Lizzy TomeiJuly 19, 2012 19:49

A senior Iraqi official said that border guards had witnessed the FSA take control of an outpost and kill 22 Syrian soldiers, though the killings could not be independently verified.

Jeremy RavinskyJuly 19, 2012 16:49

Assad and Nasrallah: A fall from grace

Once the most popular leaders in the Arab world, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah are now widely ridiculed.

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Lebanese Hezbollah supporters wave the movement's yellow flags and hold up the Syrian flag decorated with an image of President Bashar al-Assad as they listen to a televised speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to mark the sixth anniversary of the 2006 war with Israel in southern Beirut on July 18, 2012. (Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images)

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Less than five years ago Hasan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, were the two most popular leaders in the Middle East.

Well, the blossom of their popularity has now wilted in the heat of the Arab Spring.

Syria: President Bashar al-Assad appears on TV

News DeskJuly 19, 2012 15:51

A TV news report showed Assad swearing in his new defense minister at an unnamed location. It is unclear where Assad, his wife and their three young children are currently located.

Alex LeffJuly 19, 2012 14:34

Venezuela sends 'deepest condolences' to Syria regime

The administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's few allies, 'vigorously condemns the terrorist attack' in Damascus.

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Put her there, pal! Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reaches to shake hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in the al-Shaab presidential palace in Damascus in 2010. (Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images)

Venezuela has issued an official condemnation of Wednesday’s bombing in Damascus that injured and killed top security chiefs in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The message comes from one of Assad’s few remaining allies, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez is an important friend. He has insisted on keeping trade flowing with Syria despite international sanctions. His oil-rich nation ships fuel to Syria, such as the diesel that Syrian military vehicles run on.

Read more: Venezuela fuels Syria crackdown

The following are translated excerpts of Venezuela’s statement, as posted on the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry's website:

Meet the 12 people who run Syria (Infographic)

Kyle KimJuly 19, 2012 14:08

Syria is run by about 12 people. And most of them were in the room Wednesday when the bomb went off.

Syria UN resolution vetoed by Russia, China; US says it does not support extending UN observer mission

Sarah WolfeJuly 19, 2012 11:30

Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution Thursday that would have imposed new sanctions on war-torn Syria, prompting the US to withdraw support for extending the UN observer mission.

Syria: Is the Bashar al-Assad regime crumbling?

Hugh Macleod and Annasofie Flamand, Beirut with a reporter in SyriaJuly 19, 2012 09:52

BEIRUT – In the hours after the biggest security breach in the Assad dictatorship’s four-decade rule, the Syrian regime took to the airwaves in a desperate quest to reassure supporters. But insiders tell GlobalPost that the damage is already done.

End game in Syria?

Hugh Macleod and Annasofie FlamandJuly 18, 2012 17:31

BEIRUT — In the biggest security breach of the Assad regime’s four-decade iron grip on power, a bomb ripped through a meeting of Syria’s top security chiefs in Damascus Wednesday, killing the serving and former defense ministers and President Bashar al-Assad’s powerful brother-in-law.

Q&A: Are Bashar al-Assad's days as Syria's president numbered?

David CaseJuly 18, 2012 15:20

BOSTON — A devastating strike at the Syrian president's military brain trust raises questions about the regime's imminent demise.

Israel's military commanders meet to discuss threat of Syria collapse

Noga TarnopolskyJuly 18, 2012 14:47

JERUSALEM — Israel's top military and intelligence commanders convened on Wednesday to discuss contingencies in anticipation of the collapse of the regime of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. For Israel, the end of the Assad era and the mayhem that Israeli analysts predict will ensue signifies a second volatile border, which, like its frontier with Egypt, after decades of quiet may turn troublesome.