Damascus

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>

Torture Kills Hundreds of Syrian Prisoners

 Torture Kills Hundreds 
 of Syrian Prisoners 
says group

Torture Kills Hundreds of Syrian Prisoners

Prisoners are deprived of sleep, shocked, claims human rights group

(Newser) - A suicide bomb in Syria's capital, reportedly aimed at a police bus, killed and wounded dozens today, the AP reports, as the country's political turmoil continues. And more disheartening news: A human rights group yesterday claimed that the government regularly tortures hundreds of prisoners; according to its research...

Suicide Bombs Shake Syrian Capital: Report

 Suicide Bombs Rattle 
 Syria; 40 Dead 
UPDATED

Suicide Bombs Rattle Syria; 40 Dead

Attacks come as Arab League observers arrive

(Newser) - More than 40 people are dead and 100 injured after two suicide car bombings in Damascus, the Syrian government says. The blasts seemed to be targeted against government intelligence buildings, reports AP , and they come a day after Arab League observers arrived amid an increasingly violent government crackdown on dissent....

Syrian Rebels Escalate, Shell Baath HQ

Rebels takes credit for big escalation of violence against Assad regime

(Newser) - Two rocket-propelled grenades rocked the Baath party headquarters in Damascus this morning just before dawn, the first insurgent attack in the Syrian capital since unrest began in March, reports the Telegraph . The Syrian Free Army took credit for the attack, although the AP said that it could not confirm the...

14 Dead in Big Syria Rallies
14 Dead in Big Syria Rallies 

14 Dead in Big Syria Rallies

Protests may be the largest yet

(Newser) - A Syrian activist says security forces have killed 14 protesters during anti-government demonstrations across the country today. The rallies appeared to be the largest and most widespread since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March. The activist, a spokesman for a group that tracks the protests, said seven...

Syria Allows Opposition to Meet

Leaders converge on Damascus, may call for talks with government

(Newser) - A host of Syrian opposition figures gathered in Damascus for a meeting that actually has the blessing of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Despite that approval, it was hard for organizers to find a venue, because many feared the government would attack the summit, the New York Times reports. Some activists...

Syrians Defy Army, Take to Streets

Six die in clashes in Homs, Hama

(Newser) - Protesters took to the streets in Syria today, and were met with gunfire from the waiting military. A large number of troops had been deployed across the country in preparation for this “Day of Defiance,” the BBC reports. At least six have been killed, five in Homs—Syria’...

Syrian Troops Leave Daraa, but Arrests Start Elsewhere

Human rights group says 8K in custody or missing since protests began

(Newser) - Syrian troops slowly began to leave Daraa today, ending an 11-day siege against its citizens. But at the same time, security forces began rounding up people in the suburbs of Damascus, sweeping through the town of Saqba and arresting men between the ages of 18 and 50. Human rights groups...

Syria Protests: Forces Fire on Funerals, Kill at Least 3
 Syria's Two-Day 
 Death Toll Rises to 120 
UPDATED

Syria's Two-Day Death Toll Rises to 120

Two lawmakers resign over government force

(Newser) - The death toll from two days of violence in Syria reached 120 today as security forces fired on tens of thousands of mourners who shouted for the regime's downfall during funeral processions, a human rights group said. Ammar Qurabi, the head of Syria's National Organization for Human Rights,...

Syrian Police Open Fire on Protesters

 Syrian Police Open 
 Fire on Protesters 
at least 49 dead

Syrian Police Open Fire on Protesters

At least 27 dead, witnesses and human rights groups say

(Newser) - Syrian security forces fired tear gas and live bullets into crowds of protesters at rallies across the country today. At least 49 people were killed, according to human rights groups, and witnesses tell the AP that one of them was an 11-year-old boy. The state-run news agency reports that officers...

WikiLeaks Diplomatic Cables: US State Department Secretly Funded Syria Opposition
 US Secretly Funded 
 Syrian Opposition 
wikileaks reveal

US Secretly Funded Syrian Opposition

Diplomatic cables show $6M went to one group

(Newser) - Newly released diplomatic cables show that the US State Department has secretly funded opposition groups in Syria, as well as a London-based satellite TV channel that offers anti-government programming. The cables, released by WikiLeaks, show that the State Department has given as much as $6 million since 2006 to the...

Syrian President Blames 'Conspirators' for Protests

Thousands of people gather in streets to support him

(Newser) - Bashar al-Assad gave a major speech at parliament today blaming “conspirators” for the country’s wave of anti-government protests, as crowds outside sang his praises. “I belong to the Syrian people, and whoever belongs to the Syrian people will always keep his head high,” the Syrian president...

Syrian Leader: You Won't See Protests Here

Syria is more stable than Egypt or Tunisia, says Bashar al-Assad

(Newser) - Syria's strongman leader says the protests in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen are ushering in a "new era" in the Middle East—but not in his country. You won't be seeing any mass protests on the streets of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad tells the Wall Street Journal , because his government has...

Deadly Bomb Targets Iranian Pilgrims in Syria

At least 6 killed when pilgrim bus explodes

(Newser) - A powerful bomb tore through a bus packed with Iranian pilgrims in Syria today, killing at least six and injuring dozens. Body parts were strewn around the bus near the Sayyeda Zainab area in Damascus, witnesses reported. The pilgrims were on their way to a Shiite religious shrine. The attack...

Don't Forget Iraqi Refugees: Brangelina

Stars visit with displaced people in Syria

(Newser) - Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in Syria, using their powers for good. The celebrity übercouple visited Iraqi refugees in Damascus today in an attempt to keep the lowest-profile victims of the war from falling off the radar, People reports. Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the UN's refugee agency,...

Mideast Loves Syria's Weird, Sexy Lingerie

Moms stock up on skimpy goodies for soon-to-be-married daughters

(Newser) - After picking up dishes and washing powder at local markets, Syrian women love to purchase something more intimate: edible, fruit-flavored underwear, Der Spiegel reports. Naughty skivvies have been hot for years in Damascus, where veiled mothers regularly buy maid’s costumes, musical negligees, and remote-controlled undies for their betrothed daughters—...

Syria Car Bomb Kills 17
 Syria Car Bomb Kills 17 

Syria Car Bomb Kills 17

14 wounded in blast near Damascus airport, temple

(Newser) - A car bomb on the road to Syria’s main airport killed at least 17 passers-by and injured 14 others, the Daily Telegraph reports. The car, at an intersection in the country’s capital, Damascus, had held 440 lbs of explosives; the target of the bomb, which exploded near a...

CIA to Brief Congress on Syria-North Korea Nuke Pact

Washington moves close to N. Korea agreement

(Newser) - Details of a suspected secret pact between North Korea and Syria to supply Damascus with nuclear weapons technology will be revealed in closed-door CIA briefings of lawmakers, Reuters reports. The pact is apparently linked to an Israeli air raid on a suspected nuclear site in Syria last year. The briefing...

Syria Remains Key for Foreign Fighters in Iraq: US

90% of Iraq's foreign fighters come across neighbor's borders, new report contends

(Newser) - Syria is a key jumping-off point for foreign militants in Iraq, with 90% entering through the Syrian border, the Pentagon reported yesterday. “It is not clear that Syria has made a strategic decision to deal with foreign terrorists using Syria as a transit point,” the report notes. Meanwhile,...

Top Hezbollah Militant Killed
Top Hezbollah Militant Killed

Top Hezbollah Militant Killed

FBI was offering $25 million for man suspected in TWA incident

(Newser) - A notorious Hezbollah commander was killed by a car bomb late last night in Damascus, the group said today, ending his reign of high-profile terror attacks that included the 1985 TWA hijacking, the 1992 Israeli embassy bombings, and the killing of more than 200 Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s....

Enemies May Overstate Hamas Split
Enemies May Overstate Hamas Split

Enemies May Overstate Hamas Split

It's a muddle of 'sub-leaderships,' says Economist

(Newser) - Reports of strife within the Palestinian faction Hamas are likely exaggerated, the Economist says. The Islamist party may be splitting under the pressure of sanctions, but reports are hard to judge because “few observers are neutral.” There are “sub-leaderships," though. After seizing Gaza in June, for...

Stories 61 - 80 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser