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Geopolitics

Rebel Attack On Syrian TV Station, As Assad Declares 'Real State Of War'

Worldcrunch

REUTERS, AL ARABIYA (Saudi Arabia), AL JAZEERA (Qatar)

DAMASCUS - Gunmen attacked the pro-Assad television headquarters in Syria on Wednesday morning, detonating bombs and shooting three employees dead, Reuters reports. The Syrian Minister of Information gave a higher death toll for the attack, saying that seven people were killed and that others were injured or kidnapped, according to Al Jazeera.

The rebel attack on the private Ikhbariya station south of the capital city Damascus came hours after President Bashar al-Assad declared for the first time that Syria was in a state of "war."

On Tuesday evening Bashar al-Assad told his newly appointed cabinet that Syria was in a "real state of war," denouncing the West's role in the conflict. "When we are in a war, all policies and all sides and all sectors need to be directed at winning this war," said Assad in the speech, which was also broadcast on state television.

Further dampening hopes for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, a report from U.N. investigators delivered to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday found sectarian violence was on the rise, according to Al Arabiya.

"Where previously victims were targeted on the basis of their being pro- or anti-government, the Commission of Inquiry has recorded a growing number of incidents where victims appear to have been targeted because of their religious affiliation," said the report, which also worried about the rebels' use of children "as medical porters, messengers and cooks, exposing them to risk of death and injury."

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Society

Murder Of Giulia Cecchetin: Why Italy Is Finally Saying 'Basta' To Violence Against Women

Cecchettin was allegedly stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in northern Italy, a murder case that has quickly turned into a political movement. The supposed motive is chilling in what it says about the current state of male-dominated society.

 Girls seen screaming during the protest under the rain.

November 25, Messina, Italy: The feminist movement Non Una di Meno (Not One Less) gathered in Messina in the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Valeria Ferraro/ZUMA
Annalisa Camilli

Updated Nov. 27, 2023 at 3:40 p.m.

-Analysis-

ROME — On November 11, Giulia Cecchettin and her ex-boyfriend Filippo Turetta went missing after meeting for dinner. For a week, Italians followed the case in hopes that the story would end with two lovers returning home after going on an adventure — but women knew better.

As the days went by, more details of their relationship started to come to light. Filippo had been a jealous, possessive boyfriend, he had not dealt with Giulia's decision to break up very well, and he constantly hounded her to get back together.

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When Giulia's body was found at the bottom of a lake in the northern region of Veneto, with 20 stab wounds, Italians were not surprised, but they were fed up. Vigils, demonstrations and protests spread throughout the country: Giulia Cecchettin's death, Italy's 105th case of femicide for the year 2023, finally opened a breach of pain and anger into public opinion. But why this case, why now?

It was Elena Cecchettin, Giulia's sister, who played a vital role. At the end of a torchlight procession, the 24-year-old university student took the floor and did something people weren't expecting: she turned private grief into a political movement. Elena distanced herself from the role of the victim and took on the responsibility for a future change.

"Filippo is not a monster; a monster is an exception, someone external to society, someone society should not take responsibility for. But here that responsibility exists," she said confidently, leaving everyone breathless.

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