AL to hold emergency meeting over Syria crisis

The Arab League (AL) said on Sunday it will hold an emergency meeting of foreign ministers in Cairo on Thursday to discuss the Syrian crisis, Egypt’s state media reported.
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Syria FM accuses Arab League of being used as a tool

Syria’s foreign minister has attacked the Arab League following its suspension of Damascus and says the organization is being used as a “tool” to take the Syrian crisis to the U.N. Security Council.

Walid al-Moallem is speaking in Damascus shortly after the Arab League rejected Syria’s proposed amendments to a peace plan to end the country’s turmoil, saying the changes put forward by Damascus alter the plan’s “essence.” (more…)

Death toll in Syria crackdown rises to 4500

More than 4,500 protesters have been killed since the unrest broke out in mid-March, according to the head of the Syrian National Organization for Human Rights. (more…)

Arab League rejects Syrian request over monitors

The Arab League has rejected a request by Damascus to amend plans to send a monitoring mission to Syria, where troops and tanks have been used to repress protests against President Bashar al-Assad, Egypt’s state news agency reported on Sunday. (more…)

Iran denies meeting Syrian opposition, report

Iran, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad , denied recent reports that it has been in direct contact with the Syrian opposition, the semi-official Fars news agency said Saturday.

Fars quoted the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Damascus as saying that “Contact with the political opposition of the Syrian ruling system is not on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s agenda. (more…)

Spanish voters set to throw out Socialists

Spaniards are expected to throw out the Socialists they blame for a disastrous economic situation in an election on Sunday and to vote in a centre-right party likely to dole out more bitter medicine in the form of public spending cuts.

Opinion polls show the People’s Party (PP), led by Mariano Rajoy, (more…)

Arab League deadline for Syria action passes

A deadline for Syria to accept a peace plan put together by the Arab League has passed, at the end of a day marked by more violent deaths.

Syria has agreed in principle to accept the peace plan, but critics accuse it of stalling for time. (more…)

Saleh says would hand Yemen over to the military if he quits

Yemen’s embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Saturday he would hand the country over to the military if he were to step down as demanded by the opposition. (more…)

Iraq bans Turkey flights in debt row: official

In a tit-for-tat move , Turkish aircraft will be banned from landing at Iraqi airports beginning on Sunday, after Ankara announced a similar move due to a row with Iraq over debts, a transportation ministry official said. (more…)

Syrian FM asks AL to amend the list of observers, LBC

LBC has reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem requested that Arab league to modify the list of the observers that will be sent by the organization to Syria, because Damascus has reservations about some of the people on the list , the places they will be visiting and the prisoners they will be meeting at the jails . (more…)