Will der Westen wirklich Einfluss auf den Syrien-Konflikt nehmen? Dann sollten die USA aufhören, mit Krieg zu drohen, und die Israelis den Finger vom Abzug nehmen. Hilfreicher wäre es, endlich das Verhältnis zu Iran zu verbessern.

„Unsere westlichen Partner hatten schon mehrmals diesen Weg betreten. Ich hoffe, dass der gesunde Menschenverstand doch noch triumphieren wird“, sagte Lawrow.

In a strongly worded assessment, Kerry said that evidence now being gathered by United Nations experts on the ground in Syria was important but was not necessary to prove what is already “grounded in facts, informed by conscience and guided by common sense.”

“The reality is, one of the great things about this country is we do have a peaceful transfer of power,” said Jindal, chairman of the Republican Governors Assn.

Before the partisan outrage machines rev their engines for a noisy fight about Obama‘s alleged „high crimes and misdemeanors,“ some context might be in order.

The United Nations said on Monday it plans to contact the United States over a report that the U.S. National Security Agency bugged its New York headquarters and warned that countries are expected to respect the world body‘s diplomatic inviolability.

The U.S. knew Hussein was launching some of the worst chemical attacks in history — and still gave him a hand.

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In the absence of a formal ‚smoking gun‘ provided by the UN inspection, the security council is unlikely to back military action

„The regime in Syria … has chemical weapons, but they wouldn‘t use them around Damascus, 5 km from the (U.N.) committee which is investigating chemical weapons. Of course they are not so stupid as to do so,“ Muslim told Reuters.

Warplanes and military transporters have begun arriving on Britain‘s Akrotiri air base on Cyprus, less than 100 miles from the Syrian coast, in a sign of increasing preparations for a military strike against the Assad regime in Syria.

Snipers opened fire Monday on a convoy of United Nations inspectors heading toward the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, disabling the lead vehicle with multiple shots to the tires and windshield, the United Nations said, but the inspectors still managed to visit two hospitals, interview witnesses and doctors and collect patient samples for the first time since the attack last week that claimed hundreds of lives.

The United Nations said on Monday it was still possible for a U.N. team of chemical weapons experts to gather evidence necessary to investigate last week‘s alleged gas attack in suburbs east of Damascus, despite the lapse of time.

After Sisi‘s military seized power last month, a group of clerics in the kingdom signed a letter calling on King Abdullah to reverse his position, and since the violence began two weeks ago, many Saudis have spoken out on social media.

„For Riyadh to be in the frontline of a confrontation like what is taking place in Egypt is unprecedented. It is making ripples inside Saudi Arabia,“ said a Saudi journalist.

Vor der Invasion des eigenen Landes durch die Westmächte nach Ägypten fliehend, landen syrische Kriegsflüchtlinge dort in Gefangenschaft der Militärjunta.

In a press release late on Sunday, the news monitoring Network RASSD condemned killings and arbitrary arrests of journalists, including 5 of its own correspondents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday discussed with British Prime Minister David Cameron during a phone call the situation in Syria and issues related to the coming summit of G20 due next month in Petersburg. „The basic topic was related to the situation in Syria in light of press reports about the possibility of using chemical weapons near Damascus,“ Press office of the Russian Presidency announced.