18 people killed Friday near the Lebanese border; gunmen shot a government official Thursday in Damascus

‘With the Syrians, I got nowhere,’ Lakhdar Brahimi says after providing the UN Security Council with a grim assessment of the country’s civil war

Joint statement by council’s five permanent members calls for making the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons

Cutting-edge items in massive new arms deal to be finalized during Hagel visit reflect ‘understandings’ over possible Israel strike on Iran, Israeli TV reports

Maret Tsarnaeva rules out religion as a motive for bombings, but says brothers had a hard time fitting into American society

Friends and relatives plead for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, describe him as positive and bright; elder brother, Tamleran, leaves behind 3-year-old daughter

Ailina Tsarnaev, the middle sister, is cooperating with authorities but says she’s doubtful the accusations against her brothers are true