By Tom O’Neill Baby steps matter, be they cultural, humanitarian or political. That was the takeaway for two local Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) members who — while on a recent refugee-assistance trip to the Middle East — were unexpectedly included in a quickly scheduled meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus. At the Jan. 18…
By Dustin Stojanovic DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Sami Amir is used to the deep echoing rumble of the Syrian army artillery pounding rebel positions on the outskirts of Damascus. It’s the thump of mortars launched from an Islamist-controlled neighborhood that scares him to death. The mortars have repeatedly hit in his mainly Christian district of…
By Stephen Starr ISTANBUL — A huge statue of the Virgin Mary towers over churches, monasteries and mosques in the Syrian city of Maaloula, where a dialect of the Aramaic language of Jesus is still spoken. The town has managed to stay out of the Syrian conflict between Sunni Muslim rebels and the regime of…