Assad vows response to Israeli attack |
Syria's president tells Lebanese TV station he has received shipment of arms from Russia and will defend his country.
Last Modified: 30 May 2013 09:00
|
Syrian President Bashar al Assad has said his country will respond to any Israeli attack on its soil.
In an interview to be aired on Thursday by Al-Manar TV station, owned by the Shia Hezbollah group in neighbouring Lebanon, Assad also said he had already received the first shipment of an advanced Russian air defence system and would soon get the rest of the S-300 missile system.
In an interview to be aired on Thursday by Al-Manar TV station, owned by the Shia Hezbollah group in neighbouring Lebanon, Assad also said he had already received the first shipment of an advanced Russian air defence system and would soon get the rest of the S-300 missile system.
The comments were first published on Thursday by the Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar which got excerpts of the interview.
"Syria has received the first shipment of Russian anti-aircraft S-300 rockets," al-Akhbar quoted Assad as saying. "The rest of the shipment will arrive soon."
Israel has suggested its military might strike the Russian S300 missiles.
"Syria has received the first shipment of Russian anti-aircraft S-300 rockets," al-Akhbar quoted Assad as saying. "The rest of the shipment will arrive soon."
Israel has suggested its military might strike the Russian S300 missiles.
North Korea sanctions hit foreign aid groups
Humanitarian organisations struggle to get money into country as ties are cut with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank
International sanctions aimed at thwarting North Korea's nuclear weapons programme are having unintended consequences: halting money transfers by foreign humanitarian groups and forcing some agencies to carry suitcases of cash in from outside the country.
At the same time, some restrictions intended to sting the country's elite by crippling the import of luxury goods do not appear to be working.
Much of the aid group difficulties are linked to the state-run Bank of China's decision earlier this month to follow Washington's lead and sever ties with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank, the main money transfer route for most foreign organisations, UN agencies and embassies in Pyongyang. With that line cut, aid workers in North Korea say they are left with few other options to receive foreign currency for expenses, including rent, bills and salaries for local staff.
Netherlands divided over Dutch Islamists fighting in Syria
While 75% of Muslims in a poll believed those who travelled to fight were ‘heroes’, 70% of ‘native’ Dutch disagreed
Peter Cluskey
A survey of attitudes in the Netherlands towards Dutch Islamists who travel to Syriato fight the Assad regime shows that 75 per cent of Muslims regard them as heroes – while almost half the non-Muslim population believe they should be stripped of their citizenship.
The survey shows that while there is broad agreement in both communities – 87 per cent of Muslims and 66 per cent of non-Muslims – that Bashar al-Assad should be removed as Syrian president, on virtually every other question there is significant divergence.
For instance, on the question of arming rebel fighters, 49 per cent of Muslims were in favour, while just 6 per cent of the majority population supported the decision.
SYRIA
Middle East countries fighting proxy war in Syria
By sending help to Syria's warring factions, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are struggling to gain influence in the Middle East. The conflict between Sunnis and Shiites has become a proxy war over strategic regional goals.
At the moment, several conflicts are being fought simultaneously in Syria. The civil war began more than two years ago as a power struggle between the government and opposition forces. But it didn't take long for other states to get into the mix, turning the internal fight into a regional and international struggle for influence.
Zimbabwe electioneering drawing supporters into a 'food trap'
With Zimbabwe’s constitutional referendum pending on March 16, 2013, both the ruling party, Zanu-PF and opposition party, the MDC are intensifying campaigning before the upcoming elections in July.
One of the most powerful methods of currying favour with potential voters in a country wreaked with severe drought and hunger is the issuing of farming supplies and food.
In the footage below, various meetings are recorded in which both Zanu-PF and the MDC use the promise of farming supplies to loyal and often desperate supporters in a bid to secure votes in the scheduled elections in July.
In a country that was once hailed as the 'bread basket' of Africa, many believe the political influence of the ruling and opposition parties has ironically created the humanitarian food crisis they claim to be able to solve through the sparse distribution of farming supplies, particularly maize seeds.
Mexicans both poorer and happier than wealthy nation peers
The OECD's new 'Better Life' index ranks Mexico low in terms of wages and education, but the Latin American nation ranks as one of the highest in terms of life satisfaction.
Low wages, gaping income inequality, poor education, long workdays, shorter life expectancy. By the sound of the statistics, Mexicans’ satisfaction with their lot ought to be low.
But despite weak performance across rankings in the 2013 "Better Life" index released this week by the 34-nation Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mexicans come out strong in terms of satisfaction. They’re more satisfied with their lives than the average in the OECD – a collection of mostly wealthy nations – and fall just behind a handful of countries like Switzerland, Sweden, and Denmark: 85 percent of Mexicans say they have more positive experiences than negative ones in a given day.
No comments:
Post a Comment