InfoAnda - Syrians brush off Assad speech as fighting rages |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Bomb blast at Basque TV headquarters after ETA alert: police | 31 December 2008
Japan's Elpida to seek govt help: report | 19 June 2009
Ellen DeGeneres Speaks Out Against Gay Bullying In Tearful Video | 2 October 2010

Hardline Iran editor calls for Mousavi to face trial | 5 July 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Syrians brush off Assad speech as fighting rages |

Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Investing Simplified Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB Dividends World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Africa Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus Nicholas Wapshott Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Zachary Karabell Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Reihan Salam Frederick Kempe Mark Leonard Steven Brill Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (3) Slideshow Video Gun violence: A public health crisis Today from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm the Forum at Harvard School of Public Health and Reuters will host a discussion of the legal, political, and public health factors that could influence future efforts to prevent gun violence. Live Coverage Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Tanker hits San Francisco Bay Bridge: Coast Guard 07 Jan 2013 Exclusive: Disney looks for cost savings, ponders layoffs - sources 07 Jan 2013 David Bowie breaks long silence with new music release 8:31am EST Israel muted over Obama's Pentagon pick 8:10am EST The Kraken wakes: first images of giant squid filmed in deep ocean 5:09am EST Discussed 121 Gun purchasers set new record in December: FBI 110 House Republicans weigh last-ditch challenge to fiscal deal 89 Obama says U.S. can’t afford more showdowns over debt, deficits Syrians brush off Assad speech as fighting rages Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Syrian refugees in Turkish camp to vote in taste of democracy 8:06am EST One million Syrians in need of food aid: U.N. 8:33am EST World ignoring Syria's systematic ruin: Jumblatt 9:06am EST Analysis & Opinion Islamists push own agenda in Iraq’s Sunni protests against Shi’ite power Will this be the year that Israel goes to war with Iran? Related Topics World » United Nations » Syria » Middle East Turmoil » Related Video U.S. cargo planes carrying Patriot missile parts land in Turkey Mon, Jan 7 2013 Syrians up in arms over Assad speech 1 of 18. Civilans and Free Syrian Army fighters gather at the site hit by a missile in Aleppo's al-Mashhad district January 7, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Muzaffar Salman By Oliver Holmes and Erika Solomon BEIRUT | Tue Jan 8, 2013 9:06am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fighting raged across Syria on Monday with clashes reported just a few miles from where President Bashar al-Assad had unveiled a "peace plan" that Syrians on both sides said would do nothing to end the country's 21-month-old uprising. Hours after Assad addressed cheering loyalists at the Damascus Opera House on Sunday in his first public speech in months, fighting erupted near the road to the city's international airport, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The opposition-linked group said artillery hit the district of Aqraba, 3 miles from the Opera House. Fighting continued all night and into Monday around the capital, as well as in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, it said. In central Syria, the towns of Taybet Imam and Halfaya were bombarded with aerial strikes and artillery, said Abu Faisal, an activist speaking over the internet from Taybet Imam. "Every four to five minutes, we hear the burst from a rocket. We cannot get any wounded out because we are essentially under siege by the shelling," he said, adding that many civilians had fled. Taybet Imam sits on an entrance to Syria's main north-south highway, close to the central city of Hama. The government restricts access by international media and the accounts could not be verified. Damascus residents said Assad's speech, which offered no concessions to his foes, was met with celebratory gunfire in pro-Assad neighborhoods. But even there, some saw no sign peace was closer: a loyalist resident of southern Damascus reached by internet said the speech was eloquent but empty. "It sounded more like gloating than making promises," said the woman, who gave only her first name, Aliaa. "I agree with the ideas but words are really just words until he takes some action. He needs to do something. But even so, everything he suggests now, it is too late, the rebels aren't going to stop." "NO ONE CARES" In the once-affluent district of Mezzeh, scene of several bomb attacks, an Assad critic said people had more pressing concerns than a TV speech. "Here, no one cares about this speech. They care about food and electricity." Another said few people had watched the speech and that Assad's crackdown would not stop: "Military operations will continue in full swing, and he is staying." France, the United States, Britain and Turkey all said Assad's speech, his first to an audience since June last year, showed he had lost touch with reality after unrest that the United Nations says has killed 60,000 people. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland had harsh words for Assad when she was asked whether the United States regarded him as a rational actor and whether he was "evil." "I don't think anybody who is guilty of the kinds of crimes against your own people that he's guilty of could be considered rational," Nuland told reporters in Washington. "I personally consider what he's done evil." Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Assad on Monday of "directing state terrorism". "Bashar al-Assad's speech is further evidence of just how far he has cut himself off from reality in order to justify his repression of the Syrian people," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said. The plan described by the Syrian leader as a new peace initiative proposed an army ceasefire only after rebels halt their operations and summoned Syrians to mobilize for a war to defend the state against "a puppet made by the West". The United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was disappointed that Assad's speech rejected the idea of a transitional government to pave the way to new elections - a central plank of a peace plan promoted by international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. "NATIONAL PROGRAMME" Syria's Prime Minister Wael al-Halki called on Monday for a special cabinet meeting to implement the "national program announced by President Bashar al-Assad yesterday to solve the crisis in Syria", the state news agency SANA said. George Sabra, vice president of the opposition National Coalition, said the putative peace plan "did not even deserve to be called an initiative". "We should see it rather as a declaration that he will continue his war against the Syrian people," he told Reuters. Assad's ally Iran defended the speech as offering a "comprehensive political process". "This plan rejects violence and terrorism and any foreign interference," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said. There was no immediate response from Moscow, which has acted as Assad's main protector on the diplomatic stage. Russian state offices were quiet for the Orthodox Christmas holiday. Syrian state television played up the speech, showing footage of convoys of cars driving through main streets in Damascus. People waving the Syrian flag leaned out of car windows and some braved the cold and rain to walk alongside. "It was a victorious speech that respects the martyred Syrian soldiers," said one man on state TV, adding that his brother had been killed fighting the opposition. After six months of advances, rebels now control wide areas of northern and eastern Syria, most of its border crossings with Turkey and a crescent of Damascus suburbs. Assad's government is still firmly entrenched in the capital and controls most of the densely populated southwest, the Mediterranean coast, the main north-south highway and military bases countrywide. Its helicopters and jets are able to strike rebel-held areas with impunity. U.S. military cargo planes carrying equipment and personnel arrived at the Incirlik air base in Turkey on Monday, part of a deployment of NATO Patriot anti-missiles to bolster security along Turkey's 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria. Dutch Patriot missile batteries bound for Turkey left an army base in the Netherlands. (Additional reporting by Ayat Basma in Beirut, Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Vicky Buffery in Paris and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; writing by Peter Graff; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Giles Elgood) World United Nations Syria Middle East Turmoil Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (3) andre24211 wrote: Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Chinese hold anti-censorship protest outside newspaper |
Extradited al Qaeda suspect pleads not guilty in U.S. court |
Vatican rejects rebel bishop's denunciation of Jews |
U.N. nuclear chief Amano has no rivals for new term |
British coalition pledges no split before 2015 vote |
Analysis: Apple bid for Samsung sales ban faces skeptical court |
Verizon CEO touts wireless potential |
Best Buy, Wal-Mart bring disc-to-digital conversion home |
Sharp says pondering weak finances, no talks with Intel now |
AT&T to launch home monitoring service in March |
Exclusive: U.S. nuclear lab removes Chinese tech over security fears |
MetroPCS reports decline in subscribers as it awaits merger |
NY prosecutors delay charging Lindsay Lohan in nightclub clash |
Actor Depardieu denies leaving France for tax reasons |
Mariah Carey increased security in feud with fellow Idol judge |
As Obama, Karzai meet, Afghan peace efforts show flickers of life |
In India, questions over decision to treat rape victim overseas |
Afghan man in army uniform kills NATO soldier in Helmand |
Israeli minister warms to choice of Hagel for Pentagon |
Japan to revise defense policy by end 2013: paper |
Venezuela opposition furious over likely Chavez inauguration delay |
Samsung on track to become top home appliances maker |
Intel bets big on thin PCs and phones at Las Vegas show |
Galaxy phones power Samsung to record $8.3 billion profit |
Chinese man pleads guilty in $100 million stolen software sting |
Qualcomm opens CES with new chip, Ballmer and Big Bird |
Sony mulls battery unit sale in push toward core electronics |
Taiwan chipmaker UMC says Dec sales fall 3.8 percent on year |
Downton Abbey sets PBS record with 7.9 million viewers |
Tunisia frees man held over attack on U.S. consulate in Libya |
Three accused in Indian rape case finally get legal help |
Guangdong chief offers deal in Chinese paper censorship row: source |
Quake measuring 5.7 strikes off northwest Turkish coast |
Syrians brush off Assad speech as fighting rages |
Turkey, Ocalan map out steps to end Kurdish conflict |
French budget minister faces tax fraud probe |
Congo rebels declare ceasefire before peace talks |
India accuses Pakistan of killing soldiers in Kashmir |
Kuwait's parliament approves decree curbing popular vote |
Disney joins JAKKS, LA billionaire to bring toys to life |
Rounds video-chat service expects millions of users from mobile |
AT&T sells record 10 million smartphones in fourth-quarter |
Target to match some rivals' online prices year-round |
Nokia raided by tax officials in Chennai, India |
GameStop says same-store sales to fall; shares drop |
David Bowie breaks long silence with new music release |
Snakes on a Plane director David R. Ellis dies in South Africa |
Rushdie, Amis targeted in critical maulings of 2012 |
Disney joins JAKKS, LA billionaire to bring toys to life |
Depardieu skips French court to prep for Strauss-Kahn role |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01