Thursday night, Aug. 4, the commanders of Syria's military crackdown on the city of Hama ordered suspected protesters to be picked up off the streets for summary execution. Within hours, hundreds of victims were "executed" by firing squad in Nasser Square. The order was issued when the military failed to overcome mounting resistance.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned Syrian President Bashar Assad: "We are watching how the situation is developing. It's changing and our approach is changing as well."

The Russian investigators of the explosion which killed 35 people and injured 180 at Moscow's main airport Monday, Jan. 24, are certain it was not carried out by a female but by a single male suicide bomber, 30-40 years old, heavily-built and most likely of European appearance.They are looking for accomplices who may have witnessed the attack and left. The Russian government has launched a criminal probe into the security lapse that made the attack possible.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's first visit to Israel in mid-January, part of a Middle East tour, will signify a major switch in Kremlin Middle East policy to warmer relations with Israel and cooler ties with Iran, Syria and the radical Palestinian Hamas. The Russians see a chance of stepping into US shoes in Middle East diplomacy, having come around to certain Israeli positions. They are also seriously eyeing investment in Israel's Mediterranean gas finds.

The US and Israel were unpleasantly taken aback to find Russian president Dmitry Medvedev receiving a pack of Hamas leaders, including political secretary Khaled Meshaal, Monday May 11, on the second day of his Damascus visit. Syrian president Bashar Assad was also present. Apparently unaware of this turn of events, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed Medvedev's offer of a role in Middle East peacemaking.

debkafile's Washington and military sources report Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's first visit to Damascus is expected to produce major arms deals, also providing a back door for Iran to receive sophisticated Russian hardware thus far withheld. The Russian president's three-day visit is seen as an important boost for Bashar Assad and the Iran-Syria-Hizballah-Hamas bloc versus pro-Western Middle East powers and a failed mark for the Obama-Clinton drive to woo the Syrian ruler.