Main headlines
June 18, 2013
Two rockets fired from Syria hit the Baalbek valley, a Hezbollah stronghold, as a Lebanese minister accused the Syrian regime of inflicting ethnic cleansing on its citizens.
Following the appointment of a former high ranking Muslim Brotherhood official as a governor, clashes erupted outside the HQ of the Gharbiya governorate, injuring 15 people.
An investigative report has discovered that a network of Libyan officials are allowing weapons to be shipped to the Syrian rebels by private arms dealers.
Two convicted rapists and killers were executed on Tuesday, just months after the country carried out its first execution in six years
Hezbollah supporters clashed with pro-Assir group in southern Lebanon on Tuesday
World leaders are meeting in the UK in a bid to reach consensus on the Syrian conflict
Fifteen people were killed following midday prayers at a Shiite Muslim religious hall in Baghdad on Tuesday. The month of May has been the deadliest month in Iraq since 2008.
The Turkish police carried out arrests across the country on Tuesday
Afghanistan's armed forces will be taking over the responsibility of national security from the US/NATO coalition immediately, Afghani President Hamid Karzai announced Tuesday,
A man stood still in Istanbul's Taksim Square: silent, staring straight ahead, he had not moved for hours. His peaceful action, on the square that police cleared of protesters on Saturday and where the Turkish authorities have banned gatherings, was a new form of protest.
Obama said U.S. military action against Syria carries the risk of inadvertently hitting a chemical weapons site on Monday. He also expressed skepticism over whether setting a no-fly zone or waging a major military offensive against Damascus would save lives or change balance of power on the battlefield.
The situation in Lebanon’s northern Bekaa Valley is deeply troubling. A few days after the June 11 killing of a man from Ersal in Hermel, four local men were killed on Sunday near the border town of Qaa. Hezbollah is straining to deflect blame from the people of Ersal in order to prevent further strife in a region where Syrian militant groups maintain a heavy presence.
Israeli President Shimon Peres has dismissed fears that U.S. plans to arm Syrian rebels could expose the Jewish state’s national security to danger, adding that the world’s “unemployed terrorists” were heading to the region.
June 17, 2013
Days after Russia said it would not allow a no-fly zone to be enforced over Syria, the US NATO ambassador said that this issue is not on the agenda of the Western allies.
Syrian President Bashar Assad threatened European powers that the Syrian regime will retaliate if Western states provide arms to the Syrian opposition forces.
