Female Japanese reporter shot dead in Syria

In a telephone interview with a Japanese TV news program, fellow Japan Press reporter Kazutaka Sato, who was travelling with Yamamoto, said it appeared government forces shot her.

The dead woman's father, retired journalist Koji Yamamoto, said reports of her death were "too much to bear."

"I can't believe it until I see her with my own eyes," the 77-year-old told Jiji Press by telephone.

An exhaustive and helpful aggregation of all things dealing with the Kurds and their role in Syrian strategy.

An interesting argument is brewing over on The Spectator blog, between Nick Cohen and the always readable Matthew Teller.

It started off as a rant against travel guidebooks, Lonely Planet in particular. But it has ended up in a fight over who knew what, and when, about Assad.

Earlier today, AFP reported on a statement made by Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil while on a visit to Moscow. The news item was headlined: "Top Syria minister dismisses Obama threat". The piece contained the following:

Jamil also brushed aside US along with European and Arab calls for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down as a precondition for any future peace negotiations.