Assad government hails ‘victory’ in arms deal, troops attack

BEIRUT: Syria’s government hailed as a “victory” a Russian-brokered deal that has averted US strikes, while President Barack Obama defended a chemical weapons pact that the rebels fear has bolstered their enemy in the civil war. President Bashar al-Assad’s jets and artillery hit rebel suburbs of the capital again on Sunday in an offensive that residents said began last week when Obama delayed ...