Assad

The top US diplomat John Kerry sat down today in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about Syria and Ukraine.

Few Syria-watchers thought the partial truce would be so effective. Even fewer have a clear idea of whether the truce is the start of a true ceasefire.

Everyone agrees that ISIS needs to be stopped in Iraq and Syria, but there’s almost no agreement among Western countries and their allies on how to get rid of Bashar al-Assad. And as they focus on terrorist groups, they may find themselves actually turning to Assad for help.

Intense clashes in the Syrian city of Homs pit government troops against Islamist fighters who are primarily aligned with the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate. Wall Street Journal correspondent Sam Dagher is there and says that despite the fighting, Syria’s government is pushing ahead with effort to prepare the city for June elections.Intense clashes in the Syrian city of Homs pit government troops against Islamist fighters who are primarily aligned with the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate. Wall Street Journal correspondent Sam Dagher is there and says that despite the fighting, Syria’s government is pushing ahead with effort to prepare the city for June elections.

Lebanon brings together Shite, Sunni, Druze, Christian and Kurd. Now spillover violence from neighboring Syria is threatening the fragile bonds that hold the nation together, as the BBC’s Kim Ghattas explains.