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☆ Mohammad Faris: ‘Armstrong of the Arab World’ and Syria’s first astronaut dies in exile
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-21 | by ( Eyad Kourdi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In 1987, Faris, a pilot in the Syrian Air Force, spent eight days in space with the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos spaceflight program. Faris flew with a Soviet crew to Mir space station becoming the first and only Syrian astronaut and second Arab to make it to space. Upon his return to Syria, Faris was celebrated as a national hero by tens of thousands of Syrians. Faris decided in 2012 to defect and publicly oppose the Syrian regime, putting his family and himself in life-threatening danger. In 2020, Faris was granted Turkish citizenship, as reported by the Turkish state broadcaster TRT.

Persons: CNN — Mohammad Faris, Armstrong, Faris, Hafez al, Assad, Bashar, “, Jazeera, Assad, Faris –, Hafez al - Assad, Prince Sultan bin Salman, Allah, “ let’s, ” Faris, Bashar al, Al Jazeera, Moscow propping Organizations: CNN, Syrian Air Force, Saudi, Free Syrian Army, Turkish, TRT, Star City, AP Locations: Turkish, Gaziantep, Soviet, Syria, ”, Aleppo, Turkey, Istanbul, Russia, Moscow, Soviet Union

☆ Opinion | How to Be Pro-Palestinian, Pro-Israeli and Pro-Iranian
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Thomas L. Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend was a game-changing escalation that requires some game-changing rethinking on the part of Israel and its most important ally, the United States. I call it “the three-state solution.”It begins with the recognition that there is probably zero hope for any resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Israel-Iran conflict without leadership change in Tehran, Jerusalem and Ramallah. “This region won’t see any meaningful peace or stability so long as this current government is in power in Tehran,” explained Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. To paraphrase Shimon Peres about prospects for change in Iran, the good news is there is light at the end of that tunnel. The bad news is that today there is no tunnel.”

Persons: ”, Karim Sadjadpour, Shimon Peres Organizations: Carnegie Endowment, International Locations: Israel, United States, Iran, Tehran, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanese, Yemenis

☆ 'Our community has never had this much power': How Dearborn became the epicenter of Biden's 2024 headaches over Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"It might be the driving force behind the movement, but it's much bigger than Palestine," said Lexis Zeidan, another Uncommitted movement leader. Bryan MetzgerBut while the Arab American community is particularly concentrated in the Detroit area, with implications for 2024 in a closely-watched swing state, there are plenty of Arab American voters scattered in competitive states around the country. But the key to the movement's ongoing success has been coalition-building with other communities, including African American voters, young voters, and progressive Jewish voters. Organizers with the Listen to Michigan campaign following election results during a watch party in Dearborn, Michigan on February 27, 2024. After founding the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC in 1985, he and others worked in the intervening decades to build up Arab American power.

Persons: —, Abdullah Hammoud, Dearborn, it's, Joe Biden's, Bryan Metzger Layla Elabed, Abbas Alawieh, Ann Arbor, Layla, Alawieh, Biden, Nikki Haley, Donald Trump's, Trump, Rashida Tlaib, We've, Bryan Metzger, James Zogby, Andy Levin, who's, Jesse Jackson's, Jackson, Jeff Kowalsky, Hammoud, there's, – Organizations: Service, Business, Democratic, Israel . Movement, Israel, Dearborn, Muslim, Palestinian American, Arab American Institute, African American, Jewish, Arab, Getty, Arab American Institute in, what's, Michigan Muslim Locations: Dearborn , Michigan, United States, Gaza, Dearborn Heights, Hamtramck, Dearborn, Michigan, Ann, Palestine, America, Yemenis, Arab, Detroit, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, AFP, Arab American Institute in Washington , DC

☆ Returning Syrian Refugees Face Abduction, Sexual Abuse: UN
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrian refugees who fled the war are facing gross human rights violations such as torture and abduction on their return home while women are subject to sexual harassment and violence, the U.N. human rights office said in a report on Tuesday. "There are reasonable grounds to believe that the overall conditions in Syria do not permit safe, dignified and sustainable returns of Syrian refugees to their home country," she added. A Syrian government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "Women are nowadays forced to do all sorts of things in order to go on with their lives. "In some cases, they are even divorced by their husbands and disowned by their own families," the report said.

Persons: Elizabeth Throssell, Emma Farge, Ros Russell Locations: GENEVA, Syria, Geneva, Israel, Gaza, Ghouta

“Climate and conflict are two leading drivers of (our) global food crisis,” the secretary-general said. And in Myanmar, prospects of ending hunger have gone into reverse because of conflict and instability, he said. Simon Stiell, the United Nations climate chief, told the council that climate change is contributing to food insecurity and to conflict. Framework Convention on Climate Change said the Security Council “must acknowledge more can be done rather than hoping the problem will go away — which it won’t.”The U.N.’s most powerful body should be requesting regular updates on climate security risks, he said. But climate change, environmental and security pressures have led to increased tensions and competition between herders and farmers for scarce resources including water and land, she said.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, “, ”, Guterres, Simon Stiell, ” Stiell, Beth Bechdol, ” Bechdol, Bechdol, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, ” Ali, U.N, Vassily Nebenzia, Nebenzia Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, ”, . Security Council, Security, Agriculture Organization Locations: Russia, “, Gaza, Syria, Myanmar, United, Food, Central Africa, Africa, Haiti, United States, Yugoslavia, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Russian

☆ U.S. Troops Are Injured in Attack on Air Base in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Eric Schmitt | Alissa J. Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Israel and Iran have been locked in a shadow war for years, long before the latest war in Gaza began. They have traded covert attacks by land, sea and air, as well as online. Israel has conducted targeted killings of key Iranian figures and strikes aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and military capabilities. Syria is a close ally of Iran and a conduit for Iranian weapons shipments to its proxies, especially Hezbollah. Iran and Pakistan Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza Clashes along Israel-Lebanon border Qatar Iranian strike targeting militants Saudi Arabia U.A.E.

Persons: Israel, Ebrahim Raisi, Israel —, SANA, Hojatallah Omidvar, Haj Sadegh Omidzade, General Omidvar, Sayyed Razi Mousavi, Ronen Bergman, Victoria Kim Organizations: Guards, Quds Force, Islamic, Hamas, Revolutionary Guards, Human Rights, SYria AFghanistan IRAQ Israel Iran Clashes, West Bank, Qatar, Qatar INdia Saudi Arabia U.A.E, Red Sea, TURKEY U.S, EGYPT Qatar Saudi Arabia U.A.E, SYria IRAQ Iran Israel Clashes, West Bank KUWAIT PAK, Qatar Iranian, Saudi Arabia U.A.E, Quds Forces, Brig, Senior Locations: Iran, Damascus, Israel, Gaza, Syria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza . Israel, Syrian, Britain, East TURKMENISTAN Syria, Iraq TURKEY Iran, SYria AFghanistan IRAQ Israel Iran, West, Gaza PAKISTAN KUWAIT Iran, Pakistan EGYPT, Qatar INdia Saudi Arabia, OMAN Red, YEMEN Sudan, Red, Red Sea U.S, Iraq TURKMENISTAN Iran, TURKEY, Gaza Iran, Pakistan KUWAIT PAKISTAN, EGYPT Qatar Saudi Arabia, Sudan YEMEN U.S, SYria IRAQ Iran Israel, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, OMAN, YEMEN, Iranian, Gen, Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq, Israeli, United States

☆ Opinion | The Genocide Charge Against Israel Is a Moral Obscenity
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In recent decades, as many as three million people perished in a famine in North Korea that was mainly government-induced. But North Korea, Syria and China have never been charged with genocide at the International Court of Justice. It’s obscene because it politicizes our understanding of genocide, fatally eroding the moral power of the term. The war between Israel and Hamas is terrible — as is every war. But if this is genocide, what word do we have for the killing fields in Cambodia, Stalin’s Holodomor in Ukraine, the Holocaust itself?

Persons: Assad, Israel Organizations: International Court of Justice Locations: North Korea, China, gulag, Syria, Israel, Cambodia, Ukraine

"While it's Syrians that are calling for it, for the use of chemical weapons in Syria, if states so wish, it could be far beyond Syria," Olabi told Reuters. The Exceptional Chemical Weapons Tribunal proposal was launched on Nov. 30, the day victims of chemical attacks are remembered worldwide. 'SOME KIND OF JUSTICE'The use of chemical weapons is banned under the Geneva Conventions that codified the laws of war. That ban was strengthened by the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, a non-proliferation treaty joined by 193 states which is overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The OPCW has the power to investigate claims of chemical weapons use and in some cases identify alleged perpetrators, but it has no prosecutorial powers.

Persons: Safaa Kamel, We'll, Ibrahim Olabi, Olabi, Bashar al, Akande, Mohamad Salim Namour, IIIM, Catherine Marchi, Uhel, Maya Gebeily, Stephanie van den Berg, Anthony Deutsch, Mahmoud Hasano, Angus MacSwan, Bernadette Baum Organizations: HAGUE, Reuters, Diplomats, Convention, Organisation, Chemical Weapons, United Nations, United Nations International Law Commission, ICC, UN, Islamic, TEN, International, Thomson Locations: Eastern Ghouta, Syria, Syrian, Afrin, BEIRUT, The Hague, Jobar, Syria's, Damascus, Ghouta, British, Geneva, France, Balkans, Rwanda, Lebanon, Douma, Russia, Beirut

"I feel really alone and if somebody with the status of an elected official can’t be protected then how must others feel?” said Omar. Official data shows a significant, smaller increase in anti-Muslim incidents in Britain and is patchy for the other two countries. "The vast majority of Muslims do not file a complaint when they are victims of such acts. A spokesperson for France's national police acknowledged data on anti-Muslim incidents was "incomplete", and relied on victims filing a complaint. For some Muslims in Germany, which has welcomed about a million Syrians and just under 400,000 Afghans in recent years, rising hostility came as a surprise.

Persons: Jian Omar, Lisi Niesner, ”, Omar, Zara Mohammed, Geert Wilders, Ben Badis, Rachid Abdouni, Khalil Raboun, Tell Mama, Mama, Abdallah Zekri, Zekri, Rima Hanano, Gerald Darmanin, Reza Zia, Emmanuel Macron, Zia, Ebrahimi, fomented, Aiman, Germany's, Reem Alabali, Radovan, Ghalia Zaghal, Zaghal, Layli Foroudi, Thomas Escritt, Sarah Marsh, Andrew MacAskill, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Reuters, Muslim Council of, Ministers, Local, French Muslim Council, HISTORY, Kings College London, Amnesty, German Muslim Council, Thomson Locations: German, Kurdish, Israel, Palestinian, Berlin, Germany, BERLIN, LONDON, Europe, Gaza, London, France, Britain, Muslim Council of Britain, British, Dutch, Netherlands, United States, Nanterre, Paris, French, Moroccan, Western, Syria

☆ Clashes on border with Israel uproot thousands in Lebanon - again
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( John Davison | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] Children look out from balconies in Shatila Palestinian refugee camp, in Beirut suburbs, Lebanon November 21, 2023. Rostom is Lebanese, Mashouz is a refugee from Syria and Hajeh is a Palestinian refugee. Hajeh has fled his crowded refugee camp four times this year during fighting between militant groups. Since the Israel-Hamas war began seven weeks ago in Gaza, the clashes on Lebanon's border with Israel have displaced nearly 50,000 people, according to U.N. figures, and at least 13 civilians have been killed in Lebanon, Lebanese officials say. Hajeh, the Palestinian refugee, left Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria in 2013 under the bombs of Syrian warplanes.

Persons: Mohamed Azakir, Rose Rostom, Nahida Mashouz, Ammar Hajeh, Rostom, Mashouz, we'd, We've, Jacob Boswall, Ziad Makary, We're, Charbel Alam, Hajeh, Timothy Organizations: REUTERS, Palestinian, Islamic, Hamas, Islamic State, Mercy Corps, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon BEIRUT, Syrian, Islamic State, Western, Iran, Rostom, Syria, Palestinian, Hajeh, Sidon, Raqqa, Rostom's, Europe, tatters, Lebanese, Rmeich, Yarmouk, Ain El, Ain El Hilweh

☆ Son bags double for South Korea as top sides win in Asian qualifiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Michael Church | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japan, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all won, while Kuwait and North Korea scored a flurry of goals en route to victories. Australia and Palestine players stood for a minute's silence ahead of their game, which was played in Kuwait due to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Son was in top form as South Korea completed back-to-back wins at the start of their challenge for a place at the 2026 finals. Players held a minute's silence ahead of kickoff before Souttar scored the game's only goal with an 18th-minute header. Kuwait, meanwhile, thrashed Afghanistan 4-0 away to move into second place in Group A behind Qatar.

Persons: Korea's Son Heung, Min, Tingshu Wang, Ueda, Heung, Son, Yan Junling, Lee Kang, Jung Seung, Yan, Thais, Suphanat Mueanta, Mano Polking's, Ayase Ueda, Hajime Moriyasu's, Jong Il Gwan, Harry Souttar, Kuwait's Jaber Al, Souttar, Oston Orunov, Igor Sergeev, Mohanad Ali, Jesus Casas, Darren Lok, Amadoni Kamolov, Saudi Arabia's Saleh Al Shehri, Jordan, Abdalla, Ali Mabkhout, Michael Church, Angelica Medina, Toby Davis Organizations: Soccer Football, AFC, Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, REUTERS, China, Japan, North Korea, Thailand, Singapore, North, Syrians, Syria, Palestine, Ahmad, Iraq, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, United, Bahrain, Thomson Locations: China, Republic of Korea, Shenzhen, Republic, Korea's, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, Korea, Myanmar, Syria Australia, Palestine, HONG KONG, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, North, Israel, Syria, Jeddah, North Korea, Yangon, Australia's, Gaza, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, Iran, Hong Kong, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Manila, Oman, India, Yemen, Nepal, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Islamabad, Saudi, Afghanistan

Last week, Mr. DeSantis doubled down on his opposition to helping some of the nearly one million people contending with shortages of food, clean water and shelter in the region. The Never Back Down ad from this week spliced the clips from Ms. Haley with comments from Mr. DeSantis criticizing her in an NBC interview. Spokespeople for both Mr. DeSantis’s campaign and Never Back Down maintain that their critiques of Ms. Haley are accurate. But Ms. Haley took an aggressive stance against resettling Syrians in her state after the terror attacks in Paris that same year, citing gaps in intelligence that could make the vetting process difficult. Rick McConnell, a 70-year-old Air Force veteran who heard Mr. DeSantis speak, said he understood that Gazans needed food, water and medical supplies.

Persons: Haley, birdseed, DeSantis, Haley —, Trump, —, Ms, Haley’s, “ She’s, ”, ” Ms, DeSantis’s, Rick McConnell, McConnell, Mr, “, Corrine Rothchild, Jerusalem, Tommy Tuberville, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Organizations: DeSantis’s, ”, Fox News, NBC, resettling Syrians, Air Force, Foreign, Trump’s United Nations Locations: Florida, Gaza, America, United States, South Carolina, Paris, East, Iran, Israel, China, Alabama, Ukraine, U.S

Since then, Omar Abou Nabout has sought accountability over his father’s killing while forging a new life in France. Legal cases have been filed against the Syrian regime before. The Syrian regime used them extensively, and indiscriminately, in densely populated areas at the height of the civil war, which was considered a form of prohibited indiscriminate attack under international humanitarian law. It may deny targeting civilians, but Abou Nabout says the new indictments are a victory for him and others fighting impunity. I was part of it … I watched people die including friends,” Abou Nabout said.

Persons: Paris CNN — Omar Abou Nabout, Bashar al, Assad, Salah Abou Nabout, Omar Abou Nabout, Abou Nabout’s, ”, Mohamad Abazeed, Abou Nabout, Salah, Muhammed Yusuf, ” Abou Nabout, “, Mazen Darwish, Mark Esplin, CNN Abou Nabout, Darwish, Anwar Raslan, –, SANA, Fahed, ” Darwish, there’s Ali Abdullah Ayoub –, Ahmad Balloul, Ali al, Safatli, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he’s, ” Assad, … Organizations: Paris CNN, CNN, Getty, Anadolu Agency, Syrian Network for Human, Sorbonne University, French Foreign Ministry, Syrian Center for Media, Syrian Defense, Syrian, Air Force, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Arab League Summit, Saudi Royal Court, Reuters, International Criminal Court, ICC, UN Security Council Locations: Paris, France, Daraa, Syrian, AFP, Syria, Russian, Tareek, France –, Europe, Germany, Fraij, Damascus, ”, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Bandar Algaloud, Netherlands, Russia

☆ Opinion: The 9/11 attack wasn’t an intelligence failure. The Hamas attack may be
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Hamas’s attacks are also being ascribed to an intelligence failure, just as 9/11 was. But this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the 9/11 attacks, which were not so much an intelligence failure as a policy failure. Intelligence distributed to officials in the George W. Bush administration included warnings entitled, “Bin Ladin Planning High Profile Attacks,” “Bin Ladin Attacks May Be Imminent,” and “Planning for Bin Ladin Attacks Continues, Despite Delay.” (“Bin Ladin” was the spelling used by the US government at the time.) Certainly, the Hamas attacks in Israel were a surprise, just as 9/11 was, but it is premature to label it an intelligence failure. Right now, we have no idea if there were signals amid the “noise” coming into Israeli intelligence about a likely Hamas attack.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Osama bin Laden, George W, Bush, “, Shin Bet, can’t, Benjamin Netanyahu, Roberta Wohlstetter, Bruce Riedel, couldn’t, Netanyahu, Richard Hecht, wasn’t Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, CIA, Intelligence, Twitter, Facebook, Israeli Defense Forces Locations: New America, Israel, Texas, United States, Egypt, Syria, Gaza, Pearl Harbor

☆ The US will likely 'go to war' in Israel with air and naval power if Syria or Iran become actively involved, retired 4-star general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US will probably go to war in Israel if other countries get involved, a retired general said. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe US is likely to directly intervene with air and naval strikes if Israel's existence is threatened, Ret. "I would suggest to you our support of Israel will be absolute, and if we see Syrian military intervention, active Iranian military intervention, we'll go to war," McCaffrey added. However, it's unlikely that the US would send troops into Israel, given the Israel Defense Forces' own ground capabilities, McCaffrey added. They want to make sure that the Syrian military and Hezbollah don't enter this fray," he said.

Persons: Ret, Barry McCaffrey, —, Alex Witt, McCaffrey, we'll, Biden, Antony Blinken, Israel Organizations: Service, US Army, West Bank, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Palestinian Health Ministry, Reuters, US, US Southern Command, MSNBC, Syrian, US State Department and Defense Department, Street, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saturday Locations: Israel, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, West, Gaza, America

☆ Syria’s drug problem casts shadow over Assad’s rehabilitation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Jordan was one of the biggest proponents of its rehabilitation, being one of the main victims of Syria’s drug trade, but it feels now that the regime is either unwilling or unable to clamp down on the trade. He blamed the lack of progress on normalization with Arab nations on the incompetence of Arab politics. Gulf states and Jordan routinely report drug busts, with massive amounts of the drug found in everything from building panels to baklava shipments. Assad may not have found a powerful enough incentive to give up his lucrative drug trade. Arab states may now find themselves backed into a corner.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Ayman al, Assad’s, Jordan, “ Jordan, “ Bashar, al, Jordan …, disgruntlement, Hossam Zaki, “, ” Zaki, Emile Hokayem, it’s, ” Hokayem, isn’t, ”, he’d, ” Hellyer, Safadi Organizations: CNN, Jordanian, Arab League, Al, Awsat, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Sky News, Hellyer, Carnegie Endowment, International, United Arab Locations: Syrian, Syria, Jordan, Captagon, Saudi, Damascus, London, United Arab Emirates

☆ Syrians feel growing pressure from Turkey's anti-migrant political wave
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Burcu Karakas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Adem Maarastawi, a 29-year-old Syrian activist, poses after an interview with Reuters in Istanbul, Turkey September 12, 2023. Hardship caused by Turkey's rampant inflation and anti-migrant rhetoric motivated his decision. DEADLINE TO MOVEAdem Maarastawi, a 29 year-old Syrian activist working in Istanbul, is registered in central Turkey's Kirsehir province. "Anti-migrant rhetoric is likely to rise before the March elections," said Deniz Sert, associate professor of international relations at Ozyegin University. Local government expert Ali Mert Tascier said opposition parties are likely to use anti-migrant rhetoric, with municipalities being the main players in managing migrants.

Persons: Adem Maarastawi, Dilara, scapegoated, Deniz Sert, Ali Mert Tascier, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Osman Nuri Kabaktepe, Maarastawi, Burcu Karakas, Daren Butler, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Authorities, Ozyegin University . Local, Erdogan's AK Party, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Istanbul ISTANBUL, Syria, Europe, Turkish, Belgium, Sanliurfa, Turkey's Kirsehir

☆ Slovakia Struggles With Surge in Illegal Migrants as Election Looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

"They don't want to live or work here, they are in transit, they rush through as they can," said Jozsef Barta, 70. Although he knew of no criminal incidents involving the migrants, he added: "People are scared to walk in the street." The number of illegal migrants detained in Slovakia has increased ninefold from a year ago to more than 27,000 so far this year, the country's interior ministry said. Hungarian police data also showed a jump in illegal migrant crossings on Hungary's southern border with Serbia in the past weeks, from where they head for Slovakia or Austria. Slovak police patrols are helping their Hungarian colleagues to catch the smugglers but that has proven little deterrent.

Persons: Jozsef Barta, Renata Gregusova, Robert Fico, Fico, Marian Cehelnik, Viktor Orban, Krisztina, Jason Hovet, Jan Lopatka, Gareth Jones Organizations: European Union, Europe's, Police, Reuters, EU Locations: CHLABA, Slovakia, IPOLYDAMASD, Hungary, Chlaba, Germany, Hungarian, Slovak, Europe, Czech Republic, East, Afghanistan, Serbia, Austria, EU, Prague

☆ With Straws, Gourds and Tea in Tow, Syrians Spread Their Love of Mate
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | More About Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since Walaa Ali first fled her home in central Syria nearly 10 years ago, she has moved around the country four times, seeking safety for her family. Each time she settled in a new place, she spread the word about mate. Every morning, Ms. Ali, 27, carefully sets out a gold-mirrored tray with a matching teakettle, a sugar bowl that she fills with ground ginger, her tea glass and a metal straw for her morning mate (pronounced MAH-teh) — the strong, bitter tea native to South America. “I’ve been displaced from one place to another, and in every place, I got to know neighbors and I would introduce them to mate,” she said recently as she sipped from her cup, filled with hot water and a generous helping of mate leaves, which floated on top. Syrians have increasingly taken to the social and communal ritual surrounding its consumption, not unlike a hookah shared among friends or family.

Persons: Walaa Ali, Ali, “ I’ve, ” Locations: Syria, South America, Argentina, Brazil

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The United Nations special envoy for Syria Sunday urged donors not to reduce their funding as the war-torn country's economic crisis spirals. Political Cartoons View All 1148 ImagesWith international donor support dwindling, U.N. agencies have been cutting programs due to budget cuts for years. “We cannot accept that funding for Syria is going down while the humanitarian needs are increasing,” Pedersen said. “For Syria without addressing the political consequences of this crisis, the deep economic crisis and humanitarian suffering will also continue,” Pedersen said. Meanwhile, Russia and Iran have tried to push Syria and Turkey to rekindle ties, the latter backing opposition groups in northwestern Syria.

Persons: Bashar Assad’s, Assad, Geir Pedersen, Faisal Mekdad, ” Pedersen, —, Pedersen, — Chehayeb Organizations: United Nations, Syria Sunday, Syrian Foreign, Arab League Locations: DAMASCUS, Syria, Sweida, Daraa, Russia, Iran, Damascus, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Beirut, Lebanon

☆ Syrians Tear Down Poster of Assad in Sweida as Protests Swell
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Demonstrators in the southern Syrian city of Sweida tore down a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday as anti-government protests that began three weeks ago swelled with crowds coming in from surrounding villages. Sweida is capital of a province of the same name that is home to most of Syria's minority Druze sect. The city remained in government hands throughout the civil war and was largely spared the violence seen elsewhere. In Sweida city, hundreds gathered in Karama Square on Friday as the protests, carrying the multi-coloured Druze flag. Residents of other government-held parts of Syria - where restrictions are tighter - have made more discrete gestures of protest to avoid detection by government forces.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Hey Bashar, Bashar's, Hafez al, Maya Gebeily, Frances Kerry Organizations: Farmers ' Union Locations: BEIRUT, Syrian, Sweida, Syria

Stills pulled from the Aleppo security camera footage were shared with CNN exclusively by the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA). Another still image pulled from the Aleppo security camera footage, provided to CNN by CIJA, shows men in a stairwell. Photo of Arkel, in the Netherlands, where Ayham al S. was arrested on January 17, 2023. So people are not always so willing to talk to the judicial authorities.”By all accounts, Ayham al S. led a quiet life in Arkel. ‘Not a safe haven for war criminals’The legal principle that allows the Dutch government to pursue Ayham al S. is known as universal jurisdiction.

Persons: ”, Chris Engels, “ We’re, ” CIJA, Stills, Didier Francois, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, “, ” Francois, Francois, Engels, CIJA, –, “ It’s, ” Engels, ” Mirjam Blom, Mick Krever, Ayham, Nicole van den, ” Blom, Ayham al, Blom Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Commission, International Justice, Islamic, CIJA, Global Coalition, European Union, Netherlands Public Prosecution Service, Syrian Center for Media, ICC, Criminal, Counterterrorism, Security Locations: Syrian, Aleppo, Aleppo’s Qadi, Europe, French, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Arkel, Damascus, Qaeda, Rotterdam, Netherlands

☆ Cyprus police make more arrests as racism-fuelled violence spreads
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NICOSIA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Police in Cyprus have made 20 arrests after a spate of racism-fuelled violence against migrants which erupted in the west of the island last week and spread to its southern city of Limassol in a weekend rampage. Last week Syrians living in Chlorakas, a village in western Cyprus, were targeted by hooded attackers in sporadic incidents over two days, leading to 22 arrests. Overnight Saturday to Sunday, three people from southeast Asia were attacked and robbed, state media said. Among the victims of the weekend's violence were a group of visitors from Kuwait, according to social media accounts of witnesses. "This isn't the Cyprus I was born, raised, had a family and am getting old in," he said.

Persons: Kyriakos Kouros, Michele Kambas, Ros Russell Organizations: Police, Migrants, Reuters, Turkish, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thomson Locations: NICOSIA, Cyprus, Limassol, Chlorakas, Asia, East, Africa, Turkish, Kuwait

☆ Syrians rally in south against Assad, economic decline
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

shouted a large crowd in the southern Druze city of Sweida. Home province of most of Syria's Druze community, Sweida remained in government hands throughout the war and was largely spared the violence seen elsewhere. Open criticism of the government remained rare in the areas it controls but as the economic situation grew worse, the discontent has gone public. Some Druze sheikhs have criticized protesters' calls for Assad to step down and say that any improvement to the socioeconomic situation must come through dialogue. They carried the three-star flag emblematic of Syria's uprising, as well as signs criticising the role of Iran, a key Assad ally.

Persons: Bashar al, Assad, Bashar, Sweida, Maya Gebeily, Nick Macfie Organizations: Sky News Arabia, REUTERS, Rights, Ba'ath, Thomson Locations: Damascus, Syria, Syrian, Rights BEIRUT, Sweida, Home, Daraa, Iran, Tartus

☆ ‘It brought back memories of Syria.’ For refugees in Sudan, war is a reminder of the terror they left behind
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Sana Noor Haq Nadeen Ebrahim Celine Alkhaldi | Sana Noor Haq | Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

It brought back memories of Syria,” Abad reflected. After settling in Khartoum, Shadi fled to Port Sudan in April when the conflict started – almost exactly six years after he first stepped foot in Sudan in search of stability. We have not received any confirmed report of casualties among Syrian refugees due to the conflict,” the spokesperson said in a statement. The agency has received reports of many Syrian refugees who self-relocated to safe areas, including over 2,000 in Port Sudan, the spokesperson added. But when I sit still, I start getting thoughts about (the war) in Khartoum and Syria,” Shadi, who works as a barista in Port Sudan, said.

Persons: CNN — Abad, ”, Abad, Bashar al, Assad, ” Abad, ‘, George Ourfalian, “, Uzair, ’, Stringer, they’re, Shadi, SANA, it’s, ” Shadi Organizations: CNN, UNHCR, Sudanese, Eritrean, Rapid Support Forces, Getty, “, ”, United, United Arab Emirates, Crescent, International Committee, UN, Port Sudan, Saudi Locations: Aleppo, Syria, Sudan, Sukkari, AFP, UNHCR, Khartoum, Port Sudan, Damascus, United Arab, UAE, Russia, Homs, Port, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt

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