Tag - syria

 
 

SYRIA

WORLD
Mar 2, 2015
U.S.-backed Syria rebel group dissolves itself after losses
One of the main western-backed rebel groups announced on Sunday that it had dissolved itself and joined a larger Islamist alliance, weeks into a battle that saw it lose ground and men to more powerful al Qaeda insurgents.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 26, 2015
'Jihadi John' of Islamic State execution videos named as Mohammed Emwazi
The "Jihadi John" killer who has featured in several Islamic State beheading videos is Mohammed Emwazi, a Briton from a middle class family who grew up in London and graduated from college with a degree in computer programming, the Washington Post newspaper said.In videos released by Islamic State (IS),...
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 26, 2015
Syrian Kurds cut Islamic State supply line as fears mount for abducted Christians
A Kurdish militia pressed an offensive against the Islamic State group in northeast Syria on Wednesday, cutting one of its supply lines from Iraq, as fears mounted for dozens of Christians abducted by the hardline group.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 26, 2015
Three Brooklyn residents charged with supporting Islamic State
Two Brooklyn residents who sought to go to Syria and join the Islamic State group were charged with conspiring to support the terror group that has taken control of a swath of Iraq and Syria and publicly executed its captives. A third resident of the New York borough was also charged.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 26, 2015
Syrian Kurds cut Islamic State supply line near Iraq; fears for Christians mount
Kurdish militia pressed a big offensive against Islamic State in northeast Syria on Wednesday, cutting one of its supply lines from Iraq, as fears mounted for dozens of Christians abducted by the hardline group that recently beheaded 21 Egyptian Copts.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Feb 24, 2015
In soldiers' rescue, Turkey plays off warring sides in Syria
By extracting dozens of its soldiers surrounded by Islamist fighters in Syria, Turkey has warded off a potential crisis and shown its ability to maneuver between rival warring parties, including the Islamic State group.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 24, 2015
Erdogan says relocation of tomb, troops from Syria not a retreat
Turkey's military incursion into Syria to relocate a tomb surrounded by Islamic State militants and evacuate the soldiers guarding it was a temporary move to safeguard their lives and not a retreat, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 23, 2015
French aircraft carrier begins Iraq operations
France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier has started military operations against Islamic State in Iraq, a French army source said Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 22, 2015
Qatar tried to help free Japanese hostages
Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah said Saturday during a visit to Japan that Qatar's government tried to mediate the release of Japanese hostages before they were killed by the Islamic State group.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2015
Another Japanese temporarily held by Kurds in northern Iraq
The Foreign Ministry said Saturday another Japanese national was temporarily detained as a suspicious person by authorities in northern Iraq's Kurdish autonomous zone earlier this month.
WORLD
Feb 19, 2015
F-22's belated debut against Islamic State praised by commander
Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-22 fighter jet, making its debut in warfare more than nine years after it was deemed combat-ready, has flown at least 112 missions against Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. Air Force's commander of combat forces said.
WORLD
Feb 18, 2015
Turkey to help U.S. train and equip Syrian opposition fighters
The United States and Turkey have reached a tentative agreement to train and equip moderate Syrian opposition fighters and expect to sign the pact soon, U.S. and Turkish officials said on Tuesday, with Ankara predicting a signing in days.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2015
Syrian Army moves step closer to surrounding key rebel city of Aleppo
The Syrian Army backed by allied militia has captured several villages north of Aleppo from insurgents and blocked a main supply route leading into the northern city amid heavy fighting, a group monitoring the war said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2015
Artwork by Kenji Goto on display at Tokyo gallery
Journalist Kenji Goto's efforts to aid people living in conflict zones may have gone widely unnoticed if his kidnapping and beheading by the Islamic State militant group had not caused outrage worldwide last month.
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2015
Missing Japanese was told not to visit Islamic State areas in Syria
A Japanese woman who is missing in Syria with her French husband had been urged by the Foreign Ministry not to visit areas controlled by Islamic State jihadis.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 13, 2015
Islamic State says it's holding Israeli spy in Syria
The Islamic State group said on Thursday it was holding an Israeli Arab who had posed as a foreign fighter in order to spy for Mossad, an account denied by Israel and by the man's family, who said he had been kidnapped.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2015
Syria-bound photographer fears passport confiscation sets dangerous precedent
A freelance photographer who was prevented from going to Syria when the Foreign Ministry confiscated his passport in the wake of the Islamic State hostage crisis this month expressed concern Thursday his case will set a precedent that will undermine freedom of the press in Japan.
WORLD
Feb 12, 2015
Obama asks Congress to authorize war on Islamic State
U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday sent Congress his long-awaited formal request to authorize military force against Islamic State, meeting swift resistance from Republicans as well as his fellow Democrats wary of another war in the Middle East.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 12, 2015
Widow of Paris gunman reportedly in Islamic State territory
A magazine run by the Islamic State militant organization has published an interview with the French widow of a Paris hostage taker, its first official claim that Hayat Boumeddiene is in their territory, which spans parts of Syria and Iraq.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 11, 2015
A search for meaning in the arc of Goto’s life and the horror of his death
The frenzy of the hostage crisis and the visceral terror of the Islamic State group's executions have for a moment ushered Syria into Japanese youth's sphere of concern.

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