Connect to share and comment

Obama, Erdogan vow to up pressure on Assad

Agence France-PresseMay 16, 2013 14:15
US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to crank up pressure on Syria's President Bashar al-Assad Thursday, but offered no concrete new measures to do so. Obama warned there was no "magic formula" to force Assad to leave power, as both the United States and Turkey want, but said he hoped a conference that Washington is organizing with Russia next month would be successful. He gave no sign that he was ready to satisfy Turkish calls for Washington to overcome its reservations about directly arming rebels fighting Assad's regime.

Obama and Erdogan meet as Syrian war rages

Agence France-PresseMay 16, 2013 11:30
President Barack Obama met Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday as world leaders scramble to find a way to ease Bashar al-Assad from power and end Syria's bloody civil war. The talks came a day before another key player in the drama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, was to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and after UN members voted to condemn an "escalation" by Assad's forces.

Syria's Banias massacre toll up to 145

Agence France-PresseMay 16, 2013 08:18
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has now documented the deaths of at least 145 people in a "sectarian massacre" earlier in May in the coastal city of Banias, the watchdog said Thursday. The number of identified victims, among them children and babies, has risen in the past two weeks because "dozens were missing, their bodies buried in their burnt-down homes, or under the rubble of their houses," said the Britain-based group. Some victims were "buried in secret, while the security forces were present", it said.

Kerry, Lavrov confident on Syria peace talks plan

May 16, 2013 02:01
By Patricia Zengerle KIRUNA, Sweden (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday they believed they could pull off peace talks on Syria, where their nations back opposing sides in a war that may have cost 120,000 lives. Differences between Russia, a main ally of President Bashar al-Assad, and the United States, which supports those trying to topple him, have long obstructed United Nations action on the turmoil convulsing Syria for more than two years.

'Small amount' of chemical arms used twice in Syria

Agence France-PresseMay 15, 2013 17:16
Small amounts of chemical weapons have been used at least twice in Syria, but Washington is seeking more information as it mulls its response, a top US official said Wednesday. "The intelligence community has agreed with varying levels of confidence that chemical weapons were used in small amounts in at least two instances in Syria," Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told US lawmakers.

Tired of economic crisis, Sudanese pack up to try their luck abroad

May 15, 2013 15:34
By Ulf Laessing KHARTOUM (Reuters) - In a cramped government office in Khartoum, engineer Ahmed Taha and dozens of other Sudanese, lured by local newspaper adverts for jobs in the Gulf, sit waiting to get a permit to leave the country and work abroad. "I've had enough of Sudan and will go to Saudi Arabia," said Taha. "I am so tired of this country, the (economic) crisis, the corruption."

Kuwait court ruling may threaten economic recovery

May 15, 2013 15:30
By Sylvia Westall KUWAIT (Reuters) - A ruling by Kuwait's top court next month could end a period of relative political stability, jeopardizing government plans to push ahead with long-delayed economic projects. One of the world's richest countries per capita, Kuwait has struggled for years to get big infrastructure projects off the ground because of bureaucratic red tape and political turmoil. A parliamentary election in December was the fifth in six years.

UN assembly slams Assad 'escalation' in Syria war

Agence France-PresseMay 15, 2013 14:24
The UN General Assembly condemned President Bashar al-Assad's "escalation" of the Syrian war on Wednesday as rebels battled to free inmates from a prison in the key city of Aleppo. But, in a move that underlined the diplomatic divisions that have hampered international efforts to end the crisis, Syria's key ally Russia fiercely opposed the resolution passed by 107 votes to 12 at the 193-member assembly.

Booze and bikinis are welcome in Egypt, says tourism minister

May 15, 2013 13:59
By Amena Bakr DUBAI (Reuters) - Islamist-ruled Egypt is open to visitors who drink alcohol and wear bikinis as it sets out to boost numbers by at least a fifth this year, the tourism minister said on Sunday. Tourism is a pillar of the Egyptian economy but has suffered since a popular uprising toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and set off two years of periodic rioting and instability.

Turkey police clash with students protesting car bombings

Agence France-PresseMay 15, 2013 13:53
Turkish police on Wednesday fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse hundreds of students demonstrating in Ankara against government policies they say resulted in last weekend's deadly twin bombings. Some 300 students hurled stones at the police as they vowed that those behind the car bombs in Reyhanli, near the Syrian border, "will pay a price" and demanded the resignation of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Syndicate content