Author: Reporter

Support of Iran regime by China’s Xi seen as enabling Russian terror campaigns against Ukraine and Syria

Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed support for Iran during a visit on February 14 by its president as Tehran tries to expand relations with Beijing and Moscow to offset Western sanctions over its nuclear development. The official Chinese account of Xi’s meeting with Ebrahim Raisi gave no indication whether they discussed Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Tehran supplied military drones to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government but says they were delivered before the war began. Xi expressed support for Raisi’s government in language Beijing uses to criticize Washington’s domination of global affairs. China and Iran portray themselves, alongside Moscow, as...

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Already hard-hit by war: Syrians struggle to get aid and rebuild after devastating earthquake

After years of war, residents of areas in northwest Syria struck by a massive earthquake are grappling with their new and worsening reality. Days after the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Syria and neighboring Turkey, the United Nations has acknowledged an international failure to help Syrian quake victims. In Atareb, a town that Syrian rebels still hold after years of fighting government troops, survivors dug through the debris of their homes, picking up the remnants of their shattered lives and looking for ways to heal after the latest in a series of humanitarian disasters to hit the war-battered...

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United Nations appeals for a billion in funding to help Syrian quake survivors in rebel-held region

The United Nations chief launched a $1 billion appeal recently to help nearly 5 million survivors of the devastating earthquake in rebel-held northwest Syria who have received very little assistance because of deep divisions exacerbated by the country’s 12-year war. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appeal a day after he welcomed an agreement between the U.N. and Syrian President Bashar Assad to open two new crossing points from Türkiye for an initial period of three months. The U.N. has only been allowed to deliver aid to the northwest Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al-Hawa – at...

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International humanitarian groups look at longterm fundraising to deliver aid in Syria and Türkiye

Humanitarian groups working in southern Türkiye and northwest Syria warn that the February 6 earthquake will have a “long tail,” a wide range of needs that will require donations for months, or even years, after the rescue and recovery missions end. Among the worst in recent history, the 7.8 magnitude earthquake has killed at least 23,200 in the region and left tens of thousands more homeless, with thousands taking refuge in shopping malls, stadiums, mosques and community centers. Humanitarian access to northern Syria is complicated by the civil war, while sending funds can be blocked or slowed by U.S....

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How Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine restructured global alliances and renewed old fears

Nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the battlefield has narrowed and stiff resistance has forced Moscow to scale back its military goals. But the diplomatic consequences of the war still reverberate worldwide. The fighting has reshaped global alliances, renewed old anxieties and breathed new life into NATO and the bond between Europe and the United States. The invasion drew Moscow closer to Beijing and the pariah states of Iran and North Korea. It also raised broad questions about sovereignty, security and the use of military power, while intensifying fears about China’s designs on Taiwan. “The war underscores the...

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Promoting Trump’s Fraud: Court filings show Fox News lied to its audience to retain viewership and profit

A court filing in a lawsuit against Fox News lays bare a panic at the network that it had alienated its viewers and damaged its brand by not lining up with President Donald Trump’s false claims that he had won the 2020 presidential election. That very real worry, judging by Fox’s ratings in the election’s aftermath, played a key role in Fox not setting the record straight about unfounded fraud claims. The network’s accuser contends that hosts at Fox News had serious concerns about allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election being made by guests who were...

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