Worldcrunch
The unprecedented assassination of the head of the Russian army’s chemical weapons division is an act of war that is hard for Ukraine’s allies to defend. Still, Ukrainians can’t be faulted for fighting for the nation’s very existence, especially as the West shows signs of slowing down its support.
Taking advantage of the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey, the United States and Israel separately carried out airstrikes on targets in different areas of the country, each with its own agenda. The reclaiming Syria’s sovereignty will be one of the most important and complex challenges facing the country’s new rulers.
Alaa, a civil society worker in the Syrian capital weighs in on the impact and the perception of civilians on the ground toward foreign intervention in her country.
A year after a chemical attack killed nearly 1,000 civilians in the Syrian rebel stronghold of eastern Ghouta, new fears that the Islamist radical group is building its own chemical stockpile.
A quick shot of what’s brewing in the Arab world …
KIM JONG-UN’S UNCLE EXECUTED North Korea’s official news agency KCNA announced that Kim Jong-un’s uncle and mentor, considered the second most powerful man in the country until his recent dismissal, was executed yesterday. Official media branded Jang Song-thaek a “despicable human scum” guilty of leading a “depraved life.” Read the full announcement here. CHEMICAL WEAPONS […]
MOSCOW — The timing of the Geneva 2 conference about the future of Syria’s chemical weapons has changed once again. According to our sources, it is probably not going to be mid-November — as Russia and the U.S. had first indicated — but rather at the end of that month, or maybe even in December. […]
NEW YORK — At long last, the members of the United Nations Security Council have reached an agreement on a Syria resolution. The West has agreed to give up on including language that Russia had furiously opposed — that is, to automatically sanction the use of force against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if he fails […]
-Analysis- MOSCOW — So Russian diplomats finally prevailed on the Syria question. Since the beginning of the clashes in 2011 between the Syrian army, which is loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, and the armed opposition, Russia has used all of its power to prevent an international intervention, including blocking a UN Security Council resolution condemning […]
The Syrian crisis will dominate the G20 summit in St Petersburg. While the U.S. readies a lonely military strike, Russia’s President presents himself as protector of international law.
French President Hollande has been in step with U.S. calls to strike Syria. Now with Obama’s request for a Congressional vote, France is left flapping in the wind.
GUARDIAN (UK), LE MONDE (France), AFP, ARUTZ SHEVA, JERUSALEM POST (Israel), RUSSIA TODAY, REUTERS Worldcrunch WASHINGTON — The Syrian crisis shifts in a new direction this week after President Barack Obama’s announcement that he will seek Congressional approval for any U.S. intervention. Following that news, Secretary of State John Kerry clarified that Obama had the […]
THE GUARDIAN (UK), LE MONDE (France), BBC, AFP, REUTERS Worldcrunch LONDON — The U.K. Parliament dealt a heavy blow to a gathering international coalition against the Syrian regime – and David Cameron’s premiership – by voting against a crucial government motion that would have paved the way for British involvement in a possible intervention in […]
FOREIGN POLICY, REUTERS, BBC, RUSSIA TODAY, SANA (Syria) Worldcrunch DAMASCUS – American intelligence services say they have intercepted “panicked phone calls” between an official at the Syrian Ministry of Defense and a leader of a chemical weapons unit last Wednesday, after the alleged chemical attack took place. The magazine Foreign Policy, which reported the claim […]
TEL AVIV — Israeli officials are under the impression that the United States soon will conduct a Syrian military operation even without a decision from the U.N. Security Council. This comes after a Friday phone call between U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey and Israeli Army chief of staff Benny Gantz. A […]
DAMASCUS – A boy, who appears to be sitting in some sort of makeshift hospital, describes how his entire family was killed early Wednesday morning on an attack in their home in the eastern suburbs of Damascus. Below the video (courtesy of c.m.o algota) is a transcript of the child’s account: “First thing, my grandfather […]
LE MONDE (France), BBC NEWS (UK), REUTERS Worldcrunch PARIS – French newspaper Le Monde revealed Monday that two of its reporters went undercover in Syria, where they witnessed the repeated use of chemical weapons by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. In a report issued on Le Monde’s website, a special correspondent and a photographer […]
HAARETZ, JERUSALEM POST (Israel), NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.), REUTERS, AFP, BBC Worldcrunch DAMASCUS – The situation in Syria has gotten both more dangerous and more complicated over the past 72 hours. On Monday, Chinese officials indirectly criticized Israel’s weekend strikes in Syria, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began a five-day visit to China. During a […]
ARUTZ SHEVA, HAARETZ, JERUSALEM POST (Israel); REUTERS Worldcrunch TEL AVIV – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against civilians, an Israeli Intelligence official stated on Tuesday. Haaretz reports that the head of the Research Division at Military Intelligence, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun said: “To the best of our professional understanding, the regime has […]