Middle East, Syrian Uprising | featured news

Syrian government forces struck back against rebels with attack helicopters and shelling around Damascus Thursday after an audacious bomb attack that killed three senior members of the ruling regime.

Syrian state television said Wednesday that a bombing in Damascus killed Defense Minister Daoud Rajha and his deputy, Asef Shawkat, who was the brother-in-law and close confidante of President Bashar al-Assad.

The United States has branded Syria's leaders murderers after an attack on a village by President Bashar al-Assad's troops left dozens dead, but there was no break in the deadlock among world powers over how to bring about an end to the bloodshed.

Syria's ambassador to Iraq defected on Wednesday in protest over President Bashar al-Assad's violent suppression of a 16-month uprising as the U.N. Security Council remained deadlocked over the next steps in the crisis.

On Monday, Russia said it would not sign new weapons contracts with Syria until the situation there calms down.

The United States and its international allies called Friday for new, global sanctions against President Bashar Assad's regime, seeking to step up the pressure after the defection of a top general dealt a major blow to the Syrian leader....

The secret-spilling group WikiLeaks said Thursday it was in the process of publishing material from 2.4 million Syrian emails -- many of which it said came from official government accounts.

The Syrian army pressed its offensive against rebels, bombarding the city of Douma near Damascus, and Turkey said it had scrambled warplanes after Syrian helicopters flew near its border.

UN and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's top deputy, Nasser al-Qudwa, called on Syrian opposition groups on Monday to formulate a unified set of demands that would allow for better cooperation with the international community in searching for a solution to the political crisis in Syria.

A conference called by special envoy Kofi Annan to end the Syria crisis appeared on the brink of failure as it opened Saturday, with the U.S. and Russia still divided over a role for President Bashar Assad in a transition government....