Mes: agosto 2019

(CBS News) WASHINGTON – Amid warnings that the Syrian military appears to be “lining up” for a “massacre” in Aleppo – the war-torn nation’s most populous city – the U.S. government says President Bashar Assad’s isolated regime is literally running out of cash to keep up the fight. Officials at the U.S. Treasury and State Departments tell CBS News that Syria is having problems finding a source to print its currency. That could make it harder for the regime to continue functioning as Assad’s government burns through the state’s central bank reserves. Assad is estimated to have spent about half of Syria’s sovereign wealth fund – essentially the nation’s piggybank. It was estimated to be worth $5 billion just two years ago. European Union sanctions – coordinated with the U.S. – have made it difficult for Syria to find new trading and banking partners. This is one of the financial tools that the U.S. is wielding. For Syrians who escaped, agony of absence and prayers for justiceSyria rebels defiant ahead of Aleppo battle Unilateral economic sanctions against Syria and 26 key members of the Assad regime were tightened again last week by the United States. Still, sanctions are a blunt tool in a de facto financial war on Syria; the cost of living has skyrocketed not just for the Syrian regime, but also the Syrian civilians who support the...

Updated at 12:02 p.m. EDT (CBS/AP) Not even Mr. Bean could have stayed silent after a crash like this. “Mr. Bean” actor Rowan Atkinson, whose character is known for hapless driving in the television shows and films, left a hospital Friday after being treated for minor injuries following a sports car crash in southern England. The 56-year-old comedian was driving his McLaren F1 supercar — one of the world’s fastest road cars — when he crashed late Thursday, striking a tree and 사다리 토토 사이트 a lamppost before the vehicle caught fire, authorities said. Firefighters said Atkinson hadn’t been trapped inside the car. Britain’s Daily Mirror tabloid reported that the actor was able to walk away from the vehicle and flag down other motorists for help. Atkinson was seen leaving Peterborough City Hospital with four security guards Friday afternoon, but made no comment to reporters. Publicists did not disclose details of his injuries. The accident occurred close to Haddon, a village about 85 miles north of London. Atkinson was given a routine breathalyzer test at the scene and will face no criminal charges, police said. His McLaren F1 car has a top speed of 230 mph, though police did not suggest Atkinson had been speeding. The exclusive cars can cost around $1 million. The actor, a car enthusiast, appears in a series of motoring mishaps in his “Mr. Bean”...

(AP) UNITED NATIONS – Former Algerian foreign affairs minister Lakhdar Brahimi is a strong candidate to replace Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria, diplomats said Thursday. Diplomats who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly said that Brahimi was a strong possibility, while other contenders are ex-Spanish foreign affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Spain’s Javier Solana, a former NATO chief and European Union foreign policy head. Annan, a former U.N. secretary-general, announced his resignation last week as joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, ending a frustrating six-month effort that failed to achieve even a temporary cease-fire. He leaves at the end of the month. Clashes rage in rebel bastions of Syria’s AleppoVideo: Amid defections, Syria names new PM Divisions within the Security Council prevented a united approach to stop the fighting in in Syria, Annan said when he announced his resignation. Russia and China have twice used their veto power to block strong Western- and Arab-backed action against President Bashar Assad’s regime. While he singled out the regime for blame for the escalating violence, Annan also said the opposition’s increasingly militant tactics contributed to dooming his six-point peace plan, which included a cease-fire and a Syrian-led political process to end the crisis. Annan did succeed in getting the Syrian government and its allies to at least agree to the plan. Brahimi, 78, served as Algeria’s...