Topic: Syria

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Energy Voices In global climate change fight, what can we learn from Kyoto?

Nations across the world continue to grapple with how to address climate change, and there have been some tough lessons learned since the Kyoto Protocol, first adopted in 1997. David Shorr, a program officer at the Stanley Foundation, talks about the future of climate treaties in an interview with OilPrice.com.
As Syrian refugee flood escalates, UN asks record $5.1 billion in aid

Help is needed as Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey may host up to 3.5 million refugees by year's end, say UN officials.
Terrorism & Security France looking at ways to 'safely' arm Syria's rebels

The French government is considering how it can provide advanced weaponry to Syria's rebels, but with safeguards that could limit the weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
Difference Maker Pianist spreads goodwill for America through the power of music

John Ferguson founded American Voices, a nonprofit whose mission is to help aspiring young artists around the world pursue their interest in American jazz, Broadway, break dancing, and classical music.
Backchannels Iraq risks 'return' to war? Maybe the wrong question.

Iraq is less violent than it was and the press frequently wonders if the country could descend into war again. What if the war never ended?
Terrorism & Security Syrian fighting spills into Golan Heights – and Israel's doorstep

The Syrian Army and rebels battled for control of Syria's crossing into the Golan Heights. The fighting lasted for seven hours and sent UN peacekeepers scrambling.
Opinion Why US must give military aid to Syria's rebels

The war in Syria is at a turning point. Backed by Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah militants, Bashar al-Assad has the upper hand. Ending the war requires backing him into a corner from which peace talks provide his only safe escape. US military aid for the rebels can help do that.
Opinion Flexibility in US food aid to Syria should be the rule – not the exception

In Syria, the US has been able to deliver food aid using a flexible approach to needs on the ground. Yet such flexibility is the exception in US aid. President Obama's proposed reforms would allow for more efficient practices, such as using local food supplies.
Massachusetts Senate debate: Both sides score points, but no knockout (+video)

In the Massachusetts Senate debate Wednesday, Republican Gabriel Gomez showed command, but Democratic Rep. Edward Markey stayed firm and revealed few cracks.
Syrian rebels feel the blow of regime's Qusair capture

The Syrian regime could not have taken control of Qusair without help from Iranian-back Hezbollah, said a White House spokesman on Wednesday. Following the fighting, the U.S. urged Syria to allow international groups to evacuate the wounded.
Rice selected for new high-profile role in Obama administration

Susan Rice will become President Barack Obama's national security adviser, he announced on Wednesday. He will nominate Samantha Power to take Rice's spot as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. These leadership changes take place as the country faces a variety of foreign policy challenges.
Hezbollah marks major triumph as Qusayr tips back into Assad camp

Rebels abandoned the strategic city of Qusayr on Wednesday in a significant victory for Syria's Assad regime and a psychological blow to opposition forces.
Opinion Five guidelines for US role in Syria

The civil war in Syria has reached a stalemate. While strategic military steps like arming the opposition or establishing a no-fly zone present complications, the US can do other things to bring aid, support the opposition, undermine the Assad regime, and counter a rising Islamist influence. Here are five guidelines for the US in addressing the conflict in Syria:
Terrorism & Security Britain joins France in saying nerve gas used in Syria

The British Foreign Office found the presence of sarin gas in several samples from Syria a day after the French government said there was 'no doubt' the chemical weapon was used by Assad's forces.
Sarin confirmed? France, Britain confirm use of chemical weapons in Syria

France said today it has confirmed that the nerve gas sarin was used by the Syrian regime. Britain later said it had found evidence of sarin as well.
Global News Blog Good Reads: From Google’s secret lab, to Japan’s economy, to the end of alimony

This week's round-up of Good Reads includes Google's lab, a reporter's tale of kidnapping, Japan's plan for revitalization, an undercover meat inspector, and a challenge to alimony.
Global News Blog Putin: Russian hasn't sent S-300 missiles to Syria, won't to preserve 'stability'

President Putin's statement to EU leaders seems to put an end to often contradictory Russian and Syrian stories about whether the Assad regime would get the weapons.
Terrorism & Security UN finds evidence of 'toxic chemicals' and a worsening war in Syria

A new UN report says some kind of chemical has probably been used on Syria's battlefield, but stopped short of saying what chemical or by whom.
Backchannels An Egyptian preacher and a US senator compete over Syria's future

Both Yusuf al-Qaradawi and John McCain want Bashar al-Assad to fall. But in their competing visions you'll find reasons for the White House's reticence over deeper military involvement.
Michigan mother led secret life in Syria (+video)

Michigan mother, Nicole Lynn Mansfield, was fighting pro-government forces in Syria, when she died. Relatives say she became a Muslim, but they knew little about the Michigan mother's trips to the Middle East.
Syrian opposition says no to peace talks in Geneva

The US and others had been hoping a united Syrian political opposition would attend peace talks in Geneva in June. But the opposition says they won't participate, and the Syrian civil war still rages.
Opinion Syria's future tied to freedom for captured Christian leaders

Turkey and the US State Department must make the release of two captured Christian archbishops in Syria a top priority. At stake are not just their lives, or even the fate of Syrian Christians, but the fate of any hope of tolerance and pluralism in a post-Assad Syria – and the region as a whole.
Backchannels Obama rhetorically ends the 'war on terror'

... while vowing it will go on by other means.
Terrorism & Security Syrian Army fires across border into Israel to retaliate for airstrikes

Today's incident marks the first time that Syria has admitted breaching the border with Israel since the civil war began.
Backchannels Are tit-for-tat sectarian killings enough to tilt Iraq back to war?

Bouts of sectarian fighting have worried observers many times over the past few years, but so far the worst has not come to pass.