Syria

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White House: Assad's Instagram 'Despicable'

@StateDept will not be retweeting

(Newser) - Ever abreast of the big issues facing a war-torn country like Syria, the US State Department has delivered a stern rebuke against President Bashar al-Assad's Instagram account , labeling it "nothing more than a despicable PR stunt," ABC News reports. In a press briefing, a department spokesperson told...

As Thousands Die, Assad Takes Selfies

Syrian president joins Instagram; fails to capture civil war

(Newser) - Syria is in the middle of a bloody civil war—not that you'd know it from President Bashar al-Assad's new Instagram account , which features Assad and his wife shaking hands, hugging, and chatting with smiling constituents and cheering crowds, reports CNN . With 100,000 people now dead in...

Turkey Fires on Hundreds Fleeing Syria on Horseback

Forces try to combat smugglers; 1,500-2,000 fired on in another incident

(Newser) - Turkey's border with Syria isn't the most welcoming place right now. The military opened fire on between 300 and 350 people headed for the border on horseback today, turning them back, Reuters reports. In a separate, even larger confrontation, troops fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse...

US Plan to Arm Syria Rebels Gets a Boost

But Pentagon cites continuing concerns

(Newser) - Last month, the White House said it planned to arm Syrian rebels —but members of Congress haven't been thrilled with the idea. Now, however, Capitol Hill seems to be coming around, Reuters reports. Despite "strong reservations ... We got a consensus that we could move forward with the...

UN: Syria Is the New Rwanda
 UN: Syria Is the New Rwanda 
Jul 17, 2013 3:50 AM CDT

UN: Syria Is the New Rwanda

Refugee crisis worst since 1994

(Newser) - An average of 6,000 Syrians are fleeing their war-ravaged country every day, causing the world's worst refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide, the United Nations warns. The UN's refugee chief says the outflow of refugees has escalated at "a frightening rate" since the beginning of this...

Syrian Rebels Turn on Each Other

Infighting breaks out amongst moderates and Islamic extremists

(Newser) - Syrian rebel groups are no longer just battling government forces; some are now fighting a second front: other rebel groups. Infighting has broken out amongst the rebels, with the Western-aligned Free Syrian Army clashing with al-Qaeda-aligned groups the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, reports the AP . There has been...

Congress Blocks US Arms for Syrian Rebels: Report

Sources say intelligence committees are freezing funding to send weapons

(Newser) - Both House and Senate intelligence committees have voted to stop sending military aid to Syrian rebels by freezing the funding intended to ship arms, sources say. According to the Hill , the decision was made last month, amid fears that the weapons would end up in the hands of Islamist militants....

After Huge Beirut Bombing, Rocks Fly at Minister

A hundred Hezbollah supporters march in protest

(Newser) - A car bomb rocked a stronghold of the Shiite militant Hezbollah group in a bustling suburb of Beirut today, setting several cars on fire and wounding 37 people in a major security breach of a tightly-guarded area, security officials said. When Interior Minister Marwan Charbel came to inspect the scene,...

Death of Michigan Woman in Syria Cloaked in Mystery

Nicole Mansfield's family says it still lacks answers

(Newser) - Nicole Mansfield died a month ago in Syria. Probably. A pro-Syrian government news agency reported the 33-year-old's death in May, but her family members have yet to receive confirmation that she was indeed killed in fighting; they've gotten no death certificate, no body, and few answers, cousin Deidra...

Newest Arab Idol Is Palestinian Refugee

Politics takes center stage on a very different version of 'Idol'

(Newser) - For all the tears shed by American Idol contestants over their emotional "journeys" and "struggles," America's wannabes have nothing on the winner of this year's Arab Idol: 22-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Assaf, who grew up in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He had to...

Syrian Rebels Using Exact Weapons That Took Gadhafi Down

Rebel weapon pipeline shows how US arms could end up in undesirable hands

(Newser) - Obama recently announced he'd begin sending arms to anti-government rebels in Syria, but where have they been getting their weapons until now? Many of them come from Libya, reports the New York Times , thanks to a secretive, Qatar-financed supply pipeline that sneaks in unregistered arms previously used by Libyan...

CIA Training Syria Rebels: Report

LA Times says secret work started last year

(Newser) - The White House may be moving too slowly in the eyes of some critics when it comes to helping the Syrian opposition, but the CIA and special ops forces have been at it since late last year, reports the Los Angeles Times . It says the Americans have been secretly training...

There Was a New Refugee Every 4.1 Seconds in 2012

Now 45.2M displaced people in the world—most in developing countries

(Newser) - About 7.6 million people became refugees in 2012—that's one every 4.1 seconds—bringing the total number of displaced people in the world to 45.2 million, the highest figure since 1994, reports al-Jazeera . A new report from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees...

Obama: I'm Not 'Bush- Cheney Lite'

President refutes charge in Charlie Rose interview

(Newser) - Appearing on Charlie Rose last night, President Obama had a few things to clear up: First, he's not, as Rose put it, "Bush-Cheney lite." "Some people say, 'Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney,'"...

Obama, Putin Tussle Over Syria ... and G8 Gym

Obama calls dibs, so Putin swims in lake

(Newser) - Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin had a reportedly tense 2-hour meeting at the G8 summit today. The two leaders butted heads over the conflict in Syria, the Washington Post reports. "Our opinions do not coincide," said Putin. "But all of us have the intention to stop the...

4 Reasons Why You Should Care About the G8

7-1 split on Syria looms large as summit opens

(Newser) - It's OK, you can admit it: The G8 summit begins in Northern Ireland today and you didn't exactly wake up with thoughts of "it's G8 week!" (Our first thought: Rain again?) But the two-day summit in Northern Island is worth a few moments of your...

Clinton Is Right: Obama Did Too Little, Too Late on Syria

Maureen Dowd: Bill Clinton has schooled Obama on the fallacy of governing via polls

(Newser) - News that both Bill Clinton and John McCain think Obama is being a wuss on Syria should be a wake-up call for the President, says Maureen Dowd in the New York Times . "When the man who polled where to take his summer vacation and whether to tell the truth...

Palin on Syria: 'Let Allah Sort It Out'

Says US should wait until it has a commander in chief 'who knows what he's doing'

(Newser) - Sarah Palin offered her thoughts on the question of US military intervention in Syria at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference today. The full quote, as per ABC News :
  • "Militarily, where is our commander in chief? We're talking now more new interventions. I say until we know what
...

Egypt Severs Ties with Syria, Shuts Embassy

Morsi calls for Lebanon to follow suit

(Newser) - Egypt's president announced today that he was cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria, closing Damascus' embassy in Cairo, and withdrawing the Egyptian charge d'affaires from Damascus. The decisions were made amid growing calls from hard-line Sunni clerics in Egypt and elsewhere to launch a "holy war" against...

Obama's Weapons Won't Do Enough In Syria

Michael Weiss and Elizabeth O'Bagy say it's time to unleash the MANPADs

(Newser) - The Obama administration is at last willing to send weapons to Syrian rebels —but it looks like neither the president, nor anyone else in Washington, is willing to go far enough to actually help, write Michael Weiss and Elizabeth O'Bagy at the Atlantic . "Even the most hawkish...

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