Bashar al-Assad | GlobalPost

Syria's Raqa opposition chief kidnapped

Agence France-PresseMay 20, 2013 09:00

An opposition leader, rights activist and longtime dissident in Syria's rebel-held city of Raqa has been abducted, a watchdog said Monday. "The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has learnt of the abduction by an armed group of lawyer, human rights activist and head of Raqa city's (opposition) local council Abdallah al-Khalil," the Britain-based group said. "The Observatory condemns in the strongest terms the abduction of opposition lawyer Abdallah al-Khalil, and demands his immediate release," it said.

Syrian forces storm rebel bastion of Qusayr

Agence France-PresseMay 19, 2013 23:15

Syrian troops backed by Lebanon's Hezbollah have entered Qusayr, a strategic rebel stronghold linking Damascus to the coast, a day after President Bashar al-Assad insisted he would not step aside. The advance came Sunday as Assad's opponents warned his regime's "barbaric and destructive" assault on the town could torpedo US-Russian attempts to organise a conference on ending more than two years of bloodshed.

Syria's pro-Assad hackers hijack Financial Times blog, Twitter feeds in latest media attack

The Canadian PressMay 17, 2013 09:45

LONDON - A clutch of Twitter accounts and a blog maintained by the Financial Times were hacked Friday, the latest in a series of cyberattacks claimed by the Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-government group which has regularly targeted media organizations it sees as sympathetic to the country's rebels.

Russia 'does not understand' uproar over Syria arms sales

Agence France-PresseMay 17, 2013 06:15

Russia's foreign minister said Friday he did not understand the international uproar created by Moscow's continuing weapons cooperation with regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "I do not understand why the media is trying to create a sensation out of this," said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "We have not hidden that we supply weapons to Syria under signed contracts, without violating any international agreements, or our own legislation."

Putin to meet UN chief Ban amid Syria crisis

Agence France-PresseMay 16, 2013 08:46

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at his Black Sea residence in Sochi on Friday, the Kremlin said. The Kremlin did not specify the agenda of the upcoming talks with Ban, who will be visiting Russia from May 16 to 19. Ban's visit comes amid a new international push for a peace conference to end more than two years of bloodshed in Syria.

Syria opposition warns of danger to Qusayr residents

Agence France-PresseMay 14, 2013 06:30

Syria's opposition National Coalition warned Tuesday that 30,000 civilians in the rebel-held town of Qusayr faced an "extremely dangerous situation" as regime troops prepare to attack. President Bashar al-Assad has "mobilised military forces in the direction of the city of Qusayr, in the province of Homs," the statement said, describing reports of dozens of tanks and large groups of soldiers on the outskirts of the town.

Security Council says Turkey bombers must face justice

Agence France-PresseMay 13, 2013 20:46

The UN Security Council said Monday that the perpetrators of the "reprehensible" bomb attacks on Turkey's border with Syria must be brought to justice. The 15-nation council "condemned in the strongest terms the deadly attacks" in the Turkish town of Reyhanli on Saturday that left at least 48 dead and injured scores. A council statement "underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all states" to cooperate with the Turkish investigation.

Syria Internet back up after day-long outage

Thomson ReutersMay 13, 2013 10:46

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's Internet and phone lines started working again on Wednesday evening, residents said, after a day-long blackout left much of the population cut off from the outside world. Communication networks have been crucial for opposition activists trying to get out videos and information about a two-year conflict that has killed more than 70,000 people. Activists called the outage an intentional move to aid countrywide military operations.

AFP World News Agenda

Agence France-PresseMay 10, 2013 17:32

What's happening around the world on Thursday: -- TOP STORIES -- + Police grill brothers over kidnapped US women + Syria opposition insists on Assad exit for deal + Khan recovers in hospital as Pakistan poll looms CLEVELAND, Ohio: US investigators probe how three women kidnapped over a decade ago in separate abductions in Cleveland were held for so long without detection. Picture. Video. Graphic (US-CRIME-KIDNAP)

Turkey condemns Israeli air strikes in Syria

Thomson ReutersMay 7, 2013 11:00

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned on Tuesday Israeli air strikes on targets near Damascus, saying they were an opportunity for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government to cover up its own killings. "The air strike Israel carried out on Damascus is completely unacceptable. There is no rationale, no pretext that can excuse this operation," Erdogan told a parliamentary meeting of his ruling party.