By Patrick Cockburn, THE INDEPENDENT Gloomy predictions precede this week’s Geneva II peace talks aimed at ending the three-year-old war in Syria. US Secretary of State John Kerry says the meeting is about a mutually agreed political transition in Damascus, while the Syrian government insists it should focus on how […]
January 18, 2014 Oscar Assadullah Mukhtar Bergamin has been helping refugees facing starvation in different camps in northern Syria since July 2013, when he founded his association Ash-Sham Care in Zurich. For the past few months, Syrians in besieged areas have been dying of hunger, thirst, sickness and more recently […]
By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) – In recent weeks Russia has stepped up supplies of military gear to Syria, including armoured vehicles, drones and guided bombs, boosting President Bashar al-Assad just as rebel infighting has weakened the insurgency against him, sources with knowledge of the deliveries say. Moscow, which is […]
STORY SUMMARY Pledges of monetary support to alleviate the horrific humanitarian situation in and around Syria were made once again in Kuwait Wednesday, with the international community able to boast of a new figure of $2.4 billion. Some might suggest that a parallel conference is needed, namely one that figures […]
STORY SUMMARY January 17, 2014 12:22 AM By Suleiman al-Khalidi (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb) Syria’s central bank has bought hundreds of millions of dollars from the […]
Source: BBC The UN secretary general says that half of Syria’s population, some 9.3 million people, are in urgent need of aid. Ban Ki-moon was speaking at a donor conference in Kuwait promoting the UN’s largest ever appeal for a single issue. The meeting aimed to raise $6.5bn (£4bn) – […]
by Muath Freij | Jan 12, 2014 | 22:43 JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — When 10-year-old Omran Taqi arrived in Amman with his family, the activity he missed the most was […]
STORY SUMMARY January 10, 2014 12:23 AM By Rodger Shanahan The Daily Star Read more: http://dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2014/Jan-10/243615-why-are-shiites-fighting-in-syria.ashx#ixzz2qAWWUtBM (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb) The Syrian civil war is not a rallying call for the region’s Shiite communities in the same way that it is for foreign Sunni jihadists. The […]
AMMAN — For Wahid Yaseen, living in a tent in Amman is much better than staying in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Mafraq or in his home in Syria. The […]
Saudis Back Syrian Rebels Despite Risks By ROBERT F. WORTHJAN. 7, 2014 Inside In Damascus on Tuesday, men helped a wounded girl who survived what activists said was an airstrike by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad of Syria. Bassam Khabieh/Reuters RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — On his eighth trip […]
January 08, 2014 12:31 AM By Rami G. Khouri The Daily Star Story Summary Leading examples include the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), the Nusra Front, the Tawhid Brigade, the Army of Islam, the Islamic Front, the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, the Free Syrian Army, the Mujahedeen Army […]
DAMASCUS: Syrian rebels overran the Aleppo headquarters of the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Wednesday, as claims emerged that ISIL had massacred prisoners there in cold blood. “Hardly any” fighters from the ISIL are left in Aleppo, a Syrian NGO said. “ISIL withdrew from the Inzarat […]
Islamist Ultimatum to Syrian Christians: Convert, Leave, or Die Larry Silverstein 4:36 PM (0 minutes ago) Islamist Ultimatum to Syrian Christians: Convert, Leave, or Die By Matthew J. Thomas Posted 2013-04-18 19:36 GMT (AINA) — Syria’s Christians fear an Islamist takeover should the current government be overthrown. During the ongoing […]
SYRIAN rebels laid siege to jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in their northern stronghold yesterday, hoping to crush the al-Qa’ida affiliate accused of widespread abuses. A broad coalition of moderates and Islamists opposed to President Bashar al-Assad is seeking to drive ISIL – which is […]
By Robert Fisk, The Independent And so, for the first time in recent history, it seems that the “war against terror” – and specifically against al-Qa’ida – is being fought by Middle East regimes rather than their foreign investors. Sure, American drones still smash into al-Qa’ida operatives, wedding parties and […]
Syrian rebels surrounded a compound held by al-Qaida-linked fighters and freed at least 50 people from a nearby prison Monday as clashes between rival factions in the country’s northern provinces spread to the largest city controlled by the opposition. The rebel-on-rebel fighting in Raqqa — a stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked […]
By Sharif Kaf Al-Ghazal Monday, 16 December 2013 00:00 Source: OnIslam.net Ala-al-Din Abu al-Hasan Ali Ibn Abi al-Hazm al-Qarshi al-Dimashqi (known as Ibn Al-Nafis) was born in 1213 A.D. in Damascus. He was educated at the Medical College Hospital (Bimaristan Al-Noori) founded by Noor al-Din Al-Zanki. Apart from medicine, Ibn […]
Britain should offer a safe haven for Syrian refugees, Nigel Farage has said THE TELEGRAPH By Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent Britain should offer a safe haven for Syrian refugees, […]
By Anne Gearan, Published: December 27, 2013 Only a tiny number of the more than 2 million refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war can meet the requirements to be resettled in the United States, frustrating international relief officials who say the numbers needing help could nearly double in the coming year. […]
STORY SUMMARY December 28, 2013 12:16 AM By Michael Gerson The Daily Star In some parts of the world, Herod’s massacre of the innocents is a living tradition. Majority rule will bring the harsh imposition of the majority faith. Democracy promotion – as embraced by the National Democratic Institute or […]