Syria President Assad visits Iran for meetings in rare trip
Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Sunday, Iranian state-linked media reported, marking his second trip to major wartime ally Iran since Syria’s civil war erupted in 2011. Nour News, a website close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported that Assad met Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi earlier in the day.
news.yahoo.comBlinken set to see Israelis, Arabs wary about Iran, Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will try to use his three-nation tour of the Middle East and North Africa to reassure wary Israelis and Arabs that the Biden administration is committed to the region’s security at a time when Washington is confronting multiple foreign policy challenges.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompts Syria to cut spending
The government of economically-battered Syria decided Thursday to cut spending in an effort to reduce the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, concerned that oil and wheat prices could sharply increase, the state-owned news agency said. Syria’s economic minister, Mohammed Samer Khalil, said Crimea offered to export wheat to Syria. Syria, struggling after more than a decade of war, relies mostly on wheat imports from Russia and oil shipments from its other ally, Iran.
news.yahoo.comRussia sends warplanes to Syria for huge naval drills in Med
The Russian military has deployed long-range nuclear-capable bombers and fighter jets carrying state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to Syria for massive naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea amid the soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine.
Iran and Syria vow to confront U.S. sanctions
Iran and Syria vowed on Sunday to take “mighty steps” to confront U.S. sanctions imposed on the two regional allies, saying their relations will strengthen under Iran’s new leadership. The announcement was made by Iran’s new Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who was received at the airport a visit to Damascus by his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad. Iran has been one of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s strongest backers, sending thousands of fighters from around the region to help his troops in Syria’s 10-year conflict that has killed half a million and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.
news.yahoo.comSyrian president sworn in for 4th term in war-torn country
Syrian President Bashar Assad was sworn in Saturday for a fourth seven-year term in the war-torn country. The May elections were described by the West and Assad's opposition as illegitimate and a sham. The Syrian currency is in a free fall and basic services and resources have become scarce or are offered at exorbitant parallel market prices.
news.yahoo.comSyria's president decrees 50% salary hike amid harsh crisis
Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree Sunday giving hundreds of thousands of civil servants and military members a 50% salary increase amid a harsh economic and financial crisis and price increases for vital products. The Syrian economy has been hard hit by a decade of war, Western sanctions, widespread corruption and most recently a severe economic and financial crisis in neighboring Lebanon. The last salary increase was announced in November 2019.
news.yahoo.comSyria's last aid crossing in balance as Biden to meet Putin
President Joe Biden will seek to stave off another surge of civilian suffering in the devastating war in Syria when he meets President Vladimir Putin this week, appealing to Putin to drop a threat to close the last aid crossing into that country. Russian forces have helped Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime survive the more than 10-year conflict and Putin hopes to be a broker for Assad in any international reconstruction effort for that country. Russia holds the key veto on July 10 when the U.N. Security Council decides whether to extend authorization for the aid crossing from Turkey.
news.yahoo.comSyria's Assad wins a fourth term in a predictable landslide
Syrian President Bashar Assad was re-elected in a landslide, officials said Thursday, ushering in a fourth seven-year term in the war-torn country following an election described as illegitimate and a sham by the West and his opposition. At least 8 million, mostly displaced, live in those areas in northwest and northeast Syria. Syria’s parliament speaker, Hammoud Sabbagh, announced the final results from Wednesday’s vote.
news.yahoo.comLebanese attack Syrians heading to vote at their embassy
Groups of angry Lebanese pelted buses and cars carrying Syrians expatriates and refugees heading to the Syrian Embassy in Beirut with stones and sticks on Thursday, outraged over what they perceive as an organized vote for President Bashar Assad. Meanwhile, some Syrian refugees reported being pressured to cast their ballot with threats of physical violence or confiscation of documentation that could lead to loss of refugee status, the U.N. refugee agency said. Assad is running for a fourth seven-year term — facing symbolic competition from two other candidates — in a vote all but guarantees to bring him back as president.
news.yahoo.com'I am a real contender,' says Syria presidential candidate
One of two candidates running against longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad is casting himself as the first opposition representative to vie for the country’s top post. Mohamoud Marei said Tuesday that as a critic of the government who remained in Syria, he may have the keys to solving the ruinous 10-year conflict. Assad has held power since 2000, when he took over after the death of his father who ran the country for 30 years.
news.yahoo.comSyria's Assad grants amnesties before presidential election
Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree Sunday granting amnesty and reducing sentences for several categories of crime committed before May 2, state news agency SANA said. It also comes ahead of the May 26 presidential elections, which Assad will most likely win for a fourth, seven-year term in office. Since Syria’s conflict began in 2011, Assad has issued similar amnesties, the latest of which came in September 2019.
news.yahoo.comUN Syria envoy says there's interest in stepped up diplomacy
The U.N. special envoy for Syria said Wednesday that key global players are interested in stepped-up international diplomacy to “unlock progress” toward ending the country’s 10-year war. Geir Pederson called for exploratory discussions to “help test possibilities and bridge the gaps of mistrust.” Pedersen told the U.N. Security Council he spoke about the need for more constructive and comprehensive diplomacy to make progress toward resolving “this highly internationalized conflict” with senior officials from a number of countries.
news.yahoo.comInside U.S. troops’ stronghold in Syria, a question of how long Biden will keep them there
“We want them to know we are committed to this region.”How committed President Biden will be to keeping troops in Syria is uncertain, however. Russian and Syrian troops are just across the Euphrates River from Conoco, but both sides avoid straying into the other’s territory. When Islamic State emerged in 2014, seizing a third of Syria and Iraq for its so-called caliphate, Obama rushed troops back to Iraq and approved airstrikes in Syria. AdvertisementFormer President Trump pledged repeatedly to pull out after the near-total defeat of Islamic State in early 2019. A massive M777 howitzer artillery gun mostly sits idle, since there aren’t many Islamic State fighters to target, said Army Lt. Melissa Cardona.
latimes.comSyria President Bashar Assad and wife catch COVID-19 as country battles pandemic amid a civil war
Damascus — Syrian President Bashar Assad and his wife Asma both have tested positive for the coronavirus, but a presidential spokesman said Monday that the couple remained in good health. The spokesman said the president and his wife would continue working during their "home quarantine period" of two to three weeks. The government gave approval for the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to be used in the country near the end of February. In December, Syria signed up to receive vaccine doses through the World Health Organization-backed COVAX initiative, which aims to ensure fair distribution of vaccines to poorer countries. Sanctions were imposed on Syria to pressure the Assad regime over its human rights record and alleged use of chemical weapons.
cbsnews.comSyrian secret police official convicted in landmark government torture case
A former member of Syrian President Bashar Assad's secret police was convicted Wednesday by a German court of facilitating the torture of prisoners. Eyad Al-Gharib was convicted of accessory to crimes against humanity and sentenced by the Koblenz state court to 4 1/2 years in prison. German prosecutors invoked the principle of universal jurisdiction for serious crimes to bring the case, which involved victims and defendants who were in Germany. Thomas Lohnes / APThe court also considered photographs of thousands of alleged victims of torture by the Syrian government. But Wassim Mukdad, a Syrian survivor and co-plaintiff in Raslan's trial, said while al-Gharib was "just one small cog in the vast Syrian torture apparatus" the verdict against him was important.
cbsnews.comHolding Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime accountable for war crimes
Holding Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime accountable for war crimes Assad and his regime may never be prosecuted for the acts of terror he perpetrated against his own people during Syria's civil war. Scott Pelley reports on the effort to gather and maintain the evidence against Assad.
cbsnews.com2/21/2021: Attack on the Judiciary, Handcuffed to the Truth, QAnon
2/21/2021: Attack on the Judiciary, Handcuffed to the Truth, QAnon Judges say it's time for more security in the face of mounting violence; Then, Holding Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime accountable for war crimes; And, QAnon's corrosive impact on the U.S.
cbsnews.comFormer prosecutor: More evidence of war crimes against Syrian President Assad than there was against Nazis
Stephen Rapp, who served as U.S. ambassador for war crimes issues, says if he ever goes to trial against Syrian President Bashar Assad, it would be a slam dunk. The former war crimes prosecutor says a trove of evidence has been amassed against the Syrian president is even stronger than what the Allies used to convict Nazis at Nuremberg. The Nazi's were famous for documenting their atrocities, but he says even they didn't take photos of individual victims with identifying information. Among them are the individual victims of torture and the masses who have died in gas attacks on rebel-held territory. We have mutilation," says Rapp, who has prosecuted war crimes in Sierra Leone and Rwanda.
cbsnews.comFormer prosecutor: More evidence of war crimes against Syrian President Assad than there was against Nazis
Former prosecutor: More evidence of war crimes against Syrian President Assad than there was against Nazis Sunday, 60 Minutes reports on the efforts to hold Syrian President Bashar Assad accountable for the atrocities committed against his own people in Syria's civil war.
cbsnews.comU.S. diplomats push for strikes against Syria dictatorship
Five years into Syria's civil war, dictator Bashar Assad still remains in power. Now, 51 diplomats at the U.S. State Department have signed a classified memo. They want to see American airstrikes against the Syrian government. As Margaret Brennan reports, it is an extraordinary challenge to the administration's policy on Syria.
cbsnews.comJohn Kerry's controversial comments on negotiating with Syria's Bashar Assad
John Kerry's controversial comments on negotiating with Syria's Bashar Assad The State Department is backing away from comments Secretary of State John Kerry made about negotiating with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan joins CBSN has more on how the department is walking back the comments Kerry made in an interview with her.
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