Tag - syria

 
 

SYRIA

Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 11, 2015
Mueller was among hostages sought in failed rescue, says Obama
Kayla Jean Mueller, the U.S. aid worker whose death as a captive of Islamic State extremists was confirmed Tuesday, was among the hostages sought in a failed U.S. rescue attempt last year, President Barack Obama said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 11, 2015
Aid agencies see many more migrant deaths in Mediterranean amid curtailed patrols
Inadequate naval patrolling means ever more migrants from Africa and the Middle East will die trying to cross the Mediterranean, aid agencies warned on Tuesday, as Italy appealed for a "more vigorous" European response to tackle the crisis.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 11, 2015
Parents of slain Islamic State hostage confirm U.S. woman's death
U.S. aid worker Kayla Mueller, held hostage by Islamic State militants for 18 months, is dead, her family said on Tuesday, but the circumstances were unclear and President Barack Obama vowed to hunt down the culprits.
WORLD
Feb 11, 2015
At least one other American being held hostage in Middle East: White House
At least one other American is being held hostage in the Middle East, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Tuesday following confirmation of the death of U.S. aid worker Kayla Mueller.
WORLD
Feb 10, 2015
Obama to seek new authority for Islamic State fight by Wednesday, congressional aides say
The White House will ask Congress for new authority to use force against Islamic State fighters by Wednesday, congressional aides said on Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2015
At hostage crisis peak, Tokyo balked at opening channel with Islamic State: radical scholar
Japan opened a communication channel with Islamic State in the decisive stages of the recent hostage crisis but was unwilling to use it to start negotiations, according to a Tokyo-based Islamic scholar who served briefly as an intermediary.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 9, 2015
U.S. delivers arms to Lebanon, says fighting 'same enemy'
The United States delivered more than $25 million worth of military aid, including heavy artillery, to the Lebanese army on Sunday to help it fight jihadi groups that have repeatedly battled with security forces near the Syrian border.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 9, 2015
Jordan says it waged 56 strikes in three days against Islamic State targets, degrading 20% of jihadis' capabilities
Jordan's air force chief said on Sunday his country's jet fighters had conducted 56 bombing raids in three days against Islamic State militants in northeast Syria, targeting key bases and arms depots.
WORLD
Feb 7, 2015
Islamic State punishes cleric who objected to pilot's fiery death
An Islamic State cleric who objected to the group's decision to burn to death a captive Jordanian pilot has been removed from his post and will be put on trial, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday.
WORLD
Feb 6, 2015
U.S. moves rescue assets to Iraq in fight against Islamic State
The United States has sent search and rescue assets to northern Iraq in recent days, bolstering its ability to recover coalition personnel in the U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2015
Abe condemns Islamic State's slaying of Jordanian pilot
The apparent execution of Mu'ath al-Kaseasbeh, a Jordanian air force pilot captured by the Islamic State, is “inhumane” and “despicable,” the prime minister said.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2015
Goto's tweets document his courage, sadness for victims of war
Poignant messages sent by executed hostage Kenu00adji Gou00adto on Twitter before he was taken hostage bear silent witness to his courage as a journalist in a conflict zone.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 2, 2015
Abe wants to enable SDF to rescue citizens overseas
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to discuss granting the Self-Defense Forces a mandate to evacuate Japanese nationals from crises overseas.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Feb 2, 2015
Tokyo: Does anyone else share responsibility for the death of Kenji Goto?
After the killing of a second Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto, by the Islamic State group, Mark Buckton asked people whether others share some culpability in his death. Some interviewees declined to have their pictures and surnames published.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 2, 2015
Blast targeting bus near Shiite shrine in Damascus kills six
A bomb tore apart a bus thought to be carrying Lebanese Shiite Muslim pilgrims in Damascus on Sunday, killing at least six people and wounding 19 in a rare attack at the center of the Syrian capital, a Reuters witness and local media said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2015
Veteran mourned by freelancer support group
The murder of Kenji Goto highlights the dangers facing freelance journalists around the globe who bravely report from the world's most dangerous conflict zones — but without the institutional backup enjoyed by full-time reporters at mainstream media organizations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2015
Conflict-zone scribes fear fallout from intrepid journalist's death
The tragic death of Kenji Goto highlights a dilemma that the journalism community in Japan has long struggled with: how much of a risk reporters should take on when working in dangerous conflict zones.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2015
Islamic State hostage Kenji Goto mourned by family and friends
A video posted online early Sunday morning that shows what appears to be the beheaded corpse of Islamic State group hostage Kenji Goto has left his family and friends speechless and in anguish.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2015
A dispossessed Palestinian advises a refugee from Syria
A dispossessed Palestinian writer advises Syrian refugees not to believe in promises from the international community and never to stop loving Syria.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 31, 2015
Hostage talks deadlocked
Jordan and Japan tensely wait as Amman's request for proof of life is answered only by a mysterious silence from the Islamic State hostage-takers.

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