Khan Yunis / AFP Azza Al Najjar struggles in vain to keep her two-year-old warm by wrapping him in blankets in her prefabricated metal home as a winter storm lashes the Gaza Strip. “The cold increases the suffering of people here,” the 24-year-old mother says. “My son has breathing problems and with the weather his condition has worsened.” The family …

Damascus / AFP At least 45 people were killed and 110 wounded on Sunday in three bomb blasts near the revered Shiite shrine of Sayyida Zeinab outside the Syrian capital Damascus, state media said. State news agency SANA said the first blast was caused by a car bomb that detonated at a bus station near the shrine. It said two …

Geneva / AFP The Syrian peace talks, which got off to a start of sorts this weekend, are meant to be a uniquely Syrian affair. But in reality there is a host of outside interests also at the table, in spirit at least. What began as a popular revolt against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar Al Assad in March …