Syria's Uprising Escalates, World Mulls Options. Copyright © 2012 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Over the weekend, it became clear that the crisis in Syria has entered a dangerous new phase. Armed opposition to the government of Bashar al-Assad continues to mount, and in just the past few days, clashes were reported in Damascus and in Aleppo, the two largest cities in the country, which had been mostly quiet.
The Syrian government rejects an Arab League proposal for the president to step down to make way for negotiations on elections, and Russia appears ready to oppose further measures at the United Nations Security Council. Later in the program, Freddie Mac's conflict of interest on refinancing mortgages. KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: You're welcome. CONAN: And what is the latest, especially from Damascus? CONAN: And we apologize for the slight delay. that's caused by the satellite telephone. DREW: Hey there. DR. Acta, l'accord international qui fait pol mique en Europe. From the Web to the Streets: The Guardian's Patrick Kingsley on the power of clicktivism. The Times profile of Avaaz and Ricken Patel, Feb 9 2011. Technology and protest: A town crier in the global village.