Major Interview (38 questions!) of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the Iranian Khabar TV channel

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source: http://sana.sy/en/?p=56697

Following is the full text of the interview:

Question 1: In the name of God, the most compassionate, the most merciful. Mr. President, thank you very much for accepting the invitation of the Television of the Islamic Republic of Iran to give this interview. Thank you very much.

Associated Press Photoshops 'Anti-Russian Demonstration' in Istanbul (UPDATED)

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This AP “photograph”, which clearly proves that Russia is destroying the Middle East, has been floating around the Internet. Do you notice something odd about it? Yes: Putin's blood-soaked fangs aren't that large. But also: that’s just sloppy Aside from the hands, which clearly do not belong to the same body, what's up with that poster? The over-the-top concave (created by the firm grip of the painted, mutant hand), the crappy Photoshop shadow effect…Come on. This is embarrassing. Keep up the good work, Associated Press. UPDATE: This might actually be a case of “terrible nails”. Reader “Simon” points out that there are other pictures of this woman. As such, we apologize for jumping the proverbial gun. (AP still bites the big one, though.)

Dr. Lavrov nailed it on the head! See what he said...

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Lavrov Says Moscow Ready to Establish Contacts With Free Syrian Army

Russia's Foreign Minister said Russia was willing to work with the Syrian opposition army to settle the crisis in Syria.

Moscow is prepared to set up contacts with the opposition's Free Syrian Army and have asked the United States for information on them, but so far Moscow has not received a response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"In any case, I asked [US Secretary of State] John Kerry to have [the United States] give us some sort of information of where the Free Syrian Army is and who's running it," Lavrov said.

Jamming the Jihad & its supporters: Russian Electronic Warfare Systems Spotted in Syria

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The state-of-the-art Russian electronic warfare system Krasukha-4 has reportedly been deployed in Syria.


The Russian military has deployed its mobile, ground-based electronic warfare system Krasukha-4 in Syria, according to footage placed on Russia's Zvezda news network.
At the beginning of the video (the 6th second), which shows a Russian-made Su-25 landing at a Syrian airfield, a characteristic set of antenna devices is visible in the background. These could be the Krasukha-4 system, Zvezda reported.

Western Media Laments as Russia Foils US Plans for No-Fly Zone Over Syria

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The Western media is lamenting as Russia wrecks the nearly-set agreement of the US-led coalition to establish a no-fly zone over Syria based on Jordanian and Turkish plans, despite jihadist groups lacking any aerial strike capabilities, while adding that the US and its allies have begun “preparing to open up a major front in northeastern Syria”.

“The Russian forces now in place make it very, very obvious that any kind of no-fly zone on the Libyan model imposed by the US and allies is now impossible, unless the coalition is actually willing to shoot down Russian aircraft,” The Financial Times quotes Justin Bronk, a research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute as saying.

‘It’s a Whole New War Now’: Western Powers to Have Strategy Shift in Syria

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Russia’s participation in the fight against ISIL in Syria could bring some major changes in the balance of power in the Middle East, Semyon Bagdasarov, the director of the Center for the Middle East and Central Asian Studies, told Radio Sputnik.

On Wednesday, Russia launched airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria following a request from President Bashar Assad. The Syrian government is fighting a number of opposition forces and radical Islamist militant organizations.
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Peacemaking US-Style: Obama Sending New Weapons to Ukraine - Poroshenko

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Barack Obama ordered to supply Ukraine with new defensive weapons. A step toward reconciliation, you say?
The United States has decided to deliver new models of defensive weapons to Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Sunday.

"He [US President Barack Obama] told me that he signed an executive order on the delivery of new weapons to Ukraine, that we desperately need, since this is defensive armament, long range counter-battery radar complexes which will allow us to increase the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian army," Poroshenko said in an interview to Ukrainian TV channels.
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The West Fears Russia’s Success in Syria - Not Its Failure

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The Western response to the Russian air campaign in Syria provokes a sense of deja vu.

In every respect it is identical to the Western response to the Russian campaign in Chechnya in 1999. In the weeks following the start of that campaign Western pundits made a host of claims and predictions. They claimed the Russian airforce was bombing civilians, and accused Russia’s leadership of war crimes. They said Russian military action would radicalise the population, turning it against Russia. They predicted more terrorist attacks against Russia, and predicted Russia’s defeat.

All these claims and predictions proved wrong.

Nigeria’s Christians borrow Boko Haram tactics, destroy traditional African religious shrines & art

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Sixteenth and 17th century artefacts made in Benin: Fundamentalist Christians and Boko Haram share a common hostility to ancient African art. (Photo/AFP).

More than 500 traditional-worship sites have been burned down, and worshippers have handed over art worth $500m to pastors.

SAMUEL Nwankwo drove past a mob in the southeastern Nigerian town of Umuoji unaware that it was heading to attack his home.
As the chief priest of a traditional religion in the area, he’d become a target of a crowd of Christian youths who left a revival meeting where several preachers condemned the veneration of ancestral gods. They were bent on eradicating all symbols of such worship in the town of about 30,000 people.
“They ransacked the Udume Abor shrine where we worshiped, then went to my house where they took religious objects and burned them,” Nwankwo, a 45-year-old former Christian pastor, said in an interview. “The entire house would have burned if neighbors didn’t put out the fire.”

Syrian Militants Surrender in Droves to Daraa Governorate

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Over 450 Syrian militants and 250 criminals wanted by government have laid down their arms and return to peaceful life in the south-west of war-torn country.


Roughly seven hundred armed militants and criminals surrendered themselves to the local authorities in the Syrian Daraa Governorate that is situated next to the border with Jordan in the last two days, national Syrian Arab News Agency Sana reported.
Hundreds of militants and other law offenders decided to hand themselves over to authorities under the terms of a national reconciliation program.

Breaking News: Russian Aviation Hits ISIL Training Center, Munition Depot Near Al-Tabqa

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Russian Air Force has conducted 20 flights overnight targeting 10 ISIL facilities near the Syrian city of al-Tabqa, Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Sunday.

"Su-34 bombers attacked the ISIL special training camp and munition depot with KAB-500 aviation bombs near Al-Tabqa, Ar-Raqqah province. As a result of explosion of the munition depot, the terrorist training camp was completely destroyed," Konashenkov told reporters.


Russian Su-25 jets have also attacked training camp of the Islamic State in Syrian Idlib governorate destroying workshop for explosive belt production.