After weeks of anti-government protests that show no sign of cooling, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has decided to try to quell the dissent with honey rather than vinegar, overturning a national state of emergency that has lasted nearly 50 years. –JCL

The BBC:

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he expects a state of emergency to be lifted next week, after weeks of anti-government protests.

He made the comments in a televised speech to his newly formed cabinet.

The lifting of the 48-year-old emergency law has been a key demand of the protesters.

On Friday, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in the capital, Damascus, in one of the biggest turnouts since protests began.

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