March 13th, 2012 by Oman Views

Israeli airstrikes kill 15 Gaza militants

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Israel pounded Gaza for the second day in a row Saturday, trading airstrikes and rocket fire with Palestinian militants and killing 15 of them as the deadliest Gaza violence in over a year showed no signs of abating.

Despite Egyptian efforts to mediate a cease-fire, Palestinians fired more than 100 rockets, some striking major cities in southern Israel and seriously wounding an Israeli civilian.

The military responded with more than a dozen airstrikes and the targeted killings of Palestinian militants from various Gaza organizations.

Israel’s lauded Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted more than 25 projectiles. Still, residents were told to stay close to home and the cities of Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon called off school for Sunday.

Tit-for-tat exchanges between Israel and Palestinians have been routine since the 2009 war, but a flare-up of this intensity is rare. The Arab League called the Israeli attacks a “massacre.”

The United Nations and the State Department condemned the violence and called on both sides to exercise restraint.

“This round in Gaza is far from being over,” Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a visit to southern Israel.

“We will not allow anyone to harm the citizens of the country and we will act against anyone who attempts to launch rockets. They will pay a heavy price, and no one will have immunity.”

The latest spate of violence got under way Friday afternoon, when an Israeli airstrike on a car in Gaza City killed top militant commander Zuhair al-Qaissi and two of his underlings.

It was the highest-profile killing Israel has carried out in many months, interrupting a period of relative calm on the volatile southern front.

Click here to continue

By ARON HELLER and IBRAHIM BARZAK | Associated Press

Let Your LOVE Shines, Give Her A Diamond

Click to the pioneering personals site that revolutionized online dating

sultanate oman

March 12th, 2012 by Oman Views

Syria’s Assad meets Annan, but gives little ground

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan held blunt talks with Bashar al-Assad this weekend but appeared to be making little headway, as the Syrian president blamed political bloodshed on “terrorists”.

Annan on Saturday made proposals on stopping the violence between security forces and the opposition in the year-old revolt against Assad, access for humanitarian agencies, release of detainees and the start of political dialogue.

The talks were “candid and comprehensive”, a spokesman quoted Annan as saying. He was to meet Assad again on Sunday before leaving Syria for Qatar.

Assad told U.N./Arab League envoy Annan Syria was “ready to make a success of any honest effort to find a solution for the events it is witnessing”, state news agency SANA reported.

“No political dialogue or political activity can succeed while there are armed terrorist groups operating and spreading chaos and instability,” he said.

Thousands have been killed in Syria since a popular uprising against Assad erupted a year ago.

While Annan and Assad discussed the crisis, Syrian troops were assaulting the northwestern city of Idlib, a rebel bastion.

“Regime forces have just stormed into Idlib with tanks and heavy shelling is now taking place,” said an activist contacted by telephone, the sound of explosions punctuating the call.

Click here to continue

By Alistair Lyon | Reuters

Let Your LOVE Shines, Give Her A Diamond

Click to the pioneering personals site that revolutionized online dating

sultanate oman

February 28th, 2012 by Oman Views

China supports Arab League’s proposals for Syria

BEIJING (AP) – China said Saturday that it supports the Arab League’s proposals for ending the violence in Syria, a striking show of support just two weeks after Beijing vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution backing the league’s plans.

The seemingly contradictory stances on the Arab League’s proposals appear to reflect Beijing’s desire for mediation but aversion to U.N. involvement that could lead to authorizing force, as happened with Libya.

China conveyed its support for the Arab League’s proposals in a statement posted late Saturday on the Foreign Ministry’s website. That followed a meeting earlier in the day in Damascus between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The statement quoted Zhai as telling Assad that China was willing to work with the Syrian government and opposition, the Arab League and Arab countries to find a solution.

“China supports all the mediation efforts by the Arab League to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis and calls upon relevant parties to increase communication and negotiations to find a peaceful and appropriate solution to the Syrian crisis within the framework of the Arab League and on the basis of the Arab League’s relevant political solution proposals,” Zhai was quoted as saying.

Also Saturday, a ruling party newspaper said in an editorial that China courageously defied the West when it opposed a nonbinding resolution in the U.N. General Assembly condemning human rights violations in Syria.

Click here to continue

Let Your LOVE Shines, Give Her A Diamond

Click to the pioneering personals site that revolutionized online dating

sultanate oman