Syrian official rules out Assad departure ahead of talks
By ZEINA KARAM and ALBERT AJI A top Syrian official urged the opposition to let go of its dream of easing President Bashar Assad out of power in a transitional…
Rebellions and uprisings
Cease-fire brings relative quiet to Syria despite breaches
By BASSEM MROUE A cease-fire brought relative quiet to parts of Syria for the first time in years on Saturday, offering civilians rare respite from Russian and Syrian government airstrikes…
Obama administration opening 2-front campaign on Syria
By MATTHEW LEE The Obama administration opened a two-front campaign on Syria on Thursday with a push to end one war there and step up another. The United States, Russia…
Syrian TV: Army breaks long rebel siege of Shiite villages
By BASSEM MROUE and JAMEY KEATEN Syrian troops and allied militiamen blasted their way into two Shiite villages in northern Syria on Wednesday, breaking a long-running rebel siege during a…
Assad’s trip to Moscow bolsters sense he may survive war
By ZEINA KARAM Russia’s military intervention in Syria has deepened the sense that President Bashar Assad may survive the country’s disastrous civil war, and his surprise visit to Moscow —…
Turkish PM says deadly attacks likely were suicide bombings
By SUZAN FRASER Two nearly simultaneous explosions targeted a Turkish peace rally Saturday by Kurdish activists and opposition supporters in Ankara. At least 86 people were killed and nearly 190…
Nobel Peace Prize boosts struggling Tunisian democracy
By PAUL SCHEMM, BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and KARL RITTER It was the fall of 2013 and Tunisia’s newfound democracy was in grave danger. The assassination of a left-wing politician had…
Mideast unrest spreads to Gaza as stabbing attacks continue
By FARES AKRAM Israeli forces clashed with Palestinian demonstrators along the Gaza border on Friday, killing five of them, as a rash of stabbing attacks in Israel and the Palestinian…