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Geopolitics

'Fate Of Syrian Nation' At Stake In Aleppo

REUTERS, BBC NEWS, AL ARABIYA (Saudi Arabia)

Worldcrunch

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has warned that the conflict between rebels and government forces across Syria will "decide the fate of the nation."

Al-Assad, who has not spoken in public for two weeks, issued a written statement published by the official media agency SANA on the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the army, Al Arabiya reports. In his speech, Assad praised soldiers for confronting "criminal terrorist gangs' and also accused "internal agents' of helping foreign enemies "destabilize the country."

The statement comes after an eventful night that saw combat aircraft and artillery pounding Aleppo, as the army battled for control of the country's biggest city (see video below) where rebel fighters said troops loyal to al-Assad have been forced to retreat, Reuters reports.

Meanwhile, NGO Amnesty International issued a report entitled "All-Out Repression", accusing Syria's government of being responsible for mass human rights violations that amount to crimes against humanity in Aleppo and surrounding areas, according to BBC News.

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Society

Mapping The Patriarchy: Where Nine Out Of 10 Streets Are Named After Men

The Mapping Diversity platform examined maps of 30 cities across 17 European countries, finding that women are severely underrepresented in the group of those who name streets and squares. The one (unsurprising) exception: The Virgin Mary.

Photo of Via della Madonna dei Monti in Rome, Italy.

Via della Madonna dei Monti in Rome, Italy.

Eugenia Nicolosi

ROME — The culture at the root of violence and discrimination against women is not taught in school, but is perpetuated day after day in the world around us: from commercial to cultural products, from advertising to toys. Even the public spaces we pass through every day, for example, are almost exclusively dedicated to men: war heroes, composers, scientists and poets are everywhere, a constant reminder of the value society gives them.

For the past few years, the study of urban planning has been intertwined with that of feminist toponymy — the study of the importance of names, and how and why we name things.

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