The Jewish Reporter » Top Stories

SYRIAN WAR HELPS PUSH GLOBAL DISPLACEMENT TO 18-YEAR-HIGH

Gary — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:34:21 +0000

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. The report shows that as of the end of 2012, more than 45.2 million people were in situations of displacement compared to 42.5 million at the end of 2011.

This includes 15.4 million refugees, 937,000 asylum seekers, and 28.8 million people forced to flee within the borders of their own countries. The report does not include the rise in those forced from their homes in Syria during the current year.

War remains the dominant cause. A full 55 percent of all refugees listed in UNHCR’s report come from just five war-affected countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Sudan. The report also charts major new displacement from Mali, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and from Sudan into South Sudan and Ethiopia.

IRAN’S NEW PRESIDENT VOWS TO CONTINUE NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM

Gary — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:22:43 +0000

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.

SYRIA TOPS OBAMA, PUTIN CHAT

Gary — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:26:05 +0000

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.

ISRAELI SOURCE: RUSSIA ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN SYRIAN WAR

Gary — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:52:35 +0000

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.

ISRAEL, JORDAN, US MAY BE PREPARING STRIKE ON SYRIA’S CHEMICAL WEAPONS

Gary — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:10:35 +0000

Time Magazine reports that Israel, Jordan and the United States are preparing to eliminate Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons. Read more here.

TURKEY CONTEMPLATES USING TROOPS AGAINST PROTESTERS

Gary — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:36:52 +0000

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.

PALIN: LET ALLAH SORT SYRIA OUT

Gary — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:42:38 +0000

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 conservative crowd. See the video here.

NETANYAHU: DON’T BE FOOLED BY IRANIAN ELECTION

Gary — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:36:33 +0000

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.

KOSHER RESTAURANT WAR IN MONTREAL

Gary — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:25:47 +0000

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.

MODERATE CLERIC WINS IRAN’S PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Gary — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:25:52 +0000

Hassan Rouhani, the most moderate of the six candidates running for president of Iran, appeared to be headed toward outright victory Saturday after a larger-than-expected voter turnout.

Rouhani, the only cleric in the race, had more than 51 percent of the votes with about 90 percent of the precincts reporting by Saturday evening. However, there has been no official announcement on the winner yet, and no candidate has made any claim of success. Read more here.