More people are refugees or internally displaced than at any time since 1994, with the crisis in Syria having emerged as a major new factor in global displacement. UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, released on Wednesday, covers displacement that occurred during 2012 based on data from governments, NGO partners, and the UN refugee agency itself. [...]
Iran President-elect Hassan Rouhani says it’s time to bury the hatchet with the United States. But, he says, his nation’s nuclear weapons program – the biggest source of the schism between the two countries – will continue. Read more here.
They don’t agree on the U.S. decision to arm the Syrian rebels. Clearly, Russia backs the regime. But in their meeting at the G8 summit near Belfast, President Obama and Russian President Putin found some common ground. Both say they want the violence in Syria to end. Read more here.
Al Arabiya, citing an Israeli security force, reports that Russia’s objections to the United States arming the rebels goes beyond Moscow’s long-standing relationship with Damascus. The source has told the news site that Russia is “actively engaged” in the war, in support of the Assad regime. Read more here.
A slight majority of Americans – 54% – disapprove of the Obama administration’s decision to send direct military aid to Syrian rebels fighting against the Syrian government, while 37% approve. Read more here.
Time Magazine reports that Israel, Jordan and the United States are preparing to eliminate Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons. Read more here.
So far the police have been in charged of putting the protests in Turkey down. But now, the government is threatening to deploy troops if the cops can’t handle it. This comes as two unions are conducting a one-day strike in support of the demonstrators. Read more here.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin criticized President Obama while speaking at the annual meeting of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, saying the United States should not intervene in Syria while he’s in office. “Until we have a commander in chief who knows what he is doing … let Allah sort it out!” Palin told the [...]
They’re calling the new president-elect of Iran a moderate and a reformer. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says, the ayatollahs are really in charge. And this is not the time for his nation, nor the world, to be lured into complacency. Read more here.
The firebombings of kosher restaurants in Montreal are apparently not sparked by antisemitism. Rather, it seems, a kosher restaurant war is underway. Read more here.