Syria claims troop pullout

April 11, 2012

syria


Moscow/Paris/Beirut, April 11: Syria's foreign minister told Moscow yesterday Damascus had started withdrawing troops in line with Kofi Annan's peace plan but Russia said the regime should implement the initiative more decisively.


The rare visit by Foreign Minister Walid Muallem to Moscow coincided with a deadline under the Annan plan for Syria to withdraw forces from protest cities amid Western worries the scheme is in tatters.


"I told my Russian colleague of the steps Syria is taking to show its goodwill for the implementation of the Annan plan," Muallem said after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "We have already withdrawn military units from different Syrian provinces," he said without giving details on locations.


Muallem also said Syria had freed some prisoners who had been arrested for participating in anti-government riots. He added that a ceasefire should begin "simultaneously" with the arrival of international observers, in another apparent diversion from the Annan peace plan championed by the West.


However, France denounced Syria's assurance that its forces were complying with a UN-backed cease-fire deal as a "blatant lie" and urged foreign governments yesterday to challenge Assad's administration.


In scarcely diplomatic language, the French Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “The Syrian foreign minister's statements, affirming an initial implementation of the Annan plan by the Damascus regime, are a fresh expression of this blatant and unacceptable lie.


“They are indicative of a feeling of impunity against which the international community absolutely must react," the spokesman, Bernard Valero, told reporters in Paris.


Citing Syrian sources and satellite images, Valero said “none of the elements” of Annan's plan had been implemented. “There is what the regime’s representatives are saying and then there is the reality," he said. "On average 100 people are dying each day and it continues. “Today, Syrian security forces are still firing on populated areas and using heavy weapons, armored vehicles and helicopters. That's the reality.”


Syrian rebels are committed to the cease-fire, a rebel spokesman said yesterday. Col. Qassem Saad Al-Deen, spokesman of the joint command of the Free Syrian Army inside Syria, said the rebels would fight on if Assad does not pull back his troops and tanks from in and around cities by tomorrow in line with the plan.


Deadly violence yesterday killed 17 people across Syria, including at least seven civilians, on the day the government is expected to pull out from protest hubs as per a UN-Arab League peace plan, monitors said. Six civilians were killed in shelling that hit the old district of Khaldiyeh, in Homs, and another was shot dead in the neighborhood of Bab Tadmur, also in the central city, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Britain-based center said regime forces shot four people in the village of Kfar Zeita, in the central Hama province, where troops loyal to Assad carried out arrests.


The center had reported earlier that unidentified gunmen killed six soldiers in the northeastern province of Hassakeh, in an attack that occurred between the villages of Masaada and Marqada.


It also reported clashes between Assad forces and rebel fighters in the area of Mzeyreeb, in the southern province of Daraa, the cradle of the dissent movement launched a year ago.


Meanwhile, explosions were heard outside Douma, a northern suburb of the capital, the center said.


The Local Coordination Committees, one of the main opposition groups inside Syria, said "large military reinforcements" had arrived overnight on the eastern outskirts of Rastan, in the central province of Homs.


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News Network
March 5,2020

Dubai, Mar 5: A 16-year-old Indian girl here has tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, bringing the total number of confirmed infection cases in the UAE to 28, according to media reports.

Health officials here confirmed on Wednesday that a new coronavirus case was detected in the girl who attended an Indian school in Dubai, Al-Arabiya website reported.

The girl tested positive for the COVID-19 after she contracted the infection from her father who travelled overseas, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) was quoted as saying by the report.

The Indian High School in Dubai will be closed from Thursday as a precautionary measure, the Gulf News reported.

"As a precautionary measure, Indian High School Group of schools is closed from Thursday, March 5. Detailed circular about exams will be mailed. Your well-being is important. Take care," the report said.

The father developed symptoms of the virus five days after returning to Dubai. Both the student and family members have been quarantined in hospital and are stable and recovering well. All other family members have also been quarantined, the Khaleej Times reported.

"Within the framework of comprehensive preventive measures against the spread of coronavirus, the DHA is conducting tests and monitoring the students, staff and workers of the school that may have interacted with the coronavirus patient," the DHA was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.

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Agencies
March 23,2020

Riyadh, Mar 23: King Salman on Sunday issued an order imposing a curfew across Saudi Arabia from Monday evening to control the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

A royal court statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the curfew will start at 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. every day for 21 days from the evening of 28 Rajab 1441 in the Hijri calendar, equivalent to March 23, 2020 in the Gregorian calendar.

King Salman's order followed an announcement by the Health Ministry of 119 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, raising the total number in the Kingdom to 511.

The order enjoins citizens and residents alike to stay in their homes during the curfew hours for their own safety.

The statement said the Ministry of Interior will undertake the necessary measures to implement the curfew, and all civil and military authorities are ordered to cooperate fully.

Exclusions

A subsequent statement issued by the Ministry of Interior and carried by SPA said those excluded from the curfew are workers from the following vital industries and government services:

• Food sector (points of sale) such as catering and supermarkets And poultry and vegetable shops, meat, bakeries, food factories and laboratories;

• Health sector, such as pharmacies and the like, medical clinics (dispensaries), hospitals, laboratories, factories, factories and materials and medical devices;

• Media sector in its various means;

• Transportation sector, such as those transporting goods, parcels, customs clearance, warehouses, warehouses, logistics services, supply chains for the health sector, the food sector, and port operations;

• E-commerce activities such as those working in the electronic procurement applications for the excluded activities and those working in the delivery applications of the excluded activities;

• Accommodation services activities such as hotels and furnished apartments;

• Energy sector such as gas stations and emergency services for the electric company;

• Financial services and insurance sector, such as direct accidents (Najm), urgent health insurance services (approvals), and other insurance services;

• Telecom sector as Internet and communication network operators;

• Water sector, such as the water company emergency services and home drinking water delivery service (graying).

Additional exclusions

The Interior Ministry statement also said movement during the curfew time will be allowed for security, military and health cars, government regulatory services vehicles, and activity vehicles excluded in the vital industries and services mentioned above. 

Delivery services through smart device applications (express delivery services) during the curfew will be allowed for food and drug needs and other essential goods and services that are excluded and delivered to homes. Excluded activities can be known by calling the toll-free number in all regions of the Kingdom 999, except for the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, which is called at 911.

Muezzins will be allowed to access mosques to lift the call to prayer at the time of the curfew.

Workers in diplomatic missions and international organizations and the like residing in the Diplomatic Quarter will be allowed to move during the curfew period to and from their business headquarters in the neighborhood.

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News Network
January 12,2020

Tehran, Jan 12: Iranian police dispersed students chanting “radical” slogans during a Saturday gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an Ukrainian airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported.

News agency correspondents said hundreds of students gathered early in the evening at Amir Kabir University, in downtown Tehran, to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster. The tribute later turned into an angry demonstration.

The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action.

Iran said Saturday that the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was “unintentionally” shot down on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Tehran's main airport. All 176 people on board died, mostly Iranians and Canadians, many of whom were students.

Fars, which is close to conservatives, said the protesting students chanted “destructive” and “radical” slogans. The news agency said some of the students tore down posters of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed on January 3 in a US drone strike on Baghdad.

Fars published pictures of demonstrators gathered around a ring of candles during the tribute and a picture of a torn poster bearing the image of a smiling Soleimani. It said that police "dispersed" them as they left the university and blocked streets, causing a traffic jam.

In an extremely unusual move, state television mentioned the protest, reporting that the students shouted "anti-regime" slogans.

A video purportedly of the protest circulated online showing police firing tear gas at protesters and a man getting up after apparently being hit in the leg by a projectile. It was not possible to verify the location of the video, or when it was filmed.

Iran's acknowledgement on Saturday that the plane had been shot down in error came after officials had for days categorically denied Western claims that it had been struck by a missile. The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility.

But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile".

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