Mes: septiembre 2019

(AP) BEIRUT – Syrian troops rushed dozens of tanks and reinforcements Wednesday toward Aleppo, the country’s strategically vital commercial capital, in a bid to crush a rebel advance that has spread to wide swaths of the sprawling city. As five days of fighting in Aleppo intensified, and with rumors swirling of a final showdown in that city, neighboring Turkey tightened its borders but said refugees will be allowed through. “We are expecting a big attack on Aleppo,” Mohammed Saeed, an activist based in Aleppo, told The Associated Press. “People are worried they might face random shelling while fleeing.” U.N. chief: “Slaughter” in Syria must stopIs al Qaeda fighting in Syria?Official: Israel will act if militants raid Syrian chemical or biological weapons stocks The rebels have made stunning advances over the past week, but the battle for control of Syria, a geographic and political linchpin at the heart of the Middle East, is far from over. And the potential for wider, regional unrest is great. Israel’s foreign minister warned that his country will act immediately if it discovers Islamic militants such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah are raiding Syria’s chemical or biological weapons stocks. “For us, that’s a casus belli, a red line,” Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio. Israeli officials have reported a run on gas masks. Demand has almost doubled in the past few days, to 4,200 requests on Tuesday from...

(AP) BEIRUT – Armed Shiite clansmen in Lebanon said Wednesday they had captured more than 20 Syrians and will hold them until one of their relatives seized by rebels inside Syria is freed. The tensions were a stark reminder of how easily Syria’s civil war could spill over to neighboring states. In Geneva, a U.N. investigation said Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and pro-government militiamen were responsible for war crimes during a May bloodbath in the village of Houla that killed more than 100 civilians, nearly half of them children. It also said rebels were blamed for war crimes in at least three other killings. The report by the U.N. Human Rights Council said the scale of the Houla carnage indicated “involvement at the highest levels” of Syria’s military and government. It is first time the U.N. has described events in Syria’s civil war as war crimes and could be used in possible future prosecution against Assad or others. The council also said the conflict is moving in increasingly “brutal” directions on both sides. Hotel used by U.N. observers rocked by explosion in Damascus, Syria’s capital cityPentagon: Iran training militiamen for AssadU.S. lifts sanctions on ex-Syria PM More in After the Arab Spring As the fighting deepens, so do the fears of it triggering unrest in fragile Lebanon, which is deeply divided between supporters and opponents of President Bashar...

(CBS/AP) QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador’s foreign minister is alleging that Britain threatened to storm his country’s London embassy to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Ricardo Patino told a news conference that Ecuador received a written threat Wednesday from Britain that “it could assault our embassy” if Assange was not handed over. He said the threat was delivered to Ecuador’s Foreign Ministry and ambassador in London. The Press Association reports Patino released details of the letter it got from the British Foreign office. The letter stated: “You need to be aware that there is a legal base in the UK, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, that would allow us to take actions in order to arrest Mr Assange in the current premises of the Embassy. We sincerely hope that we do not reach that point, but if you are not capable of resolving this matter of Mr Assange’s presence in your premises, this is an open option for us.” The Australian has been holed up in the embassy since June 19, taking refuge to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces questioning for alleged sexual misconduct. Assange’s supports say the charges are trumped up and believe the U.S. has secretly indicted him and 광명출장마사지 would extradite him from Sweden. Ecuadorian officials have said they will announce Wednesday whether or not Assange will be given asylum. British authorities have...