Tag - syria

 
 

SYRIA

WORLD
Jan 6, 2015
Growing number of foreigners signing up to fight Islamic State in Mideast
While illegally crossing the border between Iraq and Syria, Peter Douglas, a Canadian, was adamant that his incursion was for humanitarian reasons — to help the people of Syria.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 5, 2015
Western-backed Syrian opposition body elects new leadership
Syria's Western-backed political opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, has elected a new presidential committee and a president widely seen as not tied to any of the body's international sponsors.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2014
French-Japanese couple missing since leaving for Islamic State area
A Muslim couple from Tokyo who said they wanted to visit areas controlled by the Islamic State militant group have been missing since leaving Japan for Turkey in November.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2014
Iran's support for Syria tested by steep fall in oil revenues
Syrian businessmen and trade officials are worried that the economic lifeline provided by Iran is under strain from plunging oil prices despite public messages of support from Syria's strongest regional ally.
WORLD
Dec 18, 2014
Over 120,000 pro-Assad fighters killed in Syria conflict, monitoring group says
More than 120,000 fighters supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad have been killed in the country's civil war since it began in 2011, a group monitoring the war said on Wednesday.
WORLD
Dec 15, 2014
Syrian army recaptures territory north of Aleppo in fierce fighting
Syria's army seized an area north of Aleppo on Sunday and killed insurgents as fierce battles raged over the strategic territory, a group monitoring the war and state media reported.
WORLD
Dec 4, 2014
In Syria, U.S.-trained rebels await more weapons, training
Syrian rebel commander Abdulaziz says U.S. military training helped his men kill at least 15 Islamic State fighters in a recent battle near Aleppo. Three months earlier, a similar engagement had gone the other way, with two of his men slain.
WORLD
Dec 2, 2014
Kurds deny Canadian-Israeli woman captured by Islamic State militants
A Kurdish official in Syria denied Monday previous reports that Canadian-Israeli Gill Rosenberg was captured by militants from the Islamic State group and a Facebook message on her page read "I'm totally safe and secure."
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 2, 2014
Nazi hunter says Adolf Eichmann's top aide presumed dead in Syria
One of the world's most wanted war criminals, the reputed top lieutenant of Nazi mastermind Adolf Eichmann, is presumed to have died at least four years ago in Syria, where he lived under government protection, a leading Nazi hunter said Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 25, 2014
U.S. senator calls for declaration of war against Islamic State
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a possible Republican candidate for president in 2016, is calling for a formal declaration of war against Islamic State militants who control parts of Iraq and Syria, the New York Times reported Monday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2014
Obama administration loses its collective mind
America can't fix the Middle East. It's time to give up trying to do so.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 22, 2014
Canadians plan to fight Islamic State
Several former Canadian soldiers plan to join Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants in the coming weeks, with at least one already in Iraq, Canadian media reported Friday, bolstering the ranks of foreigners fighting alongside the Kurds.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2014
Iran sending funds via China bank to elite Quds force, report says
There is no trace of Shenzhen Lanhao Days Electronic Technology Co. Ltd. at its listed address in the beige and pink-tiled "Fragrant Villa" apartment complex in this southern Chinese city. The building's managers say they've never heard of it.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 18, 2014
Islamic State casualties mount in Kobani amid war of attrition
Islamic State casualties in the Syrian city of Kobani are mounting in a war of attrition with Kurdish fighters, according to a rights monitor and analysts.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 16, 2014
In Iraq, Iranian masters behind feared Shiite militias
Among the thousands of militia fighters who flocked to northern Iraq to battle the extremist Islamic State group over the summer was Qais al-Khazali.
WORLD
Nov 12, 2014
Turbulent path for Syrian Kurd fighters' 'first foreign female recruit'
A Canadian-born immigrant to Israel has become the first foreign woman to join Kurds battling Islamic State in Syria, a Kurdish source said on Tuesday, as details surfaced of the volunteer's turbulent past.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 12, 2014
UNHCR official: 13.6 million displaced by wars in Iraq, Syria, and world not responding as winter looms
About 13.6 million people, equivalent to the population of London, have been displaced by conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and many are without food or shelter as winter starts, the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2014
Power shift in U.S. Senate brings sterner tone to foreign policy debate
The Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate will bring a tough new tone to the debate over Washington's foreign policy, with lawmakers expected use their new clout and power over the budget to promote a more interventionist foreign policy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 8, 2014
Obama to send 1,500 more troops to Iraq as advisers, trainers
President Barack Obama has approved sending up to 1,500 more troops to Iraq, roughly doubling the number of U.S. forces on the ground to advise and retrain Iraqis in their battle against the militant group Islamic State, U.S. officials said on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 6, 2014
Despite election defeat, foreign policy is not 'game over' for Obama
From marauding jihadists in Iraq to pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine and beheadings of Americans in Syria, a world in crisis has fanned perceptions of an overwhelmed U.S. president and contributed to a Republican sweep of U.S. midterm elections.

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