LA Times News

LA Times News

Syria rebels' gains in Damascus surprise even them

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 06:29 PM PDT

The uprising enters a crucial phase as the rebels face the challenge of trying to seize the capital despite a shortage of weapons and lack of unity among themselves.

In the video, two camouflage-clad rebel fighters crouch behind a dumpster firing their rifles as cars drive by at casual, everyday speeds. In the distance, impatient drivers honk as if the revolution had not arrived on this street in southern Damascus.

Syria opposition has power struggles of its own

Posted: 20 Jul 2012 07:58 PM PDT

As rebels risk their lives for a new government, some feel overshadowed by exiled dissidents, who the fighters say are out of touch with the real revolution.

As Syrian opposition leaders threw punches at one another early this month in a five-star Cairo hotel, rebel fighters in Idlib province spent hours trying to fight off tanks, armored vehicles and attack helicopters with little more than Kalashnikov rifles.

Syria says it has chased rebels from Damascus' Midan neighborhood

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT

BEIRUT — Fighting raged for a sixth consecutive day in Damascus, opposition activists said Friday, even as Syria's government declared that it had routed rebels from the capital's Midan district, site of intense battles earlier in the week.

India tops list of spam email spewers

Posted: 21 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT

India's growing number of computer users includes newbies using pirated software. Some fall victim to spammers and unknowingly help spread such emails.

NEW DELHI — A few years ago, Ankur Suri saw a friend beaten up by fellow classmates after he emailed pornography to female friends — or rather, his computer had.