August 2016 – Page 14 – odiaspora.org

AUB accepts 14 of Lebanon’s top-scoring students

26 August 2016

BEIRUT: The American University of Beirut in collaboration with the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) is granting full scholarships and housing accommodations for 14 students who excelled in their Lebanese baccalaureate this year and have chosen to register for the year 2016/17. AUB has […]

Lebanon ranks 6 in Karate world championship

26 August 2016

NNA – Lebanon has ranked 6 among 20 participating countries in the Karate world championship which was held in Cape Town (South Africa), reaping 2 golden medals, 2 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals. The Lebanese ISKF Karate association team, which comprises of 20 people […]

Turkey Sends More Tanks to Syria, Warns Kurdish Militia

26 August 2016

Turkey on Tuesday sent more tanks into Syria and sternly warned a Kurdish militia to withdraw from frontline positions. The tanks joined those which crossed the frontier on Wednesday in the so-called Operation Euphrates Shield, which Turkey says aims at ridding the northern Syrian border […]

Kerry Assures Ankara That Syrian Kurds Start Retreating East of Euphrates

26 August 2016

Syrian Kurdish forces started retreating to the east from the Euphrates river, a Turkish official said citing John Kerry. ANKARA (Sputnik) — US Secretary of State John Kerry assured Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in a phone talk that Syrian Kurdish forces are withdrawing to […]

Syrian refugee resettlement in Wales ‘painfully slow’

26 August 2016

Over the same period Scotland housed 249 Syrian refugees and Northern Ireland 104, Home Office figures show. Nine of Wales’ 22 councils had taken part in the Syrian refugee settlement programme up to the end of June, four more than three months earlier. Oxfam Cymru […]

In Series of Persian Gulf Encounters, US Warship Fired Warning at Iranian Vessel

26 August 2016

Facing accusations that it acted aggressively toward a US warship in the Persian Gulf this week, Iran has defended its actions. This comes amid reports of a series of close encounters between US and Iranian vessels that took place in the region this week. On […]

France Behind Ghouta Gas Attack: Syria

26 August 2016

Syria said that a chemical attack that killed hundreds of civilians in August 2013 was orchestrated by French intelligence agencies. Appearing during a heated session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari hit out at several members […]

Iraq Forces Advance in Town South of Mosul

26 August 2016

Iraqi forces on Wednesday closed in on the centre of Qayyarah, officials said, on the second day of an operation to recapture the town from ISIL terrorists. Qayyarah lies on the western bank of the Tigris river, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) south of Mosul, […]

Russia Calls on Turkey to Coordinate anti-Terrorism Operations with Syria

26 August 2016

Russia’s foreign ministry expressed deep concern on Wednesday at Turkey’s military operation in Syria, warning of rising tension over Ankara’s targeting of Kurdish militia fighters at the border. “We are deeply concerned at what is happening in the Syrian-Turkish border area,” the ministry said in […]

Khalil: No more return to 1960 law in elections

26 August 2016

NNA – Finance Minister, Ali Hasan Khalil, on Thursday voiced rejection to any return to 1960 law in parliamentary elections, expressing optimism about continuing dialogue in favor of reaching a new electoral law. Minister Khalil’s stance came Thursday in the context of his meeting with […]

Turkey Plans to Use Aleppo as ‘Trump Card’ in Future Political Talks

26 August 2016

Ankara plans to expel militants, including the Kurdish armed forces, from Aleppo, in order to use the Syrian province as a trump card in future political negotiations, a member of the Democratic Union Party, formed by Syrian Kurds, said. ALEPPO (Sputnik) – On Wednesday, Turkish […]

US pursues Syria cooperation with Russia amid new volatility

26 August 2016

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is launching a fresh bid to enlist Russia as a partner in Syria despite more than a month of dashed hopes as the situation on the ground becomes more volatile and uncertain with the introduction of Turkish ground forces. As the […]