Russia and China block Syria resolution
Simba 9 hours ago.A United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at ending nine months of bloodshed in Syria failed to pass after a veto by Russia and China. The resolution comes following a violent crackdown in the Syrian city of Homs, which reportedly killed more than two hundred and left hundreds wounded. Continued repression by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has prompted Tunisia to expel Syria's ambassador while several Syrian embassies in the Middle East and Europe were stormed over the weekend by protestors calling for an to the assault, which Syria has denied.
فشلت عملية تمرير قرار مجلس الأمن التابع للأمم المتحدة و الهادف إلى إنهاء نزيف الدم الذي دام تسعة أشهراً على الأراضي السورية، و ذلك بعد استخدام كلٌ من الصين و روسيا لحق الفيتو في الاعتراض على تمريره. و قد جاء هذا القرار على أثر الحملة العنيفة في مدينة حمص السورية، و التي أفادت التقارير الواردة وفاة أكثر من مائتي سورياً و مخلفةً ورائها مئات المصابين. كما أن القمع المستمر للقوات الموالية للرئيس السوري بشار الأسد دفع بالحكومة التونسية إلى طرد السفير السوري من تونس، في حين تعرضت العديد من السفارات السورية في بعض دول الشرق الأوسط و أوروبا إلى إغارة المتظاهرين عليها يوم الجمعة الماضي و الذين دعوا وقف العدوان السوري و هذا ما أنكرته الحكومة السورية من طرفها.
A United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at ending nine months of bloodshed in Syria failed to pass after a veto by Russia and China. The resolution comes following a violent crackdown in the Syrian city of Homs, which reportedly killed more than two hundred and left hundreds wounded. Continued repression by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has prompted Tunisia to...
As the death toll continues to mount, Arab and Western leaders are urging the United Nations (UN) to implement a new resolution that will end ten months of conflict in Syria. This comes amid reports by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) that more than three hundred and eighty-four children amongst the dead while another three hundred and eighty children remain in detention. Last...
Post clashes between supporters of the Cairo Al Ahlawy football club and unknown thugs at the Port Said match which resulted in 74 deaths and 1000 injuries yesterday, Egyptian protesters have clashed with Cairo police today outside the Ministry of Interior headquarters in Cairo, whereupon the army fired tear gas. The military rulers have been blamed by MPs and fans mourning the dead alike for...
Elections for Egypt's upper house of Parliament, the Shura Council, began its first round in 13 provinces Sunday in low turnout. Unlike the first day of voting for the People's Assembly, the lower house — which saw heavy crowd lines of voters and media presence — the Shura Council elections barely attracted any attention. In fact, many polling stations were empty, and citizens had a...
Amidst escalating disputes between Iran and the West, Rostam Qasemi, Iran’s oil minister, has warned that Iran would soon stop exporting oil to specific countries he did not name – days after the European Union decided to stop importing Iranian oil as of July 1. According to analysts, Iran’s halting oil sales on short notice would create problems for affected countries.
A recent announcement by the popular micro-blogging site, Twitter, that it plans to implement a feature allowing for country-specific censorship of tweets has sparked a debate over whether the move could stifle freedom of speech. The announcement comes as the FBI has reportedly called on companies to help develop software to monitor Facebook and Twitter.
On the one year anniversary of the uprising that resulted in the ouster of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, tens of thousands of Egyptians filled Tahrir Square, the “symbolic heart” of the Egyptian revolution. Though a peaceful protest, the demonstration was divided between Islamists celebrating attaining posts in parliament after years of repression and activists planning a...
Nearly 750,000 Yemeni children under the age of five are suffering from malnutrition due to ongoing political instability. According to UNICEF, roughly sixty percent of internal refugees are children. The aid agency reports that the year long uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh coupled with unsanitary conditions, lack of access to vitamin-rich foods and water-borne diseases has...
Egypt's newly elected parliament has today begun its firs session, with the swearing in of MPs followed by a vote to elect the Speaker of the House.
The parliament is the first elected body to be formed since the January 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.
Farid El-Deeb, the lawyer leading the defence of Hosni Mubarak, has claimed, that Hosny Mubarak is still the legal president of Egypt, and that his resignation, announced in a speech by Mubarak's then vice-president Omar Suleiman, was unconstitutional.
El-Deeb thus claims that the court trying Mubarak lacks the authority to do so, and called for an acquittal. The case is ongoing.
Marking the fifth anniversary of Turkish-Armenian journalist, Hrant Dink's murder, thousands of human rights activists in Istanbul called for justice to be served after seventeen alleged suspects were acquitted of charges. In July, a juvenile court sentenced the gunman, Ogun Samast, to twenty-three years in prison.
Major tech companies have joined a campaign calling for shutting down websites on January 18th in protest of bills that would censor the internet. Protect IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House.
Those proposed acts endanger freedom of expression online by providing governments the ability to take down any website online for a single link...
Iranian authorities have reportedly called for the removal of Barbie and Ken products from shops in a bid to purge western influence. According to reports, an official ban was declared in 1996 but shop owners were still allowed to publicly display and make sales of the doll, which is made by U.S. company Mattel. However, in recent weeks, authorities have crackdown on shopkeepers and forced...
One year after the successful ouster of former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisians struggle to transform their country into a democracy as unemployment continues to rise causing widespread discontent.
24-year-old rapper Mouad Belghouat aka 'Al-Haqed', an outspoken critic of Morocco's monarchy, has been released from prison after serving a four month sentence. According to reports, the Belghouat was charged with assaulting a pro-government protestor, but his lawyers claim the charges were an attempt to silence growing discontent. King Mohammed VI managed to appease pro-democracy protests by...
The Syrian city of Homs is to create a commission to investigate the shelling that took the life of eight Syrians and French journalist Gilles Jacquier, the first Western journalist to be killed since the uprising. Calls for the establishment of an independent probe are unlikely to be answered, and international humanitarian aid has also been turned away. Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition, human...
Despite child trafficking being considered an offense in the kingdom, failed Saudi businessman Saud bin Nasser al Shahry listed his son for sale on Facebook for $20 million after a local court ruled the debt-collecting firm he ran illegal. Some believe this is a publicity stunt to garner some sympathy and help. However, Saudi has been internationally blacklisted on several occasions for human...
In retaliation to a potential European Union embargo on Iranian oil, Iran has threatened to choke the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz - an international waterway that handles nearly one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
The sanctions are part of U.S. efforts to pressure Iran into abandoning their nuclear program. Given the boost of oil contracts in Iraq, the U.S. has...
The president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab has reportedly been hospitalised after being severely beaten by security officers during an anti-government march in the capital Manama.
Bahraini authorities deny the accusations and claim that Mr. Rajab was lying down in the street injured when security police discovered him.
Since last February...
Dozens of Iraqis have been killed after a wave of bombs have struck the country amid fears of civil war.
Several attacks have taken place in recent days, with several Shiite districts of Baghdad targeted.
Iraqi leaders have warned of a resurgence of Sunni and Shiite militants and an increase in violence following the departure of U.S. troops.
Saudi Arabia is set to acquire eighty-four Boeing F-15 jets as part of a $30 billion arms deal with the United States, which Washington claims will aid in bolstering a sluggish economy and contribute to job growth. However, as tensions continue between the US and Iran some experts contend that arming allies secures America's geopolitical interests.
The government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has accused the United States of seeking to rekindle violence by meddling in the work of Arab League observers. Last month, observers from the Arab League arrived in Syria on a mission to assess the implementation of a peace plan signed by the regime and the pro-democracy groups. The monitors have come under fire by opposition groups who say...
Around fifteen million eligible Egyptian voters cast their ballots today in the final round of the first parliamentary elections since a popular uprising ousted former president Hosni Mubarak almost a year ago. The country's main Islamist part, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) claimed the first two rounds.
Sudan seems more divided as ever as the Darfur peace process continues to unravel following the death of Khalil Ibrahim, who led the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). Two months ago, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) of Darfur, JEM and the SPLM-North established the Sudanese Revolutionary Front dedicated to 'armed rebellion against Omar al-Bashir's ruling National Congress Party (NCP). Despite...
Here's a brief roundup of some of the topics Meedan has tackled over the past year. I wanted to include stories that have, for the most part, been overlooked by mainstream media. If you're a fan of our work then add your voice to the discussion and let us know what were some of the stories you liked in 2011.
Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has been criticized for 'unnecessary heavy-handed measures' following raids on dozens of pro-democracy organizations. The move, which has prompted international condemnation, could be seen as a crackdown on the country's uprising who they accuse of using foreign funding to promote a 'foreign agenda'.
An Egyptian court has issued a ban on the use of forced 'virginity tests' by Egypt's Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) on women detained in military prisons. The issue of a practice, which is a form of torture and can bring shame upon victims, hit the spotlight after Samira Ibrahim - who was one of several women subjected to sexual assaults during a crackdown in March on protests in Tahrir...
Thousands rally as Arab League observers arrived in the besieged province of Homs to determine whether the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad is complying with the peace plan, which includes the withdrawal of armed forces, release of political prisoners and a halt to violence. The arrival comes just one day after dozens of ant-government protestors were killed and could be a test to the...
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki have agreed to relocate thousands of Iranian exiles living in Camp Ashraf in northeastern Iraq by the end of January. According to reports, the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran - who were once allies of Suddam Hussein during the Iran/Iraq war - could be relocated to Camp Liberty, a former...
Dozens of Yemenis have been killed and wounded after troops from the Republican Guard attacked thousands of peaceful protestors as they entered a main avenue in Yemen's capital Sana'a. For nearly four days, thousands of Yemenis have embarked on a momentous journey known as the 'March of Life' aimed at sending a message to the international community that Yemenis reject the US-Saudi backed peace...
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