Persian Realm

Former Syrian news anchor: ‘Why I couldn’t work for Assad’

Zakaria's GPS : Martin Dempsey Comparing Syria with Libya

Comparing Syria with Libya (CNN, VIDEO)

A GPS exclusive interview with top-ranking military officer, Martin Dempsey. Listen to Dempsey on Syria and Libya. 

ZAKARIA's GPS: US Military doubts about arming rebels

Military doubts about arming rebels (CNN, Video)

• The top U.S. military officer says "a number of players" are involved in Syria
• Arming the opposition should wait "until we're a lot clearer about ... who they are," he says
• Dempsey says intervention in Syria would be more difficult than in Libya

Red Cross presses for Syria truce

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is trying to negotiate a humanitarian ceasefire in Syria to bring in aid.

Red Cross presses for Syria truce (bbc)

Intense fear for Syrians huddled in dark

Intense fear for Syrians huddled in dark (CNN, VIDEO)

CNN's Arwa Damon and her crew find desperate, fearful Syrians clamoring to stay alive in a bunker in Homs. 

Carnage at Syria clinic

Carnage at Syria clinic (CNN, VOA)

Arwa Damon reports from a besieged clinic in Homs, where some Syrians die from lack of treatment.

West 'stirring Syria civil war' say's Official Chinese Daily

Syrian refugees scarred by bloody army siege

The latest evidence from Syria suggests that President Bashar al-Assad may be preparing an all-out assault on areas still controlled by his opponents.

The BBC has spoken to Syrian refugees who say the situation in many towns and cities is increasingly desperate.

Getting information out of besieged Syrian towns is more and more difficult, but the latest shaky images, taken furtively from behind curtains, are ominous for people still trapped inside Homs.

Opposition blames Syrian Regime for an official's assassination

Government officials assassinated (CNN, VIDEO)

A Syrian provincial attorney general, a judge and their driver were fatally shot in the Syrian province of Idlib. Opposition denies involvement claiming the victim had joined opposition ranks and was killed by the regime in retaliation.

Conservatives pressure Obama on Syria

Conservatives pressure Obama on Syria (CNN)

As conservatives in Washington urged President Barack Obama to take action on Syria, CNN's Arwa Damon reported Friday that new violence was expected. And sure enough, the violence came.

CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the footage Damon discusses, but the clip appears to show the vantage point of snipers. Reports say Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been ordering attacks on citizens.

Damon and CNN's Ivan Watson are reporting from Syria despite the country's attempt to block journalists.

Damon said residents are bracing for the worst in Homs, where the intensity of the attack by Syria's government is overwhelming. Women, children and men have been desperate to tell Damon their stories. 

Syria's 'orphans' yearn for foreign help

Syria's 'orphans' yearn for foreign help (CNN, VIDEO)

Syrian rebels armed with hunting guns, knives and prayer take a stand with no foreign support. Ivan Watson reports. 

 BLOOD IN THE

 BLOOD IN THE STREETS
Syria Rebels Retaliate Against Crackdown, Kill State Prosecutor, Judge

A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.--Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Helping Syria's child victims

Helping Syria's child victims (CNN, VIDEO)

Many of the victims of Syria's bloodshed are children. How can we help them overcome their trauma? 

Syria: Is Assad preparing Final ground assault on Homs?

The British Foreign Secretary William Hague says he is worried that Syria will "slide into civil war" and that the international community is "constrained" in its attempts to end the conflict there.

It comes as activists say security forces have resumed their bombardment of the city of Homs and amid mounting fears that a ground attack is imminent.

Bloody Sunday: Syrian regime targeting doctors say's Activists

Syrian regime targeting doctors: Activists (CNN, VIDEO)

CNN) -- After 16 straight days of bombardment, Homs is such an incessantly bleeding wound that Syrians speak of it now as though it were a norm. Theirs are voices of resignation as food, medicine, water, electricity dwindle and Bashar al-Assad's forces show no intent of letting up.

"Is today Sunday? Wednesday? Saturday? I honestly don't know all days have become same here in #Homs- they begin and end with shelling #Syria" tweeted @Samsomhom.

Activist Omar Shakir told CNN he is confident the Syrian army is preparing for a massive ground invasion of the besieged neighborhood of Baba Amr, the heart of the revolt. 

Egypt calls home envoy from Syria

Sanctions 'disintegrating Syria'

One of Syria's leading businessmen says its economy is being crippled by foreign sanctions and that the government is slowly disintegrating.

Sanctions 'disintegrating Syria (bbc)

Syrian troops 'fire on mourners' during funeral killing One

Syrian troops fire on a crowd of mourners in Damascus, reportedly killing one, as a visiting Chinese envoy urges all sides to refrain from violence.

Syrian troops 'fire on mourners' (bbc)

Bloodshed in Syria after Friday prayers

A senior Chinese official is visiting Syria, as the violent crackdown against opposition groups continues.

It is not known what message the envoy has for President Bashar al-Assad, but Beijing voted against Thursday's UN resolution calling for him to step down.

Meanwhile, the city of Homs has come under intense bombardment, and activists claim that people were shot dead in several other cities following Friday prayers.

China urges end to Syria violence

China urges end to Syria violence (bbc)

China's envoy to Syria calls on all sides in the country to end violence, after holding talks with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

Syrian TV quoted Zhai Jun as saying he backed the Syrian government's plan for a referendum on the constitution and subsequent elections.

The opposition says it cannot accept a referendum during continuing violence.

It said government forces on Saturday renewed their bombardment of opposition positions in the city of Homs.

Syrian TV quoted Mr Zhai as saying: "The position of China is to call on the government, the opposition and the rebels to halt acts of violence immediately.

"We hope that the referendum on a new constitution as well as the forthcoming parliamentary elections pass off calmly."

Mr Zhai said he hoped "calm [can] be restored as quickly as possibly, as that serves the interests of the Syrian people".

The opposition has called for a boycott of the 26 February referendum.

One key group, the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change, said it was "impossible for us to take part in this referendum before a stop to the violence and killings".

China was one of the nations that voted against a recent UN General Assembly resolution calling on Mr Assad to stop his crackdown and step down.

An editorial on Saturday in China's Global Times newspaper, published by the ruling Communist Party, said Beijing's vote showed "the country's courage to truly express itself and to calmly stand its ground... It is wrong to blindly come down on the side of the West in each vote."

How can we help Syria's child victims?

How can we help Syria's child victims? (CNN, VIDEO)

Many of the victims of Syria's bloodshed are children. How can we help them overcome their trauma? 

Syrian city shelled after UN vote

Troops are shelling intensively parts of the Syrian city of Homs, activists say, a day after the UN General Assembly called for an end to violence.

Anthony Shadid, New York Times reporter, dies in Syria

New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid, who twice won the Pulitzer Prize, has died on assignment in Syria.

The 43-year-old is believed to have suffered an asthma attack triggered by an allergic reaction.

An American of Lebanese descent, Mr Shadid covered the US invasion of Iraq and its aftermath for the Washington Post newspaper.

He won his Pulitzers in 2004 and 2010, and was nominated for his coverage of the Arab uprisings in 2011.

Mr Shadid, a fluent Arabic speaker, was one of three NYT journalists who were held for more than a week by the Gaddafi government in Libya during the uprising there in March last year.

NYT executive editor, Jill Abramson, said: "Anthony died as he lived - determined to bear witness to the transformation sweeping the Middle East."

Mr Shadid had been gathering material inside Syria before falling ill.

Photographer and colleague Tyler Hicks said they were walking behind some horses towards the Syria-Turkey border when Mr Shadid began to show symptoms, which developed into what proved to be a fatal attack.

 UN to President of Syria:

 UN to President of Syria: Time to GO

 //www.newser.com/story/139890/un-to-syria-president-time-to-go.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=inbox&utm_campaign=newser

A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.--Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Syrian forces losing control of northern regions

Syrian forces losing control of northern regions (CNN,VIDEO)

Inside Syria (CNN) -- Syrian security forces resumed their fierce shelling of opposition targets in Homs Thursday but appeared to be losing their tight grip in the northern region.

Government troops were stretched thin in their effort to control all fronts in the volatile country, while violence raged in the grass-roots anti-government uprising. The revolt has now entered its 12th month and the U.N. General Assembly prepared to take up a symbolic resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown.

Syrian forces shelled the flashpoint city of Homs for a 13th straight day Thursday, targeting the opposition stronghold neighborhoods of Baba Amr, Inshaat and Khalidiya, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition activist group. 

UN assembly adopts Syria motion

UN assembly adopts Syria motion (bbc)

A resolution condemning human rights violations in Syria and calling for President Assad to stand down is passed by the UN General Assembly. 

Martin Patience

BBC  News, Beijing

Officially, Beijing has a policy of non-interference in other countries' affairs.

But as China's become more influential, it's a policy that it is finding harder to maintain. In the case of Syria, Beijing remains wary about Western intentions.

An editorial in the People's Daily newspaper - the mouthpiece of the Communist Party - warned that the violence in Syria could worsen if foreign powers intervened.

It also stated that America's aim was to establish a friendly government in Syria - in order to counter the influence of Iran. 

UN assembly poised for Syria vote

U.N. to take up resolution condemning Syria; China to send envoy

Bid to win over Russia in Syria vote (CNN)

The United Nations General Assembly is set Thursday to take up a symbolic resolution condemning President Bashar al-Assad's violent crackdown in Syria after China and Russia blocked the Security Council from approving enforceable measures aimed at curbing the violence.

• NEW: Russia may support new Security Council resolution under certain conditions, foreign minister says
• China says it is sending its vice foreign minister as envoy to Syria
• Last-minute negotations are under way to win over Russia, which previously vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution, a French official says
• Syrian forces storm towns in southwest Syria in a search for military defectors, the opposition says

Faramarz jan LOL

Loved your desperate housewife anology 

;0) 

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

The desperate housewife of Assad should be on her way to London soon.

It is over. One more down and another one to go.