Syria Lets Opposition Meet

The New York Times reports:

Scores of opposition figures met publicly for the first time in Damascus on Monday in a government-sanctioned gathering that underlined both the changes a three-month uprising has wrought in Syria and the challenges ahead in breaking a brutal cycle of protests and crackdowns that has left hundreds dead.

The meeting was in the works for weeks, and though government officials had signaled that they would not oppose it, those attending spent days trying to find a locale in the capital that would set aside fears of government retaliation and host them.