The Six Syrians Who Help Keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad In Power

Bashar al-Assad (right) with his brother Maher (left) and brother-in-law Major General Assef Shawkat (centre) in June 2000. Photograph: Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters

Six Syrians Who Helped Bashar al-Assad Keep Iron Grip After father's Death -- The Guardian

The core of the Syrian regime seems solid, with closeness to Assad's family more important than formal responsibilities.

Bashar al-Assad came to power amid high hopes for reform after three decades of his father Hafez's iron rule. But 11 years on he seems determined to crush the unrest sweeping across Syria. And there is no sign that he is taking a softer line than the coterie of relatives and security chiefs who advise him at the heart of the regime's inner circle in Damascus.

Syrian and western analysts, diplomats and academics say the president is bent on using force to preserve his regime – and ready to ignore international pressure.

Read more ....

My Comment: I suspect that this type of attention and publicity is something that these men do not want .... especially now.

Unrest In Syria -- News Updates May 1, 2011

Syrian Regime's Shells Pound Deraa's Roman Quarter -- The Guardian

Death toll rises to 535 as stranglehold on southern city at the heart of uprising tightens following storming of key mosque

Syrian army tanks have shelled the old quarter of Deraa, the southern city at the heart of the six-week-old uprising, a witness said on Sunday.

Deraa has been without water, fuel or electricity since Monday, when the regime sent in troops backed by tanks and snipers to crush protests by people seeking an end to President Bashar al-Assad's authoritarian rule. Tanks and armoured personnel vehicles have cut off neighbourhoods, and snipers on rooftops throughout the city have kept residents pinned in their homes. Other areas of the country have also come under military control, but Deraa has come under the most serious stranglehold as the death toll has soared to 535.

Read more ....

More News On The Unrest In Syria

Syrian troops shell restive city, add troops -- Yahoo News/AP
Syrians protest from rooftops after army action -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Syrian protesters plan week 'to break the siege' -- Yahoo News/AFP
Syrian Troops Storm Into Daraa Sunday -- Voice of America
Syria: Helicopters, tanks reportedly used in assault on Deraa (VIDEO) -- Global Post
Syrian government forces launch fresh attacks against Deraa protesters -- The Guardian
Syrian Army Sends Reinforcements to Daraa -- Voice of America
Syrian Forces Seize Mosque That Was Uprising’s Symbol -- New York Times
Syrian troops overwhelm protest town -- Washington Post
Syria: the west can shorten Syrian regime's deadly campaign -- The Telegraph
Syrian Businessman Becomes Magnet for Anger and Dissent -- New York Times
Syria shockwaves sweep across Middle East -- The Guardian

French-Built Rafales Jets Are To Be Used On Britain's Aircraft Carriers

The Rafale, built by French aeronautics constructer Dassault.
(Photo: Reuters)

Politicians Hide Their Plans To Put French Jets On Royal Navy Carriers -- The Telegraph

The Royal Navy won't be flying Anglo-US Joint Strike Fighters, but providing a platform for French Rafales as part of an EU force, writes Christopher Booker.

The magnificent military pageantry of the royal wedding coincided, sadly, with yet another humiliating instance of the precipitate decline in Britain’s military power. There has long been something very odd about the two giant aircraft carriers which are to be the centrepiece of Britain’s defence capability over the next 50 years – one to be instantly mothballed, the other not due in service for another decade. Now, it seems, the bill for this project is to rise yet again, by further billions of pounds, because, according to the Ministry of Defence, one carrier needs extensive modification to accommodate the Joint Strike Fighters we are allegedly building with the US.

Read more ....

My Comment: The U.K. and France agreed to an understanding last year to work more closely in military matters. If this report is true, I guess they are putting substance to what they discussed a few months ago.

Picture Of The Day

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (March 28, 2011) Marines assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (22nd MEU) embark aboard the multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5). The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group is deploying to the Mediterranean Sea. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Julio Rivera (Released)

Yemen President Saleh Refuses To Sign Agreement To End Yemen's Political Crisis

Anti-government protesters in Sana'a on April 29, 2011. Press TV

Gulf Official Says Signing Ceremony Of Deal To End Yemen’s Crisis Postponed Indefinitely -- Washington Post

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A Gulf official says the signing ceremony of a deal to end Yemen’s political crisis has been indefinitely postponed, signaling the possible collapse of the agreement.

Ahmed Khalifa al-Kaabi, a media official at the Riyadh headquarters of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, said on Sunday that the postponement was caused by the refusal of the Yemeni president to personally sign the deal.

Read more ....

More News On Yemen's Political Crisis

Yemen transition deal teeters as Saleh fails to sign -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Yemen opposition says Saleh torpedoed Gulf pact -- Yahoo News/AFP
Yemen opposition says Gulf-proposed deal is over -- AFP
Yemen Accord Signing Has Been Postponed, Gulf Official Says -- Bloomberg
Saleh reneges on Yemen deal amid unrest -- Tehran Times
Yemeni Opposition Says President Refused to Sign Transition Agreement -- Voice of America
Yemen unrest: Doubts over deal as Saleh fails to sign -- BBC

My Comment: It looks like someone developed cold feet on the deal.

Behind The Concrete Walls Of Britain's Afghan Outposts

Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. Courtesy: New Civil Engineer, December 2008

There Is A Small Corner Of Afghanistan That Is Forever England: Behind The Concrete Walls Of Britain's Afghan Outposts -- The Daily Mail

Fortifed doors, hundreds of guards, an incessant buzz of helicopters... Award-winning photographer Simon Norfolk goes inside Britain's most dangerous foreign outposts

When you first catch a glimpse of the British Embassy in Kabul, it’s an unprepossessing sight. Lurking behind a concrete barrier is a corrugated metal shed with an air-con unit and a huge satellite dish stuck to the outside. There’s no flag to give away what it is, for fear of advertising itself as a target.

Look closely though and there’s a small battered sign attached to the wall saying ‘British Embassy Kabul, Reception’. On the door itself the famous Lord Kitchener recruiting poster is adapted to remind personnel to ‘wear and display’ their pass at all times.

Read more ....

My Comment: An interesting look at how our forces and diplomats live in Afghanistan

Nato Airstrike Kills Qaddafi's Son

British PM Says NATO Targeting Libyan Decision Makers -- Voice of America

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sunday NATO forces are targeting Libya's command and control units, not specific people.

Mr. Cameron refused to comment on media reports that a son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had been killed in a NATO airstrike.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said late Saturday that 29-year-old Saif al-Arab Gadhafi and three of Moammar Gadhafi's grandchildren were killed during what Ibrahim called a direct attempt to assassinate the Libyan leader.

Read more ....

More News On NATO's Military Strike Against Gaddafi

NATO strike kills Gadhafi's son but leader escapes -- Yahoo News/AP
Libya says Gaddafi survives air strikes, but son killed -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Kadhafi 'directly targeted' as son killed: regime -- Yahoo News/AFP
Qaddafi Is Said to Survive NATO Airstrike That Kills Son -- New York Times
NATO strike kills Kadafi son, Libyan official says -- L.A. Times
Muammar Gaddafi son killed by Nato air strike – Libyan government -- The Guardian
Col Gaddafi's youngest son 'killed in Nato air strike' -- The Telegraph
Libya crisis: Gaddafi son 'killed in air strike' -- BBC
Libya says Gaddafi's youngest son killed in NATO airstrike -- Xinhuanet
NATO: Moammar Gadhafi not target of attack -- UPI
Nato denies deliberately targeting Muammar Gaddafi -- The Guardian
Gaddafi son's killing puts Nato in firing line -- The Guardian
Scepticism surrounds 'Gaddafi son's death' -- Al Jazeera
Death of Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi may backfire for Nato -- BBC