Authorities: Several demonstrators killed in Kabul protest

A demonstration in downtown Kabul turned violent Friday as police fired at rock-throwing protesters demanding better security in the Afghan capital in the wake of a powerful truck bomb attack that killed 90 people. Several demonstrators were killed and police injured, authorities said.

In Damascus, a general feeling that the war is winding down

In Syria’s capital these days, people are breathing a little easier. Across Damascus, new shops are sprouting up, business is brisk, and some people who fled the civil war years ago are contemplating a return.