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Syria has called on its Russian ally to expand in the Middle East, by expanding its small pier in the city of Tartus and turning it into a base

This has coincided with Saudi Arabia leading a coalition against Ansar Allah in Yemen, with a cover by the United States

meeting with a group of Russian journalists March 27, and in response to a question on Damascus’ desire to see a wider Russian activity in the Middle East, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he certainly welcomes “any expansion of Russian presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, precisely on the Syrian shores and ports.

I do not in any way regret my support for that intervention, which saved many thousands of lives and helped to bring an end to a brutal regime. Still, it is impossible to look at Libya’s failed state and civil war, its proxy conflict and regional destabilization, and not conclude that the intervention’s negative effects over the long term outweigh the short-term benefits.

left Libya without a functioning state and little solid ground upon which to build a new political order. The likelihood of such an outcome should have weighed more heavily in my analysis.

My hope had been that the intervention would act to restrain other autocrats from unleashing deadly force against protesters and encourage wavering activists to push forward in their demands for change. Unfortunately, this only partially panned out and had unintended negative effects.

United by a deep hostility toward Islamists, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Russia's Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday they were both committed to fighting the threat of terrorism.

Sisi, who is fighting a raging Islamist insurgency in the Sinai region, said Putin had agreed with him that "the challenge of terrorism that faces Egypt, and which Russia also faces, does not stop at any borders

utin, making his first state visit to Egypt in a decade, said they agreed on "reinforcing our efforts in combating terrorism

Oil traders are concerned about the uncertainty over who is in charge of Libya's vast oil reserves after the Misrata group appointed its own oil minister and took over the official website of state firm National Oil Corp (NOC).

ncertainty about the oil industry, which had just started to show signs of recovery after Thinni managed to end a blockage of major eastern ports by groups of rebels demanding autonomy.

These rich individuals have long served as "angel investors,"

"These rich Arabs are like what 'angel investors' are to tech start-ups, except they are interested in starting up groups who want to stir up hatred,"

Once the groups are on their feet, they are perfectly capable of raising funds through other means, like kidnapping, oil smuggling, selling women into slavery, etc."

 Feature Highlight: Highlights Diigo saves the day with "highlights". Highlights let you select the important snippets on a page and store them in your library with the page's bookmark. Let's try it. Just open a page, maybe one of your old-school bookmarks or one of your new cat bookmarks, and find the information on that page you actually care about. Select that important text. Got it? Okay, now put your hemet on, 'cause this might blow your mind! Click the highlight icon on the Diigo toolbar. It's the one with the "T" on a page with a yellow highlighter. You will notice that the selected text gets a yellow background. This means that the text has been saved in your library, and as long as you have the Diigo add-on the text will be highlighted on the page! How's that for easy?   Now you've highlighted the text. It will appear in your library within the bookmark for the page it is on. Go to your library and you can see how it works. If you're not sure how to get to your library, just click the second icon on the toolbar (Diigo icon to the left of the search bar) and then select "My Library »".

Sticky Notes on the Web What? I can put a sticky note on a web page? How? Oh, that's right! Diigo. Just right-click anywhere on the page and choose to "add a floating sticky note". Type up your note and choose "Post", then move the note anywhere on the page. You have to type a note first, before you move it where you want, otherwise there's nothing to move!

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But Beijing has also shown no sign of wanting to take part in the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to use military force against the militant group

"A future Syria will be pluralist, middle-class and democratic," Abdel Basset Sayda told German radio and television network Deutsche Welle.

We want to reassure all people,"

We see this as a national necessity."

northern Syrian city of Aazaz

a military and a political council running daily life.

taken by the rebels following five months of fierce fighting with forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Turkish Army sent armored troops deep into Syria late Saturday on a rescue mission, to recover the remains of a major historical figure and to evacuate the guards at his besieged tomb

The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is 20 miles south of the Turkish border, but it has been considered Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty with France

there were no clashes during the mission and only one casualty, a soldier who was killed in an accident

It is split between a government in Beida, in the east of the country, which is aligned with the military; and another in Tripoli, in the west, which is dominated by Islamists and militias from western coastal cities

Benghazi is again a battlefield.

The black plumes of burning oil terminals stretch out over the Mediterranean.