Mes: agosto 2019

(AP) BEIRUT – The Syrian president said in remarks published Friday that he is adamant his regime will not fall and he also lashed out at Gulf countries, which he accused of using their enormous oil wealth to try to drive him from power. Bashar Assad’s comments came as an opposition group, the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, accused the regime of being behind the disappearance of two of its leaders. Abdul-Aziz al-Kheir and Ayas Ayyash were expected to take part in a conference Sunday in Damascus by some 20 Syrian groups that are calling for Assad to step down. But they disappeared Thursday along with a friend who had picked them up at Damascus International Airport, the group said. The group’s head, Hassan Abdul-Azim, told The Associated Press by telephone that the regime was believed to be behind the disappearance. More in After the Arab Spring Syria’s crisis began in March last year with anti-government demonstrations demanding reforms. The protests were met with a brutal crackdown by the regime. Syria later became embroiled in a civil war between forces fighting for Assad and those trying to topple him. The violence has killed more than 23,000 people so far, according to activists. In the interview with the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, Assad said the rebels “will not succeed” and that a foreign military intervention such as...

(AP) MOSCOW – Vera Lesovets held up photographs of her dog, Yasha, a spunky 5-year-old corgi, nipping playfully at the heels of a German shepherd twice her size. But Yasha’s life was cut short this week: After snacking on something in a Moscow park, she fell into a seizure at Lesovets’ apartment and began foaming at the mouth. The family rushed her to a nearby animal clinic, where the veterinarian said this was the sixth case he had seen that week, and there was nothing he could do. On Friday police opened a criminal investigation into what they suspect are poisonings by dog killers. Cruelty to animals is common in Russia and animal protection laws are rarely enforced, but reports of as many as 70 dead dogs this week have spurred the police to take action. While some residents suspected that a vigilante matriarch, wary of her children being bitten, might be the cause of the attacks, Lesovets was quick to suspect a more malicious culprit: dog hunters, a kind of deadly hobby gaining ground in the Russian online community. Dog hunting forums — the most well-known of which are Vreditelyam.net and Pest.net — are populated by those who call themselves “volunteers” and provide graphic photos of their trophy killings. The sites require extensive registration and identification processes for participants. “It’s a whole community. They have websites,” said Lesovets,...

(AP) MOSCOW – Vera Lesovets held up photographs of her dog, Yasha, a spunky 5-year-old corgi, nipping playfully at the heels of a German shepherd twice her size. But Yasha’s life was cut short this week: After snacking on something in a Moscow park, she fell into a seizure at Lesovets’ apartment and began foaming at the mouth. The family rushed her to a nearby animal clinic, where the veterinarian said this was the sixth case he had seen that week, and there was nothing he could do. On Friday police opened a criminal investigation into what they suspect are poisonings by dog killers. Cruelty to animals is common in Russia and animal protection laws are rarely enforced, but reports of as many as 70 dead dogs this week have spurred the police to take action. While some residents suspected that a vigilante matriarch, wary of her children being bitten, might be the cause of the attacks, Lesovets was quick to suspect a more malicious culprit: dog hunters, a kind of deadly hobby gaining ground in the Russian online community. Dog hunting forums — the most well-known of which are Vreditelyam.net and Pest.net — are populated by those who call themselves “volunteers” and provide graphic photos of their trophy killings. The sites require extensive registration and identification processes for participants. “It’s a whole community. They have websites,” said Lesovets,...