from Sia. The Diplo-produced track also features The Weeknd.

The soundtrack, which will make its full debut on Nov. 19, three days before the film's Nov. 22 release, also features songs from Christina Aguilera, Lorde, Coldplay, and Patti Smith, among others.

The $9 a share tentative offer, from a consortium led by property and casualty insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd(FFH.TO), will set a floor for any counteroffers that might emerge for Blackberry, which has been on the block since August.

As an investor, Fairfax Chief Executive Prem Watsa is often described as the Canadian Warren Buffett because he also takes the long view.

Blackberry shares peaked above $148 in June 2008 when the company's devices were still the top choice for bankers, politicians and lawyers.

The stock, halted pending the announcement on Monday, closed below the offer price on Nasdaq, at $8.82, indicating the market's lack of faith that other bids would emerge.

"I would think a competing buyout offer is quite unlikely," said Elvis Picardo, strategist at Global Securities in Vancouver. "The miniscule premium, and the muted market reaction, is another indication that the market views the odds of a competing bid as slim."

BlackBerry, based in Waterloo, Ontario, once dominated the market for secure on-your-hip email. But it introduced consumer-friendly touchscreen smartphones only after it lost the lead to Apple Inc's(AAPL.O) iPhone and devices using Google Inc's(GOOG.O) Android operating system.

BlackBerry has until November 4 to seek superior offers, which the Fairfax group has the right to match. The group is seeking financing from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and BMO Capital Markets to complete the deal and has until that November 4 deadline to conduct its due diligence.

A BlackBerry statement did not name members of the consortium, although many in the financial community see Canada's deep-pocketed and influential pension funds as likely participants.

"We need to be careful given disclosure constraints, but we can say that we are focused on a strong Canadian solution," said Fairfax spokesman Paul Rivett.

The pension funds, with assets around the world, traditionally take a long-term view in their investment decisions. Officials at the biggest funds either did not reply to requests for comment, said they had no information or declined to comment.

"We never discuss whether or not we plan to enter into any investment," said Deborah Allan, spokeswoman for Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

CANADIAN BUFFETT

Watsa stepped down from the BlackBerry board of directors in August, citing a potential conflict of interest, as the company said it was exploring a sale.

Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper quoted Watsa as saying that a significant amount of the equity in the deal will come from within the country. The consortium included neither strategic players, nor other technology firms, he said.

Sexy Colombian Sofia Vergara brought pretty much her entire family to the Emmys Sunday night. She looked predictably amazing in a red dress, rolling her Rs, and heading up to the stage with the "Modern Family" cast, for their Outstanding Comedy win.

However, it looks like the best part of Vergara's night came after the awards were over. The actress took to social media site WhoSay to share some photos of her night, like this gem, captioned "Miley Cyrus this is where the twerk was invented. Colombia!"

This unapologetic dancing photo was apparently directed at Jesse Tyler Ferguson, with the message "Sorry @jessetyler this is how we dance sometimes."

 And here's our personal favorite, explained simply with the words "Jimmy Fallons party favors."