Why Russia's Vladimir Putin Is Standing by Syria's President Assad
SEP 26 2015, 4:55 AM ET
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MOSCOW — When Russia's Vladimir Putin addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, all ears will be attuned to one issue: Syria. From this high-profile pulpit, Putin will have the chance to defend the Kremlin's staunch support for Syria's President Bashar Assad, who has not only been fighting a four-year civil war but been battling Western attempts to topple him.
Russia's determination to stick by Assad may seem baffling to some, but experts say Putin has deep-rooted — and personal — reasons for backing the dictator. NBC News reached out to Russia's leading foreign policy experts to help explain Moscow's commitment to Assad, and why the Kremlin is not letting Syria go.
Fear of Islamism
ISIS, which has conquered swathes of Syria as well as neighboring Iraq, is not a direct threat to Russia — yet. Russia's security service FSB estimates that about 2,400 Russians fight for the terror group, most of them veterans of Russia's own Islamist insurgency in Chechnya.
Sepp Blatter: And now the stench of Fifa clings to Platini, too
Platini is favourite to succeed Blatter yet has nothing to say about the alleged cesspit of backhanders, bungs and offshore accounts
Taxi for Platini, you have to say. We have known ever since the day in June when Sepp Blatter – recalcitrant and unapologetic to the bitter end – told us he would be stepping down as Fifa president that the FBI or the Swiss Attorney General would soon have their hands on his collar. It was simply a matter of which. But it looks like Platini is going all the way down with him.
What sullied the stinking reputation of football administration most was not the Swiss stating their suspicion that Blatter has criminally misappropriated funds but that Platini, his long-time minion and one-time “football adviser” was suspected of being a recipient of more than £1.5m of them.
The cash was in return for services rendered between 1999 and 2002, yet it wasn’t paid until 2011, say the Swiss. Nine years is a very long time to wait for a million. There were some very big questions floating around last night and there was the most deafening silence from Platini and his entourage.
Syria rebels agree truce with Hezbollah in key areas
The Shiite Hezbollah movement, allied to the Syrian regime, has confirmed a six-month truce deal with Sunni rebels in three Syrian towns. The deal entails the transfer of thousands of civilians across the frontlines.
Iran played a key role as a mediator during the UN-backed talks, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday.
Under the conditions of the deal, rebels besieged by government forces in the town of Zabadani would be given safe passage to other rebel-controlled areas.
In return, rebel leaders would allow "the evacuation of 10,000 civilians from the villages of Fuaa and Kafraya to zones controlled by the regime," Nasrallah told Hezbollah's Al-Manar television.
Sunni rebels attacked the two villages after government forces laid siege to Zabadani in July.
"There will be no more fighters in Zabadani," Nasrallah said on Friday.
Low on ammo
Militant cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini, who is linked to the rebel Nusra Front , said Sunni militants would leave Zabadani with their weapons.
Mexico seeks new DNA tests in missing students case
Latest update : 2015-09-26
Mexican authorities are sifting through nearly 60,000 bone fragments to see if any can be tested for a DNA match with 43 students who vanished last year, officials said Friday.
Independent forensic experts from Argentina are helping government investigators to find any remains that could be sent to Austria's Innsbruck University for lab tests, said Eber Omar Betanzos, a human rights prosecutor.
The attorney general's office sent 17 charred remains to the university last year, but only one student was positively identified while only a partial match was found of a second one.
Officials said in November that the 17 remains were the only ones linked to the case that could potentially be tested for DNA.
But the government has ordered new forensic tests on all the bones amid new doubts over the official investigation's conclusions.
Pakistani's marijuana-growers brace for the brutal reality of conflict
Tim Craig
For decades, Taj Muhammad Afridi has been growing some of Pakistan's finest marijuana. By now, at his family homestead in the Tirah Valley in Pakistan's tribal belt, hundreds of marijuana plants should be full-grown, some as tall as a one-storey house. Usually, at this time of year, he would be ready to produce a sought-after range of hashish. But Afridi's crops - and those of others nearby that produce eye-popping amounts of marijuana - have been abandoned, and are in danger of becoming another casualty of Pakistan's decade-long war against terrorism and Islamist militancy.
After Mr Afridi planted his marijuana seeds in February, the military began a series of military operations on Taliban fighters who had found refuge in the Tirah Valley. The operation displaced Mr Afridi and a quarter-million other residents, many of whom are still waiting to go home. "We know that our crops are still there," said Mr Afridi, 65, noting the region's moist climate allows marijuana to grow with little maintenance. "But I don't know what the future will be. Will the military allow this?" Many say security forces are targeting Pakistan's lucrative hash industry to try to establish more government control over the historically lawless border region.
Switzerland bans sale of Volkswagen Group models
Ban also includes Seat, Skoda and others VW Group brands which may have devices designed to tricking emission tests.
26 Sep 2015 06:35 GMT
Switzerland has banned sales of Volkswagen Group car models which may have been outfitted with devices designed to tricking emission tests.
The ban - announced on Friday - is on all cars with diesel engines in the Euro 5 emissions category, including VW, Seat, Skoda and other brands in the VW group.
Thomas Rohrbach, spokesman for the Swiss federal office of roadways, said the move could potentially affect 180,000 vehicles that have 1.2-litre, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesel engines.
But the ban does not include the cars that are already in circulation.
Matthias Mueller, who was appointed as CEO of the embattled German car maker on Friday to deal with the emissions scandal, pledged to do everything to win back the trust of the public.
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