Worldcrunch
GENEVA TALKS CONTINUE OVER SYRIA’S FUTURELakhdar Brahimi, the UN mediator for peace in Syria, will hold separate meetings with representatives of the Syrian government and of the opposition in a bid to bring them to the negotiating table ahead of tomorrow’s talks in Geneva. According to the BBC, it’s still not clear whether the two […]
Sources tell Le Monde that the Syria regime fired rockets with a non-lethal chemical agent during a deadly Dec. 23 attack in Homs. So why didn’t Western leaders follow through on their threats?
BERLIN – Asir’s life was preprogrammed. The North African Muslim was to be trained to be a jihadist in a Palestinian terrorist camp. There he would learn how to build bombs and kill non-believers. But just before he was due to leave, he started to have doubts. “I realized that there were several versions of […]
SYRIAN OBSERVATORY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (UK), AL ARABIYA (UAE) Worldcrunch Reports emerged Thursday that pro-Assad forces killed more than 100 people earlier this week, including women and children, on farmland on the outskirts of Syria’s central city of Homs. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), forces loyal to President Bashar al […]
The killing of three Kurdish activists in Paris shines new light on a longstanding fact of a millions of people spread across large swaths of terrritory, but with no nation of their own.
HÜRRIYET (Turkey), THE GUARDIAN (UK), REUTERS, FRANCE 24 Worldcrunch ISTANBUL– The Syrian government has announced it would free 2,130 civilian prisoners on Wednesday, in exchange for the release of 48 Iranians held by Syrian rebels. Iranian state TV confirmed that the 48 hostages, captured by the Free Syrian Army back in August, had been freed. […]
“FRIENDS OF SYRIA” TO MEET IN PARIS ON SUNDAY Foreign Ministers of the group of 11 countries dubbed “Friends of Syria,” including the U.S., UK and France, will meet with the opposition group Syrian National Coalition on Sunday in Paris, AFP quotes an official source as saying. On the battleground, opposition fighters are still fighting […]
ALEPPO – As a man cleans his Kalashnikov, another next to him is peeling garlic for supper. At his feet, the assigned cook has left his pistol and his knitting, with the needles stuck inside – it is a striped scarf with the colors of the rebellion. A small fire is lighting up the walls […]
CAIRO HIT BY DEADLY BOMBSThe Egyptian capital of Cairo was hit by three bombs this morning, killing at least five people and leaving scores injured, Mada Masr reports. The first and biggest explosion targeted the police headquarters in the city center, where four people died. The attacks, for which an al-Qaeda-inspired group claimed responsibility, come […]
– Editorial – PARIS – A revolution is a riot that has succeeded. A riot is a revolution that has failed… For the second time since 1990, Algeria has missed another rendezvous with history, the Arab Spring. Like Saudi Arabia, it remained mostly extraneous to the unrest that overwhelmed the Arab world and led to […]
Warnings by the United States and other countries threatening the Syrian regime with dire consequences if chemical weapons are used against rebel forces may have had the intended effect. Recent media reports suggest this concern has now diminished. It is just as plausible, however, that the regime had little intention of using its chemical weapons […]
PARIS – Syria appears to be moving closer by the day toward the end of Assad’s regime. In Western countries, the debate on a military intervention to secure the country’s “hot zones” is gaining momentum. Until now, Western leaders have said that they would only support a military intervention if Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons. […]
NBC NEWS (USA) Worldcrunch ISTANBUL – NBC News’ chief correspondent Richard Engel and members of his production team were freed from captors in Syria after a firefight at a checkpoint on Monday, NBC News said early Tuesday. “After being kidnapped and held for five days inside Syria by an unknown group, NBC News Chief Foreign […]
Exclusive investigation: The terror network in Syria includes dozens of European members, and wants to get its hands on Assad’s stockpile of chemical weapons.
Russia worries the Patriot missiles set to be deployed by the West to the Turkish-Syrian border could actually be moved to any part of Turkey.
ABC NEWS, CNN (USA), BBC NEWS (UK), Worldcrunch WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama has recognized the leading Syrian opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the country’s people. “We’ve made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population that we consider them […]
BRUSSELS – Over good food and drink, the dinner Tuesday of all of NATO’s foreign ministers was meant to be an informal exchange of the different points of view on the Middle East. But before the main course had been served most of the ministers had lost their appetite: The alliance’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh […]
HAARETZ (Israel), THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch Syria’s ambassador to Venezuela has denied allegations Wednesday that President Bashar al-Assad is considering seeking political asylum in Latin America. On Tuesday, Israeli newspaper Haaretz suggested President Assad’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad had previously held meetings in Venezuela, Cuba and Ecuador in order to ensure the President’s safe […]
ISTANBUL – Members of the Pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) have joined more than 700 Turkish citizens on the 60th day of a hunger strike aimed at drawing attention to the imprisonment of Kurds linked to an alleged terrorist organization. Some 65 prisoners linked to the Union of Kurdistan Communities (KCK), which Turkey, the […]
BBC NEWS (UK), AL ARABIYA (United Arab Emirates) Worldcrunch ABU DHABI – British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday a safe exit and immunity “could be arranged” for President Bashar al-Assad if it would end the bloodshed in Syria. Speaking to Al Arabiya TV during a diplomacy and trade visit to Abu Dhabi, Mr. Cameron […]
MOSCOW – On the evening of October 10th, Turkish Air Force jets forced Syrian Air flight 442, a civilian passenger plane, to land at the airport in Ankara, Turkey. They suspected that the plane, which was carrying 35 passengers from Moscow to Damascus, contained cargo not allowed under the rules of civilian aviation. After searching […]
PETRA (Jordan), INDEPENDENT, GUARDIAN (UK), AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE (France) Worldcrunch AMMAN – Jordanian police say they have arrested 11 suspected terrorists who had crossed the border from Syria and were planning a major attack against foreigners in Jordan’s capital. The U.S. embassy in Jordan was among the targets, an embassy spokesman confirmed to the Independent. […]
AP, BBC NEWS (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch BEIRUT – Overnight clashes in Lebanon have killed at least three people in the northern city of Tripoli and left dozens injured, following the funeral of senior intelligence official Wissam al-Hassan. Al Jazeera reports that violence erupted after protesters tried to storm the offices of Lebanese Prime […]
BBC, GUARDIAN, SYRIAN NETWORK FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (UK), AVAAZ (USA) Worldcrunch According to human rights organizations, at least 28,000 civilians have disappeared in Syria since the beginning of the protests last year, the BBC reports. Most of them seem not to be militants but ordinary people who have been picked up by the regime of […]
CAIRO – Orwa Nyrabia is looking for an apartment in Cairo for a few months, just enough time to wrap his latest movie a month after being released from a Syrian jail. Nyrabia was arrested on August 23 in Damascus and held for 22 days. This 35-year-old filmmaker and creator of the renowned Dox Box […]
ISTANBUL – “Will we go to war with Syria?” That is the singular question on everyone’s mind these days. We journalists are being pounded with it every day from friends and close relatives — but how can we give a direct answer? I say talk of war between Turkey and Syria is overblown and I […]
AKRUN – Far beyond the brown plain and the shimmering blue waters of Qatinnah Lake, the outlines of a city can just barely be made out. “That’s Homs, that’s where there’s war,” says a refugee turning away from the empty window opening. Then there’s the sound of an explosion at some distance behind him. “And […]
HURRIYET, RADIKAL (Turkey), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch ANKARA – Turkish artillery has continued to target Syria for a second straight day, in retaliation for the shelling of a Turkish town that killed five people. Wednesday’s deadly mortar fire heightened tensions as it marked the first time that Turkish citizens have been killed as a result […]
MEDIAPART (France), CORRIERE DELLA SERA (Italy) DREAM TV (Egypt) Worldcrunch PARIS – The former intelligence chief for Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) has alleged that a French secret agent working with the complicity of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi. NTC spy chief Rami el-Obeidi told Paris-based news website Mediapart on […]
SANA (Syria), CNN (US), REUTERS (UK), AFP (France) The UN’s refugee agency released new estimates Thursday that say the number of Syrian refugees could reach 700,000 by the end of the year. Reuters reports that UN estimates have almost quadrupled since its last forecast in August reported 185,000 refugees. The new figures were published as […]
BEIRUT – Sheikh Hani Fahs lives by the old route to the airport, near the entrance of Beirut’s Dahieh (“southern suburb”). This a Hezbollah stronghold. The Lebanese cleric has had a ringside seat over this main axis, which has often been blocked by angry demonstrators these past few months. Down the street, walls are covered […]
Maged, a young officer who’s defected from the Syrian police, says his countrymen often never even knew each others’ religious and tribal backgrounds. “We used to live in peace,” he says, recalling life before the past year of violence. “But the regime has managed to breed sectarianism in people.” Syria has not yet turned into […]
NEW YORK – Turkey intends to keep up its diplomatic efforts to establish a buffer zone in Syria, despite the United Nations’ failure last week to reach a resolution at the Security Council meeting on Thursday. “How long are we going to sit and watch while an entire generation is being wiped out by random […]
AFP (France), BBC (UK), AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch A Syrian fighter-jet killed 18 people in the rebel-held town of Al-Bab on Monday. AFP reports that the airstrike on Monday was the latest in a series of attacks on towns and villages in Aleppo province. Victims of the attack on the building in Al-Bab included 10 […]
REUTERS, AL JAZEERA (Qatar) Worldcrunch The Syrian delegation walked out of the 16th Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran, after Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi called Bashar al-Assad’s government an “oppressive regime” in his speech, Al Jazeera reports. Speaking to representatives of more than 120 countries, Morsi said: “Our solidarity with the struggle of the Syrian people […]
It is hard to dispute that Iran’s geopolitical importance, both internationally and regionally, has been on the rise over the past decade. With the Arab Spring, the Islamic Republic saw a new opportunity. For Tehran, the Arab uprisings meant “the awakening of Islam,” the rise of Islamist political parties sympathetic to Iran’s plight, and a […]
ADDOUNIA TV (Syria), AL ARABIYA (UAE), LE MONDE (France) Worldcrunch Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the situation in Syria is getting “better,” although his government needs more time to “win the battle” against rebels trying to overthrow him. Al-Assad was speaking in an exclusive interview with the Syrian pro-government TV station Addounia, which will be […]
AFP, REUTERS Worldcrunch Rebels shot down a Syrian combat helicopter while it was bombarding the Damascus neighborhood of Jobar. State television confirmed a chopper crashed near a mosque in the capital, but gave no further details, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it believed it “was hit while it was being used in […]
BEIRUT – Elias, a 42-year-old Syrian, is chain smoking under the silent gaze of his children. This Christian farmer abandoned his lands, near the Lebanese border, leaving behind conflicts he felt had nothing to do with him, but tormented by the future of Syria and the fate of his minority religion there. Together with 20 […]
REUTERS, SKY NEWS, BBC (UK), AL JAZEERA (UAE) Worldcrunch Sectarian violence in Lebanon escalated Tuesday night, claiming at least 10 lives, Reuters reports, as the Syrian crisis spills over to its neighbors. Old tensions between Sunni Muslims and Alawites in Lebanon’s second city Tripoli have flared up due to the continuing Syrian conflict, which has […]