Syria says an attacker blew himself at a busy intersection in the capital, Damascus Friday. At least 25 people were killed and 46 others wounded.  It was the second major bombing to rock the capital in two weeks.  In the Damascus neighborhood of Midan, witnesses say the explosion took place near an intersection, as vehicles waited for a traffic light.  The blast blew out windows of surrounding buildings and hurled shrapnel at motorists and passersby.  State media claimed a suicide-bomber caused the explosion. It was the second major bombing in the same area in two weeks.  Two bombings took place in the nearby district of Kafr Sousa in late December near government security compounds. State television broadcast graphic images from the scene and interviewed bystanders who said government opposition groups were behind the blast.  Foreign media, however, report that opposition leaders blame the government for orchestrating the attack. One man accused a Syrian opposition leader of responsibility for the bombing.  Several others blamed the United States and Israel. But Riyadh al Asaad, a leader of the opposition Free Syrian Army, told al-Arabiya TV that the Syrian government directed the bombing.  He said the regime has a “long history of manipulating terrorist attacks.” Asaad questioned “why the bombing took place in a middle-class neighborhood with strong support for the opposition,” rather than a “more well-to-do pro-government neighborhood in the center of Damascus.”  He noted that reporters for state TV arrived at the bomb scene “before rescue crews.” However, Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, thinks it is more likely that Islamic extremists were behind the bombing. “I don’t think it was the work of the government, because the suicide bomber targeted a police van,” Khashan said. “And it wouldn’t really make much sense for the government to bring the battle to Damascus, because it is the [nerve center] of the political system.  I’m inclined to assume that it was the work of Salafists in Syria, and I put the blame for their activity on the regime, because it was the regime who used to send them to Iraq.  Now the magic has turned against the magician.” Middle East analyst Fouad Ajami said before the bombing that the Syrian regime is facing a breakdown of its once-tight grip on society, and is seeing an influx of “troublemakers” from neighboring countries. “Guns, ideas, jihadists would flow back and forth.  And remember one thing: that’s what the Syrian regime itself had wrought by sending thousands of jihadists, both from within Syria and from every Arab country conceivable … to Iraq in ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07 and ’08.  Now the chickens have come home to roost,”  Ajami said. Meanwhile, witnesses reported that government security forces shot at protesters in the northern city of Hama Friday.  Dozens of towns and cities participated in the weekly protest movement.  Internet videos showed thousands of people chanting anti-government slogans on opposition websites. Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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Clashes between Egyptian police and stone-throwing protesters have rolled into a second day, leaving eight people dead and more than 300 wounded. Egyptian soldiers hurled rocks at protesters from the roof of a building near the parliament in Cairo and used a fire hose to disperse the crowd. Protesters demanding an end to military rule erected barricades to protect themselves. Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri said in a television address that security forces are trying to protect the buildings. Many Egyptians just want the violence to come to end. “This is a chaotic situation,” said Cairo resident Ehab Abdel Salam. “We can’t work anymore because of this chaotic situation and the military should intervene wisely with protesters to end this.” The violence comes as Egyptians await the official results of the second round of parliamentary elections held this week. Islamist parties appeared to be extending their already overwhelming electoral gains. Election officials are expected to announce final results by Sunday. Witnesses say the unrest began late Thursday when military police tried to break up a sit-in in front of the Cabinet offices.   On Friday, the ruling military council, in a statement read on state television, denied troops had tried to disperse the sit-in.  The council blamed the violence on the protesters who have been camped out in front of the building for three weeks demanding the ruling military leave power. A senior cleric was among those killed Friday as hundreds of protesters in Cairo hurled rocks and firebombs at military police, who responded by using water cannons and firing shots.  It was not clear if they were using rubber bullets or live ammunition. Members of a civilian advisory panel created by the military this month as a gesture to protesters suspended their work, demanding an immediate end to violence against protesters.   The military council has said it will only step down once a president has been elected by the end of June following a protracted series of phased parliamentary polls.

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One decade ago, diplomats gathered in Bonn, Germany, to appoint a transitional government in Afghanistan. Now, with international combat forces set to leave in 2014, more than 100 delegations have come to Bonn for a conference on the future of Afghanistan. The focus of the Bonn conference is to shift away from an Afghanistan in transition toward an Afghanistan transformation. Delegates are discussing three key areas, including the transfer of security responsibilities from international to Afghan forces, political reconciliation and long-term international engagement, including aid and training. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reflected on the decade since the initial conference in 2001. “There have been setbacks. Not all of our objectives and expectations have been realistic. And yet, we have achieved a lot. Most [More] Afghans now enjoy more freedom, peace and security than at any time in the past 30 years,” said Westerwelle. Noting gains made Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai highlighted that Afghan women make up 20 percent of the civil service sector, more than a quarter of parliament, and nearly 40 percent of students in schools. Overall, school enrollment rose from less than one million in 2002 to more than 8 million now. The Afghan president added that more roads have been built in the past 10 years than in his nation’s history. Karzai said he was grateful to the international community for its support, but he noted the fragility of the advancements. “The challenges that remain are significant and have the potential to derail our progress and reverse our achievements. Poverty and underdevelopment are still our top challenges. Our young democracy remains fragile, and the Afghan people are yet to see their aspirations realized through strong, effective and accountable national institutions,” he said. Karzai said the political process remains open to Taliban and other militants who renounce violence and accept the Afghan constitution. He added that his nation will require continued financial support through the next decade. An Afghan transition strategy paper circulating at the conference said the work of the past 10 years could come undone unless Afghanistan’s significant fiscal gap is addressed. Clinton pledges ongoing US support U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States will resume contributing to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. That funding was suspended earlier this year due to irregularities with the Kabul Bank that have since been addressed. “The United States is prepared to stand with the Afghan people for the long haul to support this transition to sustainable stability and growth, and we recognize that the Afghans themselves, as the president has said, have commitments that they must meet, taking difficult decisions to embrace reform, lead in their own defense, and strengthen an inclusive democracy rooted in the rule of law.” Clinton praised the Afghan president’s commitment to proceed with inclusive elections in 2014. She also said the United States and international partners must remain committed to training and advising Afghan forces. Afghanistan’s neighbor, Pakistan, was notably absent from the conference, declining to come in protest of NATO air strikes last month that killed 24 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border. Clinton said the entire region has a stake in Afghanistan’s future and Pakistan’s contributions to the conference would have been beneficial.

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