Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov says he will run against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a presidential election next March, in the latest challenge to the Russian leader. Prokhorov, who also owns the U.S. basketball team the New Jersey Nets, said Monday his decision to compete in the election is the most important of his life. [...]
Tag: opposition activists
December 13, 2011
December 13, 2011
Voter Turnout Low in Syria Municipal Elections Amid Protests
Despite violence that continues to roil the country, Syria’s government is holding local council elections Monday as it downplays anti-government unrest as the work of a small group of foreign-backed terrorists. In Syria’s northern, heavily Kurdish province of Hasaka a crowd chants slogans against local council elections taking place across the country Monday. Witnesses say [...]
December 11, 2011
10 Killed in Syria’s Anti-Government Unrest
Activists say Syrian forces have opened fire on protesters who had gathered at a funeral for a child, killing at least four people. The activists say the unrest the northwestern Idlib province was among several deadly incidents Saturday. They also say three civilians were killed in the central Homs region after gunfire erupted near a [...]
December 8, 2011
Syria Blames Oil Pipeline Explosion on Sabotage
There has been a major explosion in a Syrian pipeline carrying oil to a refinery near the restive city of Homs. This, as violence from the country’s nine-month uprising escalates. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the report, but gave no cause for the blast. The state-run SANA news agency blamed “an armed [...]
December 5, 2011
Majority Narrows for Putin’s Party in Russia Polls
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party has suffered surprisingly steep losses in parliamentary elections, giving the man who has dominated politics there for more than a decade a much reduced majority. With 96 percent of the vote counted, United Russia on Monday looked set to win 238 seats in the 450-seat State Duma, or [...]
December 5, 2011
Putin’s Party Losing Support in Russian Election
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party has suffered surprisingly steep losses in Russia’s parliamentary elections, polling just under a 50 percent majority with 92 percent of the vote counted. The Central Election Commission said early Monday that United Russia had garnered 49.8 percent of the ballots cast Sunday, compared with 64 percent in 2007. [...]
November 21, 2011
November 16, 2011
Syrian Rebels Attack Damascus Military Base, Form Council
Syrian opposition activists say army defectors have attacked a government base near the capital, Damascus, as Turkish officials and Arab League members met to discuss ending bloodshed of an eight-month uprising against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The activists say rebels of the Free Syrian Army fired rockets and machine guns at an [...]
November 16, 2011
Syrian Army Defectors Go on Offense, Militarizing Syria’s Uprising
Thousands of Syrian army deserters who joined the country’s opposition movement have been staging more frequent and deadly attacks on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in recent days. Those offensive operations by the lightly-armed and loosely-organized Free Syrian Army have increasingly militarized what has been a largely peaceful eight-month uprising against the government. In [...]
November 16, 2011
Activists: Syrian Rebels Attack Military Site Near Damascus
Syrian opposition activists say army defectors have attacked a military base near the capital, Damascus, in an apparent escalation of an eight-month uprising against the autocratic government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The activists say rebels of the Free Syrian Army fired rockets and machine guns at an air force intelligence complex in the Damascus [...]
November 12, 2011
Yemeni Forces Kill 11 During Protests
Yemeni government forces have killed at least 11 civilians in one of the country’s largest cities, a day after a United Nations envoy started a mission to urge President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over power. Medical officials and witnesses say civilians were killed early Friday when Yemeni forces renewed shelling in Taiz, where demonstrators [...]
November 11, 2011
Opposition, Rights Group Urge Arab League to Suspend Syria
Syrian opposition activists say they will use protests planned for Friday to call for a suspension of the country’s Arab League membership. The move comes as the 22-member League prepares for an emergency meeting in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the apparent breakdown of an agreement with Damascus to end the government’s brutal crackdown on [...]
November 11, 2011
Yemeni Forces Kill 9 During Protests
Yemeni government forces have killed at least nine civilians in Taiz, one of the country’s largest cities. Medical officials and witnesses say the civilians were killed early Friday after forces renewed shelling in Taiz, where demonstrators have been calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s departure. News reports say pro-government forces opened fire near Freedom Square, [...]
November 9, 2011
Syrian Protesters Pelt Opposition with Eggs
Demonstrators confronted a Syrian opposition delegation outside Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday. Some protesters called the opposition figures “traitors” and pelted them with eggs. Reporters say the protesters were apparently concerned the opposition figures would agree to a dialogue with Syrian authorities. The confrontation forced the four-member delegation to postpone its meeting [...]