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Concern over Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile triggers emergency meeting of global monitor

Muhamad Yehia THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The global chemical weapons watchdog opened an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria over concerns about the country’s stockpile of toxic chemicals in the wake of the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons …

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Key players in Syria’s long-running civil war, reignited by a shock rebel offensive

  Muhamad Yehia BEIRUT  — Syria’s long civil war has reclaimed global attention after insurgents seized most of its largest city and dozens of nearby towns and villages. The stunning advance on Aleppo by rebel forces came as several key players in the conflict have been distracted or weakened, triggering the heaviest …

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How it happened: Two seismic weeks that toppled Syria’s government

Muhamad Yehia LONDON — Half a century of rule by the Assad family in Syria crumbled with astonishing speed after insurgents burst out of a rebel-held enclave and converged on the capital, Damascus, taking city after city in a matter of days. Opposition forces swept across the country and entered Damascus with little …

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Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The commutations announced Thursday are …

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US says it will support new Syrian leaders who protect women and renounce terrorism

Muhamad Yehia WASHINGTON  — The Biden administration said Tuesday it will recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the U.S. would work with groups in …

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Blinken faces GOP critics in Congress who say Afghanistan withdrawal ‘lit the world on fire’

Muhamad Yehia WASHINGTON — Under fire from congressional Republicans about one of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s handling of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Democrats struggled to make the best of a bad pullout deal struck by Donald …

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Japanese troops will train with US and Australian forces as concerns over China grow

Muhamad Yehia CANBERRA, Australia — Japan will send troops for joint training with U.S. Marines and Australian forces in northern Australia, the countries’ defense ministers said Sunday, as they expressed concern about a spate of confrontations with China’s increasingly assertive military. Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles hosted his U.S. and Japanese …

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US defense chief observes drills with Japan, Australia, says he’s confident about greater capability

Muhamad Yehia CAMP ASAKA, Japan  — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed confidence about enhanced military capabilities among the United States, Australia and Japan as he observed joint exercises Wednesday showcasing their closer cooperation as tensions grow in the region. Austin is in Japan to reaffirm the importance of their …

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US says it will support new Syrian leaders who protect women and renounce terrorism

Muhamad Yehia WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday it will recognize and support a new Syrian government that renounces terrorism, destroys chemical weapons stocks and protects the rights of minorities and women. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the U.S. would work with groups in …

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Zelenskyy open to Western troops providing security for end to war in Ukraine

Muhamad Yehia KYIV, Ukraine  — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that he’s open to the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security as part of a broad effort to end the almost three-year war with Russia. The deployment would be a step toward Ukraine joining …

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