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Major powers urge Assad to commit to peace

Agence France-PresseMay 22, 2013 13:30
Major powers urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to commit to peace and step down as they gathered in neighbouring Jordan to discuss preparations for a Russian- and US-proposed peace conference. Ahead of a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Amman, US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Assad to make a "commitment to find peace" after more than two years of conflict that have killed more than 94,000 people.

France says Syria's Assad must give up power to end war

May 22, 2013 13:00
AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must turn over power to a transitional government in order for a U.S.- and Russian-backed peace conference to have any chance of success, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday. "It is perfectly clear that the main aim of this possible conference is to bring in a transitional government for Syria which will have the full executive power," Fabius said before a meeting of the Friends of Syria alliance in Jordan's capital.

Syria to decide soon on peace talk participation: minister

May 22, 2013 13:00
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said on Wednesday that President Bashar al-Assad's government would decide soon whether to take part in peace talks with the opposition, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported. Asked whether the Syrian government had committed to a Russian-U.S. effort to hold a peace conference, Mekdad told Itar-TASS: "We are still discussing this question."

Golan stability undamaged: Israel defence official

Agence France-PresseMay 22, 2013 12:47
Israel's ability to deter attack on its positions in the occupied Golan Heights remains undiminished despite an uptick in fire from the Syrian side of the ceasefire line, a defence official said on Wednesday. "The good news is that the continued stability of the Golan Heights (and) the deterrent power of the Israeli army have not been weakened," senior defence adviser Amos Gilad told army radio. "Daily life goes on as usual," he said, in what appeared to be an attempt to calm nerves after two days of fire and counter-fire on Israel's northeast flank.

Kerry urges Assad to commit to peace ahead of talks

Agence France-PresseMay 22, 2013 12:46
US Secretary of State John Kerry called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to make "a commitment to find peace in his country," ahead of a meeting of the Friends of Syria group in Amman. Speaking at a press conference with his Jordanian counterpart, Nasser Judeh, Kerry said a US-Russian proposed conference in Geneva seeks "to end the bloodshed what has cost tens of thousands of lives." "We would call on President Assad to make the same commitment to find peace in his country," Kerry said.

Sinai kidnappers free Egypt security personnel

Agence France-PresseMay 22, 2013 12:45
Kidnappers freed Egyptian police and soldiers in the Sinai on Wednesday, as President Mohamed Morsi vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice and appealed to residents of the lawless peninsula to disarm. The conscripts, seized at gunpoint last week as they were returning from a leave of absence, arrived in Cairo following a joint army and police sweep of the Sinai that triggered their release, the army said.

Afghanistan's Karzai gives India military equipment 'wish list'

May 22, 2013 12:30
By Ross Colvin NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he had given a "wish list" of military equipment to India during a visit this week, presenting a conundrum for New Delhi as it weighs whether arming the Afghan army is in its interests. India wants to stabilize Afghanistan and is concerned about the resurgence of militant groups after foreign combat troops leave in 2014.

Fighting displaces 70-80% of Palestinians in Syria

Agence France-PresseMay 22, 2013 12:15
The conflict in Syria has displaced more than two-thirds of the Palestinian refugees living in the country, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA said on Wednesday. "We have registered approximately 530,000 Palestinian refugees. We believe that almost all of them, certainly maybe 70-80 percent are displaced from their normal homes," UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi told AFP on a visit to Syria. yk-sah/al

Iran expands sensitive nuclear capacity: U.N. report

May 22, 2013 12:00
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has increased its capacity to refine uranium by installing hundreds of more centrifuges at its Natanz plant, a U.N. nuclear agency report said on Wednesday, underlining Tehran's defiance of Western demands to curb the activity. But, in a development that could help buy time for diplomacy between Iran and world powers, the report also showed limited growth of Iran's most sensitive nuclear stockpile and it remained below an Israeli "red line" for possible action.

US, Oman talk $2.1 bln defence deal

Agence France-PresseMay 22, 2013 11:45
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday discussed a $2.1 billion deal with Omani leaders to supply an American-made air-defence system to the Arab state facing Iran in the Gulf. Kerry told Oman's Defence Minister Sayyid Badr al-Busaidi that the United States was "excited" about the deal and "very grateful for your confidence in Raytheon," manufacturers of the defence system. The two countries "are pleased to announce a deal for the acquisition of a US manufactured ground based air defence system," a joint US-Bahrain statement said later on Wednesday.
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