As cannons thundered and mortar shells exploded nearby, the young Syrian woman in a slinky dark dress and stylish bob performed a song by pop star Adele, taking refuge behind a microphone from the civil war raging outside. Performing with a guitarist at a cafe in the heart of the historic...

Intent on supplying his government with arms, oil and food, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has turned to Russian  banks  to access world markets , and the lenders could open more doors to him, despite a risk of isolation from the U.S. banking system. U.S. sanctions...

  Syrian troops pressed an advance Thursday on the strategic area of Sfeira, the site of several arms factories near Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Fierce clashes are raging between the rebels and regime troops on the eastern side of...

  One Syrian security official called it the "Starvation Until Submission Campaign", blocking food and medicine from entering and people from leaving besieged areas of  Syria . Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have used partial sieges to root out rebel forces from...