Assad regime welcomes nomination to 'decolonization' committee opposing 'subjugation, domination'; on same day, UN releases report saying Damascus likely guilty of genocide

In briefing to UN Security Council on Mideast, Ahmed Aboul Gheit says outgoing US president emboldened Israel to take 'dangerous and destructive steps'

Foreign Ministry summons Anatoly Viktorov for dressing down after he said that Iran was not destabilizing Middle East; insists his remarks 'are inconsistent with reality' in area

In Syria, Libya and Sudan, revolutionaries see national banners of the past as a way of showing their rejection of the regimes they wish to overthrow

Career diplomat Faisal Mekdad, a close ally to Syrian ruler, steps into position after death of Walid al-Moallem, who represented regime internationally amid civil war

After fleeing fighting and reluctant to enter overcrowded encampments, dozens brave the elements to settle among centuries-old ruins

Both have used brutal means to hold on to power, but much of what father Hafez built up has been torn down during civil war that failed to oust his son, Bashar, or change regime

Human rights monitor says warplanes hit a training camp of the Faylaq al-Sham faction, at least 90 others injured; rebel groups vow to retaliate against 'crime'

Syrian Sunni Adnan al-Afiyuni, who was close to Shiite ruler Bashar al-Assad, killed by bomb outside capital; cleric was key figure in 2016 deal between regime and insurgents

Statement dispels speculation Damascus is interested in talks with Jerusalem in order to lift US sanctions that shattered its economy