Tag - syria

 
 

SYRIA

Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 11, 2016
Government forces report killing 32 Kurdish militants in Turkey enclave as conflict grows, turns urban
Security forces killed 32 Kurdish militants in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast at the weekend, army and security sources said on Sunday, escalating the reignited conflict in the region.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2016
Bringing aid and hope to Syrian refugees
People are fleeing the Syrian civil war in such massive numbers that the neighboring countries are being overwhelmed.
WORLD
Jan 5, 2016
U.N. Syria chemical weapons probe points to sarin exposure; rebel use doubted
A fact-finding mission of the global anti-chemical weapons watchdog has found indications that some people in Syria were exposed to deadly sarin gas, or a compound like it, according to a report the United Nations released on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 4, 2016
Head of Western-backed Syrian opposition to visit China this week
The head of the Western-backed opposition Syrian National Coalition (SNC) will visit China this week, as Beijing seeks to deepen ties with all sides in the conflict to help bring about a peaceful resolution.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2015
Reporters Without Borders retracts Yasuda hostage comments
France-based Reporters Without Borders withdraws comments claiming a Japanese freelance journalist is being held hostage by an armed group in Syria, following criticism the premature announcement may have endangered his life.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 28, 2015
Retaliation 'coming' against Zionists, Hezbollah leader warns Israel over militant's Syria airstrike death
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group said on Sunday that Israel miscalculated by killing prominent militant Samir Qantar in Syria last week, saying that retaliation for his death was inevitable, whatever the consequences.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 28, 2015
Rebels in three Syrian Shiite towns set to evacuate to Turkey under U.N. deal
Besieged rebel fighters in a Syrian border town and families trapped in two Shiite towns in northern Syria are expected to be evacuated on Monday in the second stage of a rare, U.N.-backed deal between warring sides in Syria's war, sources close to negotiations said.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2015
2015, Syria and the butterfly effect
The Syrian civil war had an outsized place on the international stage in 2015, and no doubt this will continue well into next year.
WORLD
Dec 27, 2015
U.S.-backed alliance captures key dam from Islamic State
A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab rebel groups, supported by U.S. coalition planes, captured a dam on Saturday from the Islamic State group, cutting one of its main supply routes across the Euphrates, an alliance spokesman said.
WORLD
Dec 25, 2015
U.N.-brokered deal gives Islamic State kin, wounded safe passage out of strife-torn Damascus enclave
Hundreds of families of Islamic State militants and some injured fighters are expected to leave rebel-held areas of southern Damascus under a U.N.-brokered deal, a monitoring group said on Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2015
Answers sought on Japanese reporter said held in Syria
After Reporters Without Borders reveals another Japanese freelancer has been taken hostage in Syria, Tokyo again scrambles to react as fellow journalists criticize the disclosure.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2015
Time has come for a new century in the Middle East
2016 should mark the start of a new century of homegrown Middle Eastern politics focused urgently on the challenges of sustainable development.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2015
Press group urges Japan to work for release of journalist in Syria
The Japanese government is urged to work for the release of a journalist held hostage in Syria since July whose ransom countdown has begun.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 23, 2015
Amnesty says Russians may have committed war crimes in Syria
Russia's bombing of Syria may amount to a war crime because of the number of civilians its strikes have killed, Amnesty International said Wednesday, presenting what it said was evidence that the air raids had violated humanitarian law.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2015
Manga artist Hasumi stirs outrage again with new book slammed as racist
After gaining the spotlight at home and abroad a few months ago over a controversial manga illustration denigrating a Syrian refugee girl, artist Toshiko Hasumi seemingly remains unrepentant.
WORLD
Dec 22, 2015
People who reject Syrian refugees are allies of extremists: U.N.
People who reject Syrian refugees are the "best allies" of Islamic State militants and other extremists, the United Nations refugee chief said on Monday after U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed an entry ban on foreign Muslims.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2015
How to combat the Islamic State
Islamic State and other radicals must be confronted, contained and destroyed, and how modern societies go about this effort will determine its success or failure.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 19, 2015
Iran may ease its opposition to Syrian President Assad stepping down
Iran has decided to unify its stance with Russia's in the push for a political deal to end Syria's civil war, Iranian officials said, in a sign it could ease its opposition to the departure of Syrian President Bashar Assad as part of the agreement.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 19, 2015
Number of global migrants rises dramatically, especially in Asia, U.N. says
The number of international migrants soared to 244 million this year, an increase of more than 40 percent from 2000, as economic need, global markets and a desire for better lives put more people on the move, the United Nations said on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 18, 2015
Russia open to Assad's ouster after Syria transition, envoys say
Russia has made clear to Western nations that it has no objection to Syrian President Bashar Assad stepping down as part of a peace process, in a softening of its publicly stated staunch backing of Assad ahead of talks in New York, diplomats said.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals