LA Times News |
| Iran confronts its alcohol problem Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT After years of denying the prevalence of illegal alcohol in Iran, officials are addressing the issue, while continuing to treat drinking as a sin and a crime. TEHRAN — On most days, Mohsen can be found driving around the capital in his old Peugeot with a hired female relative, trying to pass himself off as a father shopping with his daughter.  |
| Defection illustrates Syrian rift Posted: 07 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT The conflict tearing Syrian apart also destroyed the deep ties between President Bashar Assad and Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlas, a brigade commander in the ultra-loyal Republican Guard, who has fled his country. BEIRUT — They were close friends and shared a singular lineage: Both were blood royalty of the Syrian leadership caste, birthright beneficiaries of their fathers' stranglehold on the nation.  |
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