http://www.forsyria.org/ Latest news from the website www.forsyria.org. en-gb http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=168The White House said on Friday it was "very troubled" by Hezbollah's actions in Lebanon and urged Iran and Syria to halt their support for the Lebanese militant group. "We have confidence in the government of Lebanon," White House spokesman Gordon... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=167Saudi Arabia has called for an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers to try to halt the violence in Lebanon, where the capital was rocked by a third day of sectarian fighting on Friday. "In light of the dangerous escalation of the situation... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=166Syrian President Bashar Assad on Friday rejected Israel's demand that Syria cut its ties with Iran and Hizbullah. He said that detaching his country from the two was "irrelevant" to reviving peace talks. In an interview published Friday with... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=165Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Brussels, said Syria had an obligation to tell his agency whether the site Israeli warplanes bombed there in September was an undeclared nuclear reactor. The... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=164The Arab League's deputy secretary general said on Thursday that constructive dialogue was a better way of resolving US differences with Syria than the extension of sanctions announced by Washington. The Arab League prefers "resolving differences... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=163Boudewijn van Eenennaam, head of the UN refugee agency's governing body, on Thursday attended the signing of a landmark contract between UNHCR and the International Medical Corps (IMC), paving the way for the aid agency to become the first international... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=162Two days of violence have erupted in Lebanon, weeks afer the Lebanese Army became aware of and sought to stem the infiltration by insurgents from Syria. "There are hundreds of terrorists flowing into Lebanon, and until now little was done," a... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=161Turkish officials are moving to convene a three-way meeting with Israeli and Syrian representatives, with İstanbul the most likely setting, in an effort to jump-start peace negotiations between the two countries, Israeli media reported yesterday,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=160Israel said on Monday that "preliminary work" has been carried out towards resuming long frozen peace talks with Syria. "We don't just want to restart only a process of negotiations, we want to start a political dialogue," government spokesman... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=159The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has reportedly discussed a draft bill presented by Republican senator John Cornyn that called for "punishing Syria and liberating it." The daily Al Mustaqbal, which carried the report, said the draft... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=158Lebanon began an investigation Monday into allegations that the militant Hezbollah group set up surveillance cameras near the Beirut airport to monitor the comings and goings of anti-Syria Lebanese politicians and foreign dignitaries. The charges... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=157Hizbullah has linked its private telephone networks to the Syrian Army's communications system as well as to Syria's mobile telephone network allowing Syrian intelligence to operate freely in Lebanon and avoid Lebanese controls, al-Mustaqbal's Faris... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=156An Israeli rabbi visited the Jewish community of Syria. Yisrael Meir Gabbai, a fervently Orthodox rabbi who holds Israeli and French passports, traveled to Syria on the latter last month. Gabbai told the religious newspaper Hamodia that he... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=155A Turkish initiative to lay the groundwork for negotiations between Israel and Syria was approved by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, officials in Jerusalem told Israel’s Army Radio. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Syrian... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=154The International Atomic Energy Agency said yesterday it would investigate US claims that Syria had tried to build a nuclear reactor with North Korean help, but "deplored" the delay in handing over the evidence to its inspectors. The IAEA director... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=153Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has assured Syria that Israel is ready to return all of the Golan Heights, reports said on Wednesday amid renewed peace feelers between the bitter foes. "Mr Erdogan telephoned President Bashar al-Assad... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=152Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Wednesday that Iran and Syria enjoy amicable and growing relations in all fields. Addressing a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Moualem, Mottaki added that economic cooperation... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=151US intelligence officials will brief the Congress members on Thursday about their findings on a possible North Korea-Syria nuclear link. The CIA believes that the North Koreans were helping Syria to build a nuclear reactor last year. The alleged... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=150Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a warning to Syria on Thursday not to side with the Americans. "We must always be prepared to thwart the plans of the US in the region," Ahmadinejad told Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem in Teheran.... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=149Syria on Thursday dismissed U.S. accusations that North Korea was helping it build a nuclear reactor that could produce plutonium. Syria's ambassador to Britain, Sami al-Khiyami, told Reuters that the accusation, which President George W. Bush's... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=148Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in implicit criticism of Syria, said on Wednesday better relations with Damascus depended on an end to the political crisis in Lebanon. "We call things by their names, in that Saudi-Egyptian relations with sister Syria... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=147An Iranian source says that Syria has arrested "a security figure from the Saudi Embassy in Damascus" who played a central role in the assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniya. According to the source, the Saudi was helped by... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=146Syria is beefing up security on its home front in a sign of escalating tension with Israel. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, there are war jitters on both sides of the border. As Israel conducts a big civil-defense drill... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=145Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Sunday accused Syria of holding Lebanon hostage by blocking the election of a new president, following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Siniora told reporters he saw the Lebanese-Syrian relationship... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=144Agreement to establish petroleum refinery part of plans to bolster cooperation between countries in oil and gas industry. According to the SANA report, the refinery will have a daily refining capacity of 100,000 barrels of crude oil and... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=143A "criminal network" of individuals acted together to carry out the 2005 murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, a UN report confirmed Friday, insisting that suspects would be named only when there was sufficient evidence. The interim report... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=142Syria on Saturday plays host to the Arab summit, boycotted this year by half of the Arab world's leaders who blame Damascus for the political crisis in Lebanon. The leaders of US allies Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan will not be attending, an... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=141A Cabinet minister said Friday that Israel was trying to bring Syria back to the negotiating table eight years after talks between the two countries broke down. The disclosure of Israeli efforts to engage Syria in negotiations comes at a time... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=140EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana called Sunday for international pressure on Syria so that it allows Lebanon to elect a new president before an Arab summit on March 29-30. "The pressure on Syria has to grow in order to solve at least the... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=139Twenty-three students were killed Friday when their school bus rammed into a house in northern Syria, killing another person in a crash that injured 34, Syria's news agency and a hospital official said. The accident occurred on a road liking the... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=138Israel recently conveyed a warning to Syria through a third party that it would hold Damascus accountable if Lebanese Hezbollah launched attacks on the Jewish state, Israeli and European sources said on Friday. The sources, speaking on condition... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=13723 illegal immigrants were arrested by police in Dhekelia on Saturday. It is believed a further 20 or so managed to elude capture between Achna forest and Xylotymbou. According to The Cyprus Mail newspaper, between 40 and 50 immigrants tried... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=136Despite increased counterterrorism efforts by Damascus, as much as 90 percent of the foreign fighters in Iraq cross the border from Syria, according to a Pentagon report that says Iran's support for Shiite militants also is hurting efforts to improve... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=134An Iranian cultural week was inaugurated in Syria on March 9 at the University of Aleppo’s Persian department. Speaking at the ceremony, director of Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) Mehdi Mostafavi congratulated the university... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=133The U.S. dropped China from its list of the world's worst human rights violators, but added Syria, Uzbekistan and Sudan to the alleged offenders in an annual report released Tuesday. The State Department's 2007 Human Rights Report showed China,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=132Efforts by Egypt to put together a package deal that would include a cease-fire in Gaza and a new border arrangement between Gaza and Egypt was put on hold following Thursday's terrorist attack at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Government... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=131Iran and Syria have signed agreements according to which Iran will increase the value of the technical services it provides to Syria from $1 billion to $3.5 billion, Iranian First Vice President Parviz Davudi told reporters at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=130The US Coast Guard is increasing security at US ports for ships that have visited Syrian ports, amid concerns over Syria's alleged links with terrorism, the State Department said Thursday. State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said he understood... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=129Regional allies Syria and Iran voiced their determination on Thursday to bolster their economic and political ties to overcome their common foes, Israel and the United States. "We will continue to reinforce strategic cooperation in all sectors... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=128Visiting Iranian First Vice President Parviz Davoudi on Wednesday held talks with Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Ottri, seeking to boost bilateral ties in the economic and cultural fields, the official SANA news agency reported. During the... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=127Iran's Deputy Minister of Housing and Urban Development Moussa Barzegar said here Saturday that volume of investment by Iranian companies in Syria will reach dlrs 3.5 billion from dlrs one billion. "If the agreements, signed by Iran and Syria,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=126Arab leaders are stepping up pressure on Syria to resolve the Lebanese presidential stand-off by threatening to stay away from the Arab League summit in Damascus next month, a move that would deepen Syria's regional isolation. Arab officials say... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=125Two large Gulf property companies plan to invest US$450 million in Syria as part of their expansion in emerging markets, executives said on Wednesday. The projects were announced as Washington expanded economic sanctions on Syria to raise pressure... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=124The Bush administration on Thursday announced it was imposing economic sanctions on four individuals it accused of helping with the flow of money, weapons, terrorists and other resources from Syria into Iraq. It marked the administration's latest... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=123Deeply concerned about Lebanon's political strife, the United States has sped its USS Cole warship off the country's coast in a "show of support for regional stability," a top US official said Thursday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=122Syria has yet to invite regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia to an Arab summit in Damascus next month, an official said on Thursday, as Arab League chief Amr Mussa said some member states would only attend if Lebanon's political crisis was resolved. Syria... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=121Czech opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) leader Jiri Paroubek Wednesday met senior officials of the Syrian ruling Arab Socialist Baath Party, but the talks had no "specific political content," he said. Paroubek was reacting to the server iDnes.cz... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=120Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said Syria was part of the problem in Lebanon, calling on Damascus to help resolve the 15-month crisis before hosting an Arab summit next month. "The summit will be held in Syria and Syria is linked to the Lebanese... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=119Blogger Tariq Biasi, who has been detained since 7 July 2007, denied posting comments critical of Syria on a website when he was questioned by a Damascus state security court on 22 February. The authorities identified him as the author of the... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=118German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Syria on Friday to play "a constructive role" in resolving the political impasse which has left Lebanon without a president for three months. "A swift election for a new president is needed," the chancellor said... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=117The United States on Thursday imposed economic sanctions against a prominent Syrian businessman as part of an effort to punish officials in Syria for alleged efforts to undermine the governments of Iraq and Lebanon. The Treasury Department... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=116Lebanon's political crisis has damaged relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, putting at risk next month's Arab summit in Damascus, Arab officials in Riyadh warned on Thursday. "There is a crisis in ties with the Syrian government, with Lebanon... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=115Syria plans to sue the U.S. for supplying arms to Israel that later killed Syrians in its 2006 war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, the Syrian foreign minister said Thursday, a day after Washington announced new sanctions against Damascus. Speaking... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=114Syria is "directly responsible" for the political crisis in Lebanon and the accompanying violence, a senior US state department official said in Paris on Friday. "I would describe the situation as one of continuing blockage and the continued eruption... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=113US President George W. Bush on Wednesday ordered expanded sanctions against Syrian government officials and their associates, the White House said. The measures are intended to freeze U.S. assets of those believed to have benefited from public... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=112Imad Mughnieh, a top Hezbollah commander linked to notorious attacks against Western and Israeli targets in the 1980s and 1990s, was killed in a car bombing in Syria, the Shiite militant group announced on Wednesday. It said Mughnieh, a shadowy... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=111Syria says it has developed, with Iranian help, a surface-to-surface missile that could better target Israeli installations like airports and factories. It is believed the missile is more accurate than other similar surface-to-surface weapons... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=110The German and Saudi foreign ministers called on Syria to help clear the way for the election of a new Lebanese president, the German Foreign Ministry said Friday. Lebanon has been without a president since November, when the pro-Western parliament... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=109Syria is stepping up a campaign against dissidents in a sign of President Bashar al-Assad's increasing confidence that U.S.-led efforts to isolate his country have faltered. In the last few weeks, 12 prominent dissidents have been rounded up in... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=108Iran's Ambassador to Damascus Ahmad Mousavi in separate meetings on Tuesday conferred with Syrian Minister of Electricity Ahmad Khalid Al-Al and Minister of Tourism Sadallah Agha Al-Qola on expansion of mutual cooperation in these sectors. At... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=107Syrian authorities have arrested an Iranian Arab suspected of having links with an Iranian opposition group and there are concerns he might be handed over to Iran, a local human rights group said Wednesday. The National Organization for Human... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=106A high-ranking delegation of Syrian academics here Saturday went round various science, culture and laboratory departments of Mashhad Azad (open) University. The Syrian academics and chancellor of Ghelman university also inspected medical and... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=105The White House on Wednesday condemned Syria's arrest of former opposition lawmaker Riad Seif, saying it was an "escalation" of the Syrian regime's repression of its own people. "The United States condemns the arrest on Monday of democracy activist... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=104France condemns the arrest of Riad Seif at his home in Damascus on January 28. Mr. Seif is an emblematic figure of international renown in the Syrian opposition, secretary general of the Damascus Declaration and a former legislator. This new... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=99The United States has condemned the jailing of a former member of Syria's parliament and has demanded his immediate release. Tom Casey, a US State Department spokesman, expressed concern Tuesday about Riad Seif, who was arrested Monday as part... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=98German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday condemned the arrest of former Syrian MP Riad Seif in a crackdown on opposition activists and urged Damascus to release him. "The arrest of Riad Seif is unacceptable. I call on the Syrian... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=97Riad Seif, a former businessman and member of Parliament and a prominent pro-democracy advocate, was arrested at his Damascus home. A lawyer who represents other dissidents being held by the government, Mohanad al-Hassani, said he expected Mr.... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=96The European Commission delegation in Syria has announced a programme to finance media and cultural projects that will promote the European Union and its relations with countries from the Middle East. The programme is aimed at small institutions... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=95Iran's Deputy Minister of Industries and Mines and the Syrian Minister of Industry have held discussions on joint investment projects. In a meeting in Damascus on Sunday, Mohsen Shaterzadeh and Fuad Issa al-Jouni reviewed new investment projects... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=94Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen urged Damascus on Thursday to "grab the chance" for Middle East peace, after Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were revived last year. "I urge Syria to grab the chance of peace. The Netherlands welcomed the... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=93Iran and Syria here on Wednesday called for further expansion of all-out bilateral relations between the two countries particularly in the areas of economy, commerce and industry. The remarks were made during a meeting held between the visiting... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=92Iran's Commerce Minister Massoud Mirkazemi has arrived in Syria to inaugurate the first exposition of Iranian goods in the capital city of Damascus. More than 150 Iranian companies will participate in the exposition which commences Thursday.... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=91French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner accused Syria bluntly of banning Lebanon presidential elections and declared that a settlement to the crisis has reached a dead-end. "Things have reached a dead-end because one party does not want presidential... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=90Syria has imposed a blockade of food supplies on Lebanon, the daily An Nahar reported Tuesday. The report, citing information received by Lebanese authorities, said Syrian customs authorities circulated to all border checkpoints their decision... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=89Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Damascus on Saturday for talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on the Middle East and boosting bilateral relations, official news agency SANA said. Gul will join Arab League chief Amr Mussa, who... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=88Foreign policy disagreements between Germany's left-right coalition heated up this week as Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier found himself on the defensive for meeting with his Syrian counterpart. Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=87DAMASCUS - Syria hit back at Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for criticising its role in Lebanon, saying Syria could not force its Lebanese allies to accept a solution to the country's political crisis. "Dealing with Syria as if it was still in Lebanon... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=86US President George W. Bush on Saturday called on Syria to cut the "flow of terrorists" into Iraq and on Iran to stop supporting militias that attack US forces and Iraqis. Syria "needs to further reduce the flow of terrorists" and "Iran must stop... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=85The puzzling site in Syria that Israeli jets bombed in September grew more curious on Friday with the release of a satellite photograph showing new construction there that resembles the site’s former main building. Israel’s air attack was directed... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=84WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday sanctions on a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer and a Syria-based television station for allegedly supporting the insurgents in Iraq against U.S. forces in the country. The... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=83US President George W. Bush is carrying "chaotic ideas" with him on his Mideast tour, which is doomed to fail, Syria's government Tishrin newspaper said Wednesday. Bush, who arrived in Israel Wednesday at the start of an eight-day tour of the... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=82Syrian Information Minister Mohsen Bilal says the US President's attempt to portray Iran as an enemy of the Arabs is doomed to failure. In a Wednesday press conference, Bilal said George Bush's attempts were aimed at deflecting the international... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=81Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noqrekar Shirazi and Managing Director of Syrian Gas company Ali Abbas signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Monday for export of Iran's gas o Syria by the end of 2009, it was announced on Tuesday. According... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=80Several hundred Jordanians detained in Syrian prisons are planning to begin a hunger strike on Saturday to protest against their detention. The move comes after the issue was not discussed during a meeting earlier this week between Jordanian... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=79Two opposition activists have been arrested in Syria in the past 48 hours, a human rights group said in a statement on Friday, taking to nine the number detained in the past month. "The security services in Damascus on Thursday arrested writer... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=78Visiting Syrian Deputy Premier Abdullah Dardari urged Turkey Wednesday to let more water flow into his country from the Euphrates river, Anatolia news agency reported. Dardari said after talks with Turkish officials that the recent drought in... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=77Iran's ambassador to Damascus stresses the enormous potential existing between Iran and Syria for expansion of economic cooperation. In a farewell meeting, Mohammad-Hassan Akhtari and Syrian Vice-President Faruq al-Shara conferred over reciprocal... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=76Syria said on Wednesday it was suspending diplomatic cooperation with France on ending the political crisis in Lebanon, after similar action by Paris. Paris has accused Damascus of not backing a deal that could allow Lebanon finally to elect a... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=75Syrian President Bashar Assad has promised to release seven dissidents jailed after trying to revive a democratic movement crushed by the authorities, two US lawmakers said on Sunday. Assad, however, told Representative Patrick Kennedy and Senator... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=74French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday he had told his staff to suspend diplomatic contacts with Syria until Paris has proof that Damascus is working for a consensus president in Lebanon. Speaking in Egypt after talks with Egyptian President... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=73Police believe the extradition of the Syrian man Monzer Al Kassar to the US would represent a risk and a danger to Spain and to our country's soldiers deployed in Lebanon. So says a memorandum drawn up by one of the members of the force's intelligence... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=72An attempt to exchange messages between Israel and Syria in recent months has failed. European diplomatic sources said that the reason for the impasse was the inability to reach an agreed-upon agenda for talks between the two countries. But in off-the-record... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=70Syria received a letter purportedly written by the head of the same nuclear black market that supplied Iran and Libya with technology but did not respond, the country's president said in comments published Wednesday. President Bashar Assad's remarks... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=69US President George W. Bush said on Thursday his patience with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had run out "a long time ago." "Syria needs to stay out of Lebanon," Bush told a White House news conference when asked whether he would be willing... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=68Syria is cracking down on secular opposition figures who demand democratic reforms, non-governmental groups charged on Tuesday, as Washington demanded the immediate release of political detainees. "The authorities have chosen the security option... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=67DAMASCUS — Syria has detained four members of a secular opposition grouping, intensifying a week-old crackdown on dissent that has already drawn US criticism, human rights groups said on Monday. Security forces in the central city of Hama picked... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=66Syria should immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Ahmad Tohme, Jabr al-Shoufi, Akram al-Bunni, Dr. Fida’ al-Hurani, and `Ali al-Abdallah from detention, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities detained the five political activists following... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=64Syrian President Bashar Assad on Thursday (13 Dec) inaugurated a plant to produce Iranian Saba cars, turning out 15,000 in the first year and rising later to an annual 35,000, the official SABA news agency said. Assad tested a prototype vehicle... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=63Syrian security authorities last night have broken up a meeting of the general secretariat of Damascus Declaration for National Democratic Change. Opposition sources have told Elaph that the meeting, which was held in the home of opposition leader... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=62Beginning last night and continuing today, the Syrian government has arrested more than 20 members of the Syrian National Council, a recently-formed broad coalition of pro-democracy political forces. "Syria’s dictator, Bashar al Assad, has... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=61In an unprecedented step, the Damascus Declaration for National Democratic Change held a meeting on 1 December 2007 to officially launch the next phase of the Declaration's strategy for change in Syria. The announcement of the National Council... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=60Iran's First Vice President Parviz Davudi is to visit Syria on Wednesday at the official invitation of his Syrian counterpart Farooq Al Shara'a, Qatar news agency reported. Davudi is scheduled to hold talks with Syrian high-ranking officials... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=59United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a telephone conversation this week not to influence Lebanon's prolonged effort to choose a president. "My message was that this presidential election should... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=58The Treasury Department on Thursday put seven people it said were backing the Iraqi insurgency from Syria on a list that forbids US citizens from having any dealings with them. Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and international finance,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=57Iran's adversaries cannot harm the strong ties between Tehran and Damascus, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday, a week after Iran appeared to chide Syria for its decision to take part in a Mideast summit in the United States. State-run... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=56A Syrian state-run newspaper on Saturday described this week's US-sponsored Mideast peace conference as a "defeat" for the Palestinians and for peace in the region. In a surprise move lauded by participants at the time, Syria took part in the... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=55The United States said Friday it sees a "mixed picture" from Syria about whether it seeks to cooperate with US aims in the Middle East since Damascus backed revived peace talks in the region. "You have indications of things like participating... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=54WASHINGTON — A State Department official said Thursday that Syria or its supporters may use violence to interfere in Lebanon's upcoming presidential elections. "Interference or intimidation in the electoral process is unacceptable to the United... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=53ISTANBUL — Six countries and the Arab League on Saturday warned against outside interference in Lebanon's upcoming presidential elections in a statement clearly targeted at Syria. The United States, France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=52Syria on Tuesday signed a $2.6 billion contract with Iran, Venezuela and Malaysia for the construction of an oil refinery in central Syria that will have a daily capacity of 140,000 barrels, the oil ministry said. The ministry said the refinery... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=51Syrian police killed one protester and wounded three when they dispersed a rally expressing support for the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the face of Turkish threats, a Kurdish official said on Saturday. Two of the wounded were in serious... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=50U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today that she delivered a firm message to Syria's foreign minister not to interfere in Lebanon's election process, telling him the world was watching. Rice held a rare meeting with Syrian Foreign... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=49In a speech at flight school graduation, Syrian chief of staff tells new pilots 'we'll never relinquish our right to return occupied land' "Be prepared to fend off all external aggression that seeks to harm the homeland," General Ali Habib,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=48Israel obtained detailed photographs from inside an alleged Syrian nuclear facility prior to carrying out an air strike on September 6, ABC News reported over the weekend. An unnamed senior source in the US told the news network that the Mossad... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=47United Nations nuclear experts are examining satellite imagery of a Syrian site that may have been bombed by Israel last month because it was a possible nuclear facility, according to a diplomat familiar with the investigation. The diplomat,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=46SEOUL, South Korea: A high-level North Korean official left on Saturday for an overseas trip including a visit to Syria, the North's state media reported, amid suspicions the two countries might be cooperating on a secret nuclear program. Choe... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=45Bashar Assad said Syria will not participate in November's peace parley. In an interview with two Lebanese newspapers, the Syrian dictator said the U.S.-brokered peace conference scheduled for November has no chance of success and should include... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=44DAMASCUS, Syria — A small plane crashed in an empty field south of Damascus on Sunday, killing the three-member crew on board, Syria's state-run news agency and witnesses said. Syria's official news agency SANA said the plane, a Navajo, belonged... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=41A Syrian cleric who recruited foreign fighters travelling to Iraq to fight US-led forces was assassinated in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Friday, an aide said. Sheikh Mahmud Gul Agassi, aka Abu al-Qaqa, was shot dead after he emerged... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=40Beirut - Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah has reported very disturbing information on the assassination of former MP Antoine Ghanem, including the preparation of the booby trapped car and the execution of the assassination The Al-Seyassah... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=39Senior members of Lebanese, Palestinian organizations vow to stand by Damascus if Jewish state launches war. 'Doors will be open which have not been open before. Israel will pay a heavy price,' they warn Roee Nahmias "If Israel... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=38UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said here Wednesday that he was canceling a scheduled meeting with his Syrian counterpart Walid Moallem because he was "shocked" by last week's assassination of a Lebanese anti-Syrian... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=37BERLIN - Prosecutors said Tuesday that they have charged a man with dual German-Syrian citizenship with spying on Syrians living in Germany. Federal prosecutors said they charged the man, identified only as 57-year-old Atef N. from Bonn, with... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=36· Damascus suspicious over conference agenda · US secretary of state says event will be serious Ian Black, Middle East editor Syria is expected to rebuff an invitation from the US to attend a grand Middle East peace conference later... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=35SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s No. 2 leader met with a Syrian delegation in Pyongyang today, the North’s media reported, amid growing international concerns about weapons technology cooperation between the two countries. Kim Yong Nam, head... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=34A report says North Korea has trained Syrian missile engineers and the Arab nation has bartered farm products and computers for missiles from the Stalinist state. The two countries have recently strengthened missile cooperation, with Syrian engineers... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=33BEIRUT -- A car bomb killed an anti-Syrian Lebanese lawmaker and at least six other people in Beirut on Wednesday, just six days before parliament was due to elect a new president, security sources said. The lawmaker, Antoine Ghanem of the Christian... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=32Dozens of Syrian military officers and Iranian engineers were killed about two months ago in an a chemical weapons accident, Jane's Magazine reported Monday, revealing new details on the incident which took place in a secret weapons facility. According... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=31The Sunday Times of London provides additional information on the September 6 foray of Israeli warplanes into Syria, claiming that Israel "blew apart" or possibly hijacked a nuclear cache, uranium enrichment facilities, or other non-conventional... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=30Turkey provided Israel with intelligence on Syria prior to last week's alleged IAF flyover into the country, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida claimed on Thursday. According to the report, the country had a central role in delivering precise information... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=29North Korea may be cooperating with Syria on some sort of nuclear facility in Syria, according to new intelligence the United States has gathered over the past six months, sources said. The evidence, said to come primarily from Israel, includes dramatic... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=28DAMASCUS — A senior European Parliament official said on Wednesday that the EU and Syria were waiting for the political climate to improve to allow the signing of an association agreement. The accord, on which the two sides completed negotiations... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=27JERUSALEM: Israel is keeping troops along the Syrian border on high alert amid allegations by Syria that Israeli aircraft entered Syrian airspace last week, military officials said Tuesday. The officials said there have been no signs that Syria... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=26WASHINGTON — After days of silence from the Israeli government, American officials confirmed Tuesday that Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes inside Syria last week, the first such attack since 2003. A Defense Department official said Israeli... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=25RIYADH — Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem called off a visit planned for Tuesday to the kingdom, the first since a public row between the two countries, a Saudi official said. "The scheduled visit has been cancelled," the official told AFP,... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=24JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia yesterday denied press reports that its intelligence chief Prince Muqrin had visited Damascus and met with senior Syrian officials. Saudi Ambassador to Syria Ahmed Al-Qahtani issued the denial in response to a report published... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=23Tehran has announced its readiness to assist Damascus by all means to counter the violation of Syrian airspace by Israeli warplanes. Iran's ambassador to Syria, Mohammad-Hassan Akhtari said the "Zionist Regime's provocative moves had prompted... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=22The alleged violation of Syrian airspace by Israeli warplanes was announced by the official state news on Thursday afternoon. It is not clear why it took the Syrian authorities almost 12 hours to make the reported incident public. The Israeli... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=19(UPI) JERUSALEM -- Russia was partly to blame for the heightened tension between Israel and Syria earlier this summer, The Jerusalem Post reported Thursday. During an interview with Army Radio, head of the Diplomatic-Security Bureau at the Defense... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=18JERUSALEM — The Israeli army has decided that war with Syria is unlikely and is rotating forces out of the contested Golan Heights after months of cross-border tension, security officials say. The decision by Israel's military followed months... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=17MOSCOW - Russia has begun delivering 50 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria. An ally of Moscow throughout the Cold War, the Syrian regime is a key supporter of Iran and of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Pantsyr-S1E anti-aircraft missiles are part of a... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=16DAMASCUS - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki held talks in Damascus on Monday aimed at persuading Syria to drop what Baghdad sees as its support for insurgents in Iraq. Maliki is the first Iraqi prime minister to visit Damascus since the U.S.-led... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=15Ya Libnan, Beirut - Pro-government Lebanese leaders expressed anger over remarks made by Syria's Foreign Minister Farouk Sharaa that caused Saudi outrage. MP Saad Hariri strongly defended the Saudi kingdom, describing as "lies and offenses" Sharaa's... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=14(AFP) MOSCOW — Russia has begun delivery of modern air defense units to Syria while rejecting speculation that some of the weapons could be forwarded secretly to Iran. “The first part of the delivery to Syria has started,” the centrist daily Nezavissimaya... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=13International Herald Tribune AP - RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia lashed out at Syria on Thursday with a rare tirade reflecting deteriorated relations between the two Mideast nations. An unidentified kingdom official in a statement carried... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=12REUTERS - The United States urged Syrian officials to allow dissident former legislator Riad Seif to leave the country to receive medical treatment abroad. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Syrian government should "ensure that... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=11Beirut, (SANA) - Chairman of the Lebanese South Council Kabalan Kabalan on Sunday announced that the authorities started to execute a project to rebuild houses in the Lebanese southern towns of Qana, al-Qulaila and Seddiqin, destroyed by Israel last... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=10Iranian ambassador to Syria, Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, has called Iran-Syria relations extremely strong and remarkable. Akhtari said that supporting the Islamic Revolution and standing by Iran in all political and international... http://www.forsyria.org/latest_news_details.asp?id=9Syria is today in possession of a massive number of the most sophisticated anti-aircraft batteries in the world, according to a senior Israeli military source cited by the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot on Monday. The source said that Syria's...