Rare Good News From Syria: A Dance Video Set to Usher
You've probably read a lot of scary stuff about what's going on in Syria right now, and that's fine, because it's the truth. That's why it's refreshing to see some happy Syrian faces for once.
Russia, one of the few remaining friends of Bashar al-Assad's regime, just sent the Syrian government some advanced antiship missiles.
You've probably read a lot of scary stuff about what's going on in Syria right now, and that's fine, because it's the truth. That's why it's refreshing to see some happy Syrian faces for once.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Israel still isn't (officially) talking about what they were doing in Syria last week, but American officials have revealed a few new details about their cross-border attack.
A Russian judge recently thought it would be a good idea to take his holiday in Syria and pretend to be a war correspondent. And guess what happened: he got shot in the face and almost died.
Both Iran and Syria are ramping up the rhetoric this morning, not-so-subtly threatening Israel over its attack within Syria's borders on Wednesday.
After a report last week presented some startling evidence that Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against his own people, a follow up this week only bolsters the case.
Russia's "Emergencies Ministry" has reportedly sent two airplanes to Lebanon, so that it can evacuate more than 100 Russian citizens who have fled Syria
For many lucky young Syrians, their country's civil war is so routine that they've forgotten what life was like before it started and so confusing that they're not sure what they believe in any more.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
In a classified leak that could signal a crossing of President Obama's "red line," a report surfaced Tuesday evening that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his military forces used poison gas in a deadly attack last month.
In yet another sign that the opposition to Bashar al-Assad's military may be able to fend for themselves, rebel forces in Syria say they've taken full control of the Taftanaz air base.
A prisoner swap between the Syrian government and rebels forces reveals what Bashar al-Assad's thinks the life of one of his own citizens is worth: About 2 percent of an Iranian's.
David Brooks on Chuck Hagel, Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly on guns, Ramesh Ponnuru on the debt ceiling, Simon Tisdall on Syria, and Michael Specter on genetically modified crops.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
In an interview with CNN this weekend, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi reiterated earlier calls for Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down, and even agreed with the idea that he should be tried for his crimes.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public speech Sunday -- his first since June of last year -- and, not surprisingly, he did not step down. This did not please very many people.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad plans to make his first public speech since Jun on Saturday, but no one's really sure what he's going to say.
Calling himself "a combination of samurai and kamikaze," a Japanese truck driver is so bored with life at home that takes vacations in Syria, photographing the war from the front lines.
We may never know whether imposed silences by their parent organizations helped NBC News's Richard Engel or The New York Times's David Rohde escape, but the Agence France-Presse is now trying the opposite.
As disturbing videos surfaced, bombs went off, and another journalist disappeared, the conflict in Syria reached a macabre milestone this week.
U.N. envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi isn't mincing words when it comes to how bad it is in Syria right now. It's already terrible and it's only getting worse.
The Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad is so paranoid about assassins coming for him that all of his meals are thoroughly vetted before he eats them, and he rarely ventures into the great outdoors anymore.
Noam Scheiber on the truth about the fiscal cliff, Paul Krugman on the end of growth, Robert Samuelson on elite high schools, Walter Russell Mead on Syria, and Bruce Crumley on France's colonial legacy.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is pushing harder for actual negotiations to take place to end the Syrian civil war, but continues to insist that his country will not support any actual intervention.
A British newspaper report had spurred furious speculation about the whereabouts of one of the Syrian regime's top defectors and rumors that he may be working with intelligence officials in the U.S.
During his annual Christmas address at the Vatican this year, the Pope prayed for peace in Syria, something that doesn't look likely any time soon.
It's unclear exactly what exactly happened in Homs on Sunday, but it doesn't sound good.
Maybe Russia wouldn't have ditched Bashar al-Assad if he stopped doing gross stuff like bombing a line-up of Syrian citizens lined up to get bread because there's an food shortage because of the civil war there.
Russia has been Syria's Bashar al-Assad's staunchest ally during it's long war against his citizens, but now they're even trying to distance themselves from the embattled leader.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin took questions from the media in a marathon press conference today that covered everything from Gerard Depardieu to the end of the world, and even a few things that actually matter.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Jonathan Cohn on the emerging fiscal cliff deal, Frank Bruni on a shooting's aftermath, Jeffrey Toobin on the Second Amendment, Haytham Manna on Syria, and Josh Kraushaar on Tim Scott.
NBC News has revealed that their top foreign correspondent Richard Engel and his crew have been released from captivity after going missing in Syria for nearly a week.
Farouk Al-Sharaa is technically still the vice-president of Syria, but is quick to remind everyone that he doesn't make any decisions on behalf of the regime.
It's scary enough to think of what the Assad regime could do with the several hundred tons of chemical weapons that are scattered across Syria. It's simply horrifying to think of what terrorists would do.
The United States has agreed to send two Patriot missile batteries to defend Turkey's border against Syria missiles, and that also means 400 more American troops will be on the ground and closer than ever to the ongoing fight in Syria.
A high ranking Russian minister has publicly admitted that the Syrian government might lose its civil war, but doesn't seem excited about the possibility of a future without Bashar al-Assad.
It's the first time Assad's forced have used the weapons inside their own country. A senior official says that Obama administration considers this "a significant escalation" — especially given the possibility that SCUDs could be used to deliver chemical weapons.
A new crisis is falling upon the war-torn city of Damascus as reports say that food is running dangerously short, just as a long, cold winter is about hit the region.
The Syrian rebel government scored a major victory on Tuesday night when the Obama administration threw its support behind the coalition. This doesn't mean we'll be sending them weapons anytime soon, though.
British military leaders are reportedly building a coalition to provide military help to the Syrian opposition, but the rebels are instead turning to an Islamist group that the U.S. says are terrorists — and maybe rejecting American help outright.
The gains have come with disturbing new signs — video decapitations, al Qaeda links, and more — that the rebels may end up nearly as brutal in victory as the regime they're hoping to replace.
As Syria's rebels work to overthrow the tank-equipped Assad regime, they've learned that it helps to have tanks of their own. They deserve bonus points for integrating video game technology.
John Cassidy on austerity, Paul Krugman on the job crises, Shashank Joshi on Syria, Jamelle Bouie on Bobby Jindal, and Glen Weldon on Bazooka Joe.
Dina Esfandiary on Syria's chemical weapons, David Ignatius on an economic NATO, Ezra Klein on budget bickering, Amy Davidson on Bob Costas, and Nora Caplan-Bricker on Uganda.
President Obama said that the use of chemical weapons would bring "consequences" to Syria, but with nerve gas bombs already being filled, would the United States act before Bashar al-Assad unleashes them? Can they act?
Bad news: Syria has filled several aerial bombs with the deadly nerve gas sarin and is ready to drop them onto its own people as soon as President Bashar al-Assad gives the word.
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