Yemen's Houthi: Ali Abdulla Saleh killed for 'treason'

The leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels has praised the death of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country's overthrown president, as a victory against a Saudi-led military coalition that Yemen has been battling.

Massive rally in Yemen's Sanaa to mark war anniversary

Tens of thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of the capital Sanaa on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the war between a coalition led by Saudi Arabia against Iran-allied fighters who had overthrown the government.

Major powers agree on UN draft resolution on Syrian peace process

The five permanent UN Security Council members have agreed on a draft resolution endorsing the Syrian peace process, diplomats said Friday.

Syrian opposition groups meet in Riyadh

Opposition groups from within Syria and abroad launched their scheduled meeting Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Kurds battle IS on Syria border as Turkey blocks refugees

Kurdish fighters pressed an offensive Saturday to capture a key Syrian border town from the Islamic State group, as Turkish forces sought to prevent thousands fleeing the fighting from crossing the frontier.

Russia’s UN envoy urges meeting of all sides to Yemen conflict

All parties to the conflict in Yemen should gather in the country as soon as possible, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Wednesday on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

China, Taiwan leaders hold highest level talks in 6 yrs

 China's President Xi Jinping and Taiwan's ruling party chairman Eric Chu met Monday, with the intention of boosting economic ties.

First Red Cross medical aid plane lands in Sanaa

The first Red Cross plane carrying medical aid into Yemen landed in Sanaa airport on Friday, marking their first delivery of medical supplies since the beginning of the Saudi-led military campaign against Houthi militias.

US to provide $70M in non-lethal aid to Syrian opposition

The U.S. is working to provide an additional $70 million in non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition, the State Department’s number two announced Friday as the country's bloody conflict enters its fifth year.

Syria Border Town Residents Returning After Army Ousts Rebels

KASAB, SYRIA — Residents of the Armenian Christian village of Kasab on Syria's border with Turkey began returning home on Monday, dancing, cheering and waving flags in the main square a day after the army retook the area from rebels.

The fall of Kasab to President Bashar al-Assad's forces less than three months after insurgents captured it dealt another symbolic and strategic blow to an opposition undermined in recent months by infighting and government gains.

Russia, China block Security Council referral of Syria to International Criminal Court

UN, 22 May 2014 – Despite repeated appeals by senior United Nations officials for accountability for crimes being committed in Syria, the Security Council was unable today to adopt a resolution that would have referred the situation in the war-torn nation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), due to vetoes by permanent members Russia and China.

The resolution, which was backed by the other 13 members of the Council, would have given the Court the mandate to investigate the horrific crimes committed during the course of the conflict in Syria, which since March 2011 has witnessed the deaths of over 100,000 civilians, the displacement of millions and widespread violations of human rights.

Renewed Syrian peace talks make little progress as concern rises for detained evacuees – UN

11 February 2014 – United Nations-sponsored talks between the Syrian Government and opposition that resumed yesterday are making scant progress in ending the “nightmare” of the civil war, the top mediator said today, calling for a quicker pace as officials voiced “deep concern” at the detention by the authorities of men and boys leaving a long besieged city.

“The beginning of this week is as laborious as it was in the first week [of the talks]…I’m urging everybody to speed up,” UN-Arab League Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi told a news briefing in Geneva of the latest diplomatic push to end a war which has killed well over 100,000 people and driven nearly 9 million others from their homes since the conflict erupted between President Bashar al-Assad and various groups seeking his ouster nearly three years ago.

Aid convoy workers safely left Homs after being fired on - Red Crescent

A joint aid team of United Nations and Syrian Red Crescent workers safely left the Old City of Homs on Saturday after their convoy came under fire as they delivered humanitarian supplies, the Red Crescent said.

In a statement on Twitter, it said one truck driver suffered a minor injury and two damaged trucks had been left inside the Old City.

Four Red Cross employees injured as trucks enter besieged Syria areas ....

New UN airlift ships food from Iraq to 30,000 Syrians cut off on land by civil war

4 February 2014 – The United Nations today began a new airlift from Iraq to feed nearly 30,000 displaced people in a conflict-torn region of northeast Syria where road access has been cut off for over six months and no significant relief deliveries have arrived overland since last May.

The airlift comes as the UN World Food Programme (WFP) faces in Syria what is currently its most complex emergency globally, with challenges ranging from bureaucratic delays, insecurity on roads, the closure of major highways, and sieges imposed on civilians trapped in over 40 locations across the country due to the civil war.

Syria: UN humanitarian chief says no progress made on access to hard-to-reach areas

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3 December 2013 – Reporting “modest progress” with the Syrian Government on speeding up visa issuance and increasing the number of relief distribution hubs, a top United Nations official said today that with perhaps 250,000 Syrians cut off from aid in besieged communities across the war-torn country, greater efforts are needed to ensure real gains on the humanitarian front.
“I advised the Security Council that we have seen some modest progress in terms of administrative procedures that had been put in place over time,” said Valerie Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, as she spoke to reporters after briefing the 15-member body on the humanitarian situation in Syria.

Black Market in Lebanon: Syrian Refugees Selling Organs to Survive.

In the shadow of the Syrian civil war, a growing number of refugees are surviving in Lebanon by illegally selling their own organs. But the exchange comes at a huge cost. 

The young man, who called himself Raïd, wasn't doing well. He climbed into the backseat of the car, in pain, careful not to touch any corners. He was exhausted and dizzy. A large bandage looped around his stomach, caked with blood. Despite that, the 19-year-old Syrian wanted to tell his story.  

Dramatic report: Inside the battle for Syria's ancient Christian village (VIDEO RT).

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Anti-Assad rebels have been forced out of many parts of Syria’s ancient Christian village of Maaloula, but the fighting there remains heavy, RT correspondent Maria Finoshina reports from the scene.
After arriving in the center of the village Wednesday, Maria Finoshina and the RT camera crew saw signs of a recent battle and heard shelling, but received a warm welcome from smiling and relieved Syrian Army soldiers, who said the village was freed from jihadists. The claim would later in the day turn out to be premature.

Russian Arms Supplies to Syria ‘No Breach of Law’ - Putin ..... one does not really need to back the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies and eat their intestines

LONDON, June 16 (RIA Novosti) – President Vladimir Putin on Sunday defended Russia’s weapons supplies to Syria saying they are in the framework of the international law. “If we speak calmly, I want to stress that Russia supplies arms to the legitimate government of Syria in full compliance with the norms of international law and we call on our partners to act in the same way,” Putin told reporters after talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday. “We are not breaching any rules,” Putin said. "I think you will not deny that one does not really need to back the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies and eat their intestines," Putin said referring to a video footage of a rebel eating what appeared to be a government soldier’s heart.

Lavrov: Syria Government Gaining Ground, No Need to Use Chemical Arms

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there was no need for the Syrian government to use chemical arms since the Syrian Army was making steady advances on the ground.
"The regime, as the opposition is saying out in the open, is enjoying military success on the ground," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters during a joint press appearance with his Italian counterpart Emma Bonino. "What sense is there for the regime to use chemical arms -- especially in such small amounts?" Lavrov asked.
Russia said on Friday that US allegations Assad had used chemical weapons during the fight with the foreign-backed militants were fabricated and unconvincing.