US HORRIFIED BY REPORT ON TORTURE IN SYRIA
Allegations in a new report created by three former war crimes prosecutors about the supposed systematic torture and execution of about 11,000 detainees in Syria since the start of the uprising has caught the attention of the US and the UN. Washington argues the allegations further support the need to oust President Assad. A Syrian spokesman denies the validity of the report as it was commissioned by Qatar, which funds Syrian opposition groups. The report rests on about 55,000 digital images from a military police photographer who defected to the opposition. The images display corpses, many of which are emaciated and tortured. If the pictures and report are accurate, the actions would constitute serious international war crimes. (BBC News January 21, 2014)
ISRAELI INTEL FOILS AL QAEDA PLOT TO ATTACK US EMBASSY
Israeli intelligence has disrupted an al Qaeda terror cell that was planning an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv and a coordinated suicide bomb attack on the Jerusalem Convention Center. This marks the second time in since November that Israeli authorities claim to have stopped an al Qaeda attack-planned by Palestinian militants. Of the three men that have been arrested, Israeli intelligence claims Iyad Halil Mohammad Abu Sara is the "relevant member." Abu Sara was supposedly recruited by al Qaeda to receive training in Syria and then return to Israel to connect with other militants. Israeli intelligence says computer files sent from Gaza instructing Abu Sara in the manufacturing of explosives have been seized. (CNN January 22, 2014)
JUSTICE AND CONSTRUCTION PARTY RESIGNS FROM LIBYA’S GOVERNMENT
Libya's Justice and Construction Party, the second largest party in the interim administration and the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, has announced that it is quitting the government. Its ministers are resigning because the party has failed to secure the necessary 120 votes it needed to bring a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and his cabinet (the party only secured 99 MP signatures). The departure will affect the ministers for oil, the economy, and housing. A leading party member said, "Zeidan failed in his duty to provide security, and to deliver in the electricity and oil sectors." The resignations will exacerbate the deadlock in the interim parliament, which is paralyzed from political infighting. (BBC News January 21, 2014)
KURDS WORK TOWARDS AUTONOMY IN SYRIA
Local Kurdish leaders in control of the northeast corner of Syria have launched initiatives to normalize life for the Kurdish people amid the civil war, including starting their own oil company, "Sadco", a regional administration, and a "Council for Economics and Development." The Kurds, the world's largest ethnic group without an independent homeland, now control the northeast area and are seizing an opportunity to advance towards the long-term dream of establishing an independent state of "Kurdistan." Local leaders say they have no plans for secession, but they are preparing a constitution and aim to hold elections early this year. Last Tuesday, Kurds in Syria declared a provincial government after countries denied their request to send a separate delegation to the Syrian peace talks in Switzerland. (Reuters January 22, 2014)
JORDAN EYES ATOMIC ENERGY
Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs, Muhammad al-Momani, said Wednesday that Jordan is considering a peaceful nuclear program a "strategic option," and is studying whether it would be wise to build a reactor. Jordan currently imports about 97% of its energy at the cost of around $4 billion a year. Last Wednesday, Jordan and Saudi Arabia signed a cooperation agreement in Amman to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. (Jerusalem Post January 22, 2014)