Syria

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In Secret Talks, Iran Forged Deal for Pro-Tehran Iraq

It brokered the coalition between Nouri Al-Maliki, Muqtada al-Sadr

(Newser) - Iran was behind the recently struck deal between Nouri al-Maliki and Muqtada al-Sadr, and the result could be an Iraqi government friendly to Tehran and distanced from the West, the Guardian reports. According to the paper's sources, Syria, Hezbollah, and top Shia religious leaders were involved with a secret campaign...

Anti-US Cleric Pushes for New Iraqi Government

Al-Sadr meets with Maliki's main rival

(Newser) - Muqtada al-Sadr took a rare step into Iraq’s political fray yesterday, meeting with Ayad Allawi in Syria to discuss the formation of a new Iraqi government. Allawi leads the Iraqiya coalition, one of two major factions vying for control of Iraq’s parliament. Sadr is nominally aligned with the...

Syria Accused of Supplying Hezbollah With Scuds

GOP seeks to block appointment of US ambassador to Damascus

(Newser) - Syria has been supplying Hezbollah militants in Lebanon with long-range Scud missiles capable of hitting Israeli cities and nuclear installations, US and Israeli officials say. The accusations threaten to upend the Obama administration's efforts to reach out to Syria, and if true, stand to upset the military balance of power...

All Flyers From 14 Nations to Be Patted Down
All Flyers From 14 Nations
to Be Patted Down
UPDATED
Jan 4, 2010 7:47 AM CST

All Flyers From 14 Nations to Be Patted Down

Tough new air security crackdown begins today

(Newser) - In the toughest new airline security rules in history, all US-bound passengers from 14 nations considered state sponsors of terrorism or "countries of interest" will be patted down, and their carry-on baggage will be searched. The new rules will apply beginning today to travelers from Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran,...

Bin Laden Kids Under House Arrest in Tehran

17-year-old daughter has escaped to Saudi embassy

(Newser) - A 17-year-old daughter of Osama bin Laden has escaped from house arrest in Iran and is being assisted by the Saudi embassy there. Statements by a Saudi diplomat and bin Laden’s son, Omar, to Saudi paper Asharq Al-Awsat appear to clear up what has long been a murky situation...

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...

Sans Brad, Angie Shops for Baby No. 7
 Sans Brad, Angie 
 Shops for Baby No. 7 
ALMOST OCTO-Jolie
Nov 11, 2009 1:01 PM CST

Sans Brad, Angie Shops for Baby No. 7

Jolie plans to adopt Syrian girl, while Pitt says hands full with 6

(Newser) - Angelina Jolie is planning to adopt yet another child, this time a girl from Syria—whether Brad Pitt is on board or not. The actress hasn’t hidden her desire to have “more kids—one way or another,” though Pitt is reticent. “He has made it clear...

'Tortured' Rendition Victim Told He Can't Sue

Canadian sent to Syria plans to appeal

(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...

Today's Hot Topic in Syrian Blogosphere: Masturbation

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

(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...

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,...

Drying Euphrates Cripples Iraq

Turkish, Syrian dams, Iraqi practices blamed

(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’...

US Sending Ambassador to Syria After 4-Year Absence

Obama aims to boost US presence after 4-year absence

(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...

Pro-West Bloc Claims Victory in Lebanon

(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. "...

Militants Again Flow From Syria to Iraq

Border security troubled by funding cuts

(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....

In Beirut, Clinton Reassures About US Overtures to Syria

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

(Newser) - 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...

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—...

Turks, Saudis Foil Obama Assassination Attempt

(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,...

Obama Eyes Syria as Path to Mideast Peace
 Obama Eyes Syria as 
 Path to Mideast Peace 
glossies
Mar 30, 2009 5:00 PM CDT

Obama Eyes Syria as Path to Mideast Peace

(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 Heights—...

Washington Needs to Give Obama His Due
Washington Needs to Give Obama His Due
OPINION
Mar 15, 2009 2:07 PM CDT

Washington Needs to Give Obama His Due

Pundits too often advocate outdated 'imperial policy'

(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,...

US Talks With Syria; Obama to Visit Turkey

(Newser) - 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,"...

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