Who was in ousted Syrian President Assad's inner circle and where are they now?

BEIRUT (AP) — After insurgents toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad this month, many senior officials and members of his dreaded intelligence and security services appear to have melted away. Activists say some of them have managed to flee the country while others went to hide in their...

US hostage envoy in Beirut to seek information on missing journalist Austin Tice

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's top hostage negotiator is in Beirut in hopes of collecting information on the whereabouts of Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in Syria for 12 years, the State Department said Monday. Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy...

Syrian state TV airs video saying President Bashar Assad has been overthrown and all jail detainees freed

Syrian government appears to have fallen in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family after lightning rebel offensive

Syrian prime minister says he is ready to hand over the government to the opposition in a peaceful transition

Syrian war monitor and pro-government media outlet say government forces have withdrawn from key central city of Homs

Displaced families in Lebanon who return home are faced with piles of rubble

HANOUIYEH, Lebanon (AP) — During their 37 years of marriage, Mariam Kourani and her husband ran a butcher shop in southern Lebanon, started a business selling serving containers and opened a small restaurant. An Israeli airstrike in late September destroyed it all. ...

Israeli airstrikes leave massive trail of destruction across Lebanon

For more than 60 days, Lebanese have watched stunned as Israeli strikes smashed into buildings, raising giant explosions and palls of smoke in the heart of the capital and other cities. Now, after a ceasefire was reached this week between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group,...

Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah start a ceasefire after nearly 14 months of fighting

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants began a ceasefire Wednesday in a major step toward ending nearly 14 months of fighting as a region on edge wondered whether it will hold. Some celebratory gunshots could be heard in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs,...

Middle East latest: Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon begins

A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants began early Wednesday morning, after Beirut residents endured the most intense day of Israeli strikes since the war began. Many wondered if the agreement to stop fighting would hold. Israel has said it will attack if...