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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Syria

Syria stories: 111 news summaries

1 - 20 of 111 Stories | 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

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'Tortured' Rendition
Victim Told
He Can't Sue

Canadian sent to
Syria plans to appeal

Nov 3, 09 4:01 AM CST
(Newser) - A Canadian citizen sent to Syria after being mistakenly arrested at JFK Airport cannot sue US authorities, a court has ruled. Maher Arar, who says he was tortured during the year he was held in Syrian custody, was told by a New York court that it has no legal right... More »

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CIA • rendition • Syria • Canada • lawsuit • terror suspects • Maher Arar

Today's Hot Topic in Syrian Blogosphere: Masturbation

Regime doesn't seem to mind as long as it doesn't challenge authority

Oct 4, 09 1:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - Syria’s authoritarian regime has been quick to lock up bloggers who tweak it even slightly, but it seems to have turned the other cheek as a flame war over masturbation has erupted. One blogger’s call for a crackdown on the evidently widespread “secret habit” elicited a push... More »

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Internet • Syria • blog • authoritarianism • Internet censorship • web censorship • masturbation

 Don't Forget 
 Iraqi Refugees: 
 Brangelina 

Stars visit with displaced people in Syria

Oct 2, 09 5:04 PM CDT
(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,... More »

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Iraq • entertainment • Angelina Jolie • Syria • Brad Pitt • refugee • Damascus • Iraqi refugees • UN High Commissioner for Refugees • Iraq war • refugees

 Drying Euphrates 
 Cripples Iraq 

Turkish, Syrian dams, Iraqi practices blamed

Jul 14, 09 8:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - Iraqis are suffering as the Euphrates river dwindles, a result of Turkish and Syrian dams upstream, a 2-year drought, and Iraqi’s own mismanagement of its water supply, the New York Times reports. Farmers and fishermen have been ruined and key grain-growing land desiccated. “The old men say it’... More »

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Iraq • Turkey • Syria • drought • water • Euphrates • river • dams

US Sending Ambassador to Syria After 4-Year Absence

Obama aims to boost US presence after 4-year absence

Jun 24, 09 2:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - An American ambassador will soon be on the road to Damascus for the first time since early 2005, the Washington Post reports. The Obama administration plans to send an envoy to Syria as part of efforts to reengage with the influential Arab country. The move, which follows recent high-level diplomatic... More »

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Syria • diplomacy • diplomat • ambassador

(Newser) - Lebanon's pro-Western coalition claimed victory a parliamentary election today, striking a blow against Iran and Syria, Reuters reports. "Congratulations to democracy, congratulations to freedom," coalition leader Saad al-Hariri said in a speech in Beirut. Official results are due tomorrow, but the Hezbollah led-bloc is already admitting defeat. "... More »

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Lebanon • Syria • Hezbollah • Saad al-Hariri • election

 Militants Again Flow 
 From Syria to Iraq 

Border security troubled by funding cuts

May 11, 09 11:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - For years, the threat of fighters entering Iraq through Syria seemed to have faded—but recent attacks show the al-Qaeda in Iraq pipeline is pumping again, the Washington Post reports. Soon after Iraqi elections, the number of militants entering via Syria had dropped to just a few, said an official.... More »

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Iraq • Syria • border control • sanctions • militant • border • Iraq war • al-Qaeda in Iraq • President Obama

In Beirut, Clinton Reassures About US Overtures to Syria

Election could see pro-US gov't ousted from Lebanon

Apr 26, 09 9:32 AM CDT
(AP) - Hillary Clinton reassured the Lebanese people today that Washington supports "voices of moderation" and will never make a deal with Syria that undermines the country's interests. Clinton spoke on a surprise visit to Beirut ahead of a critical June 7 election that could see the pro-US Lebanese government ousted... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Lebanon • Syria • Hezbollah • secretary of State • Beirut • foreign policy • international relations • Lebanese elections

 Mideast Loves Syria's 
 Weird, Sexy Lingerie 

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

Apr 18, 09 6:50 PM CDT
(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—... More »

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Syria • Damascus • lingerie • underwear

(Newser) - Turkish police have arrested a Syrian man who planned to try to assassinate President Obama, CBS News reports today. The Turks moved on the man, who appears to have been impersonating an Al-Jazeera correspondent, based on information from Saudi intelligence services. The plot was to be carried out in Istanbul,... More »

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Turkey • Saudi Arabia • Syria • Istanbul • assassination attempt • al-Jazeera • President Obama • Alliance of Civilizations

(Newser) - President Obama may renew stalled talks between Israel and Syria, both to revive hopes of Mideast peace and isolate Iran, but the approach is laden with pitfalls, Seymour M. Hersh writes in the New Yorker. Some observers doubt Israel will ever move 20,000 settlers out of the Golan... More »

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Iran • Israel • Syria • Mideast peace talks • Obama administration • President Obama • Bashar Assad

OPINION

Washington Needs to Give Obama His Due

Pundits too often advocate outdated 'imperial policy'

Mar 15, 09 2:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - You just can’t please the Washington establishment, Fareed Zakaria observes in Newsweek. Beltway pundits almost universally blasted former President Bush’s foreign policy as arrogant and incompetent. But now that President Obama is charting a decidedly different course—closing Guantanamo, nixing torture, and signaling openness to talks with Syria,... More »

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Iran • Russia • Barack Obama • Taliban • Syria • foreign policy • pundits • George W. Bush • Obama administration

(AP) - Talks are underway between two US representatives and Syrian officials in Damascus, Hillary Clinton said today. The officials arrived in the capital today and sat down with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. Jeffrey Feltman, the top State Department envoy on the Mideast, said the conversation was "very constructive,"... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Turkey • Middle East • Syria • diplomacy • Obama administration

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton met separately with the Palestinian president and prime minister in the West Bank today, after sitting down with Israeli leaders yesterday, and announcing the appointment of two senior envoys to Syria. Palestinian leaders implored Clinton to push for a freeze on expanding Israeli West Bank settlements, and open... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Israel • Syria • Mahmoud Abbas • Palestine • Fatah • secretary of State • United States • West Bank • Israel and Palestinians • Arab Israeli conflict • Obama administration

(Newser) - In a signal likely to be parsed all over the Middle East, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shook hands and shared “very pleasant” words today in Egypt with her Syrian counterpart, the Times reports, a meeting that did not likely happen by accident. Some think the US could try... More »

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Hillary Clinton • Syria • secretary of State • United States • Egypt • Obama administration • Walid Mouallem

 Slate Scribe 
 Gets in Syrian 
 Street Brawl 

Hitchens, two others jumped during junket

Feb 19, 09 9:40 AM CST
(Newser) - Three journalists—including columnist and author Christopher Hitchens—were jumped by thugs during a press junket in Beirut, reports Lawrence Osborne in a column for Forbes. Hitchens “rather gallantly insulted the swastika flag” of a “Syria-loving skinhead party called the SSNP” by scrawling an obscenity on it. He... More »

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Lebanon • Syria • Christopher Hitchens • Vanity Fair • Beirut • author • assault • ethnic violence • swastikas • Bill Maher Grid

 Hamas Down But Not Out: Israel

Rift between Syrian, Gazan wings of Hamas hamper negotiations

Jan 13, 09 3:11 PM CST
(Newser) - Hamas forces in Gaza have been damaged but remain intact enough to fight on, Israeli officials told the New York Times. The onslaught of Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks has shaken the Hamas network, with some groups fighting randomly without coordination from senior leadership. Infrastructure in Gaza has taken several... More »

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Iran • Israel • Syria • Gaza • Hamas • rocket attacks • Egypt • negotiations

 Arab States Cancel 
 New Year's Festivities 

Celebrations halted in solidarity with Gaza

Dec 31, 08 10:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Dubai's ruler has canceled its ritzy public New Year's Eve celebrations "in solidarity with the Palestinian people" in Gaza, the Times of London reports. Festivities also were called off in Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. In Dubai, residents and tourists scrambled to come up with alternative plans. "We... More »

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Turkey • Jordan • Syria • Gaza • Hamas • Egypt • Dubai • New Year's Eve • New Year

Syria Eyes a New Start With America

President Assad
moots direct talks with Israel, strategic pact

Dec 24, 08 10:04 AM CST
(Newser) - After years of frosty relations with George W Bush, the president of Syria is looking for a new diplomatic start with Barack Obama in 2009. In an interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, Bashar al-Assad says he is willing to work with the United States to stabilize Iraq, and... More »

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Middle East • Lebanon • Syria • diplomacy • Hezbollah • Rafiq al-Hariri • Bashar al-Assad

 Israel Target in Syria 
 Likely Nuclear Site: UN 

Uranium, site features could be remnants of reactor

Nov 19, 08 3:42 PM CST
(Newser) - The Syrian facility Israel bombed last year looks a lot like a nuclear reactor, UN inspectors said today, though they stopped short of calling it one. The independent investigation found manipulated uranium and features like large cooling pumps that are hallmarks of a nuclear site, the Washington Post reports. Syria... More »

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Iran • Israel • United Nations • Syria • IAEA • nuclear reactor

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