Tag Archives: russia

Climate Change, Foreign

Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change kills boy in Arctic Circle

A family is seen 150km from the town of Salekhard, Russia on 2 May 2016. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Seventy-two nomadic herders, including 41 children, were hospitalised in far north Russia after the region began experiencing abnormally high temperatures

August 2, 2016 — A 12-year-old boy in the far north of Russia has died in an outbreak of anthrax that experts believe was triggered when unusually warm weather caused the release of the bacteria.  Continue reading Anthrax outbreak triggered by climate change kills boy in Arctic Circle →

Foreign

Residents afraid to flee Aleppo through ‘death corridors’

Syrians walk amidst the rubble in search for survivors following a reported air strike by Syrian government forces in the Maysar neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on February 7, 2015. AFP PHOTO / AMC / ZEIN AL-RIFAI

Russia, a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad, announces the opening of humanitarian passages for civilians and surrendering fighters seeking to exit the city’s rebel-held eastern neighborhoods

ALEPPO, Syria (July 30, 2016) — Aid agencies urged Syria’s regime to end the siege of rebel-held east Aleppo as residents cowered indoors Friday, July 29, afraid to use what some described as “death corridors” to flee the city.  Continue reading Residents afraid to flee Aleppo through ‘death corridors’ →

Foreign

Air strikes on Syria displaced camp kill 28

Syrian men ride a motorbike past damaged buildings in the rebel-held Bustan al-Qasr district in eastern Aleppo, on May 4, 2016. Karam al-Masri/AFP

As relieved civilians went out onto the streets after two weeks of heavy fighting in the divided city, others were attacked further west

ALEPPO, Syria (May 6, 2016) — Air strikes killed at least 28 civilians Thursday, May 5, in a camp for the displaced in northern Syria near the Turkish border as a 48-hour ceasefire took hold in Aleppo. Continue reading Air strikes on Syria displaced camp kill 28 →

Foreign

ISIS lost a fifth of its territory since January 2015

In this file photo, a flag of the Islamic State (ISIS) is seen on the other side of a bridge at the frontline of fighting between Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Islamist militants in Rashad, on the road between Kirkuk and Tikrit, on September 11, 2014. JM Lopez/AFP
IHS Jane’s says the jihadists control 73,440 square kilometers (28,360 square miles) of ground as of March 14, an area equivalent to around half the size of England

LONDON, United Kingdom (Mar. 18, 2016) — The Islamic State (ISIS) group has lost 22% of the territory it held at the start of 2015, military analysts IHS Jane’s said Wednesday, March 16, as US and Russian air strikes have helped the jihadists’ opponents advance.

Continue reading ISIS lost a fifth of its territory since January 2015 →

Foreign

UNHCR to ask world to take in 400,000 Syrians

NEW REFUGEES CHIEF. A picture taken on December 6, 2012 shows then UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner Filippo Grandi speaking during an interview. Joseph Eid/AFP
On his first visit to Washington since being appointed to head the UN refugee effort, Filippo Grandi said the world must do more to end the crisis

WASHINGTON DC, USA (Mar. 16, 2016) — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday, March 15, he will ask countries to step forward and agree to take in another 400,000 Syrian refugees.

Continue reading UNHCR to ask world to take in 400,000 Syrians →

Foreign

Putin orders withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria

NEGOTIATING TABLE. Syrian chief negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari, (L), Ambassador of the Permanent Representative Mission of the Syria to UN New York, and UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria Staffan de Mistura, (R), prior a new round of negotiations between the Syrian government and U.N., at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 14, 2016. Salvatore di Nolfi/EPA
However, hopes for a breakthrough at the talks remained remote with both sides locked in a bitter dispute over the future of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

MOSCOW, Russia (Mar. 14, 2016) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, March 14, announced the withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from Syria in a shock move as fresh peace talks began in Geneva.

Continue reading Putin orders withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria →

Foreign

Syria war begins 6th year as US, Russia pull the strings

GHOST TOWN. Syrian man rides his bike along a street damaged by shelling in the rebel-held part of Jubar neighborhood, in the Syrian capital Damascus, on February 24, 2016. Abdulmonam Eassa/AFP
‘The US and Russia have taken command of, and have a monopoly over, the Syrian issue’

BEIRUT, Lebanon (Mar. 14, 2016) — The United States and Russia are pulling the strings in Syria’s 5-year war, experts say, pressuring opposing sides and leveraging rival regional powers to reach a settlement.

Continue reading Syria war begins 6th year as US, Russia pull the strings →

Foreign

Blame game tests Syria’s fragile ceasefire

A picture taken on February 27, 2016 in Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, shows smoke rising from the neighboring Syrian city Tel Abyad during clashes between Islamic State (ISIS) and People’s Protection Units (YPG). Photo by AFP
Washington urges all sides to be patient, saying ‘setbacks are inevitable’

DAMASCUS, Syria (Feb. 29, 2016) — Key players in Syria’s war traded accusations Sunday, February 28, over violations of the first major ceasefire in the 5-year conflict, but the truce remained largely intact on its second day.

Continue reading Blame game tests Syria’s fragile ceasefire →

Foreign

ISIS blasts kill more than 140 as US, Russia press Syria truce

TRIAGE. A handout picture made available by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows wounded Syrians receiving medical care at a hospital in Damascus, Syria, February 21, 2016. SANA/Handout/EPA
US Secretary of State John Kerry says a provisional deal has been reached on the terms of a truce in Syria’s brutal 5-year conflict, only for the bloodshed to intensify on the ground

SAYYIDA ZEINAB, Syria (Feb. 22, 2016) — A string of suicide bombings near a Shiite shrine outside Syria’s capital and in Homs claimed by jihadists killed at least 142 people Sunday, February 21, as Washington and Moscow worked to secure a ceasefire.

Continue reading ISIS blasts kill more than 140 as US, Russia press Syria truce →

Foreign

Russia says ‘regrets’ UN rejection to rein in Turkey over Syria

In this file photo, people walk across Red Square, with the Kremlin’s Spasskaya (Saviour) Tower (R) and St. Basil’s Cathedral (L) seen in the background, in central Moscow on December 22, 2015. Vasily Maximov/AFP
The Kremlin adds that Russia is set to continue its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ground offensive against terrorist organizations

MOSCOW, Russia (Feb. 20, 2016) — Russia on Saturday, February 20, expressed regret that the United Nations Security Council rejected its bid to halt Turkey’s military actions against Syria and Continue reading Russia says ‘regrets’ UN rejection to rein in Turkey over Syria →