Gabriel Helou

''The picture of the 24-year-old [Suleiman Ghanem] hangs from loose wires above the poor, crowded and densely populated predominantly Palestinian neighborhood, where many residents have long supported the Syrian government because of its hard line against Israel and the fact that living conditions there for Palestinians are relatively good compared to those in neighboring Lebanon. But today, such support seems to be waning.''

An Iranian man who was ordered to be blinded for carrying out an acid attack on a woman has been pardoned by his victim, state television has said. “Ameneh Bahrami had demanded qisas, a rarely used retributive justice under Sharia law, but the report said she had forgone that right at the last minute. A court had backed Ms Bahrami's demand in 2008 that Majid Movahedi be blinded. He attacked Ms Bahrami in 2004 after she had refused his offer of marriage, leaving her severely disfigured. Rights group Amnesty International had lobbied against the sentence, calling it "cruel and inhuman punishment amounting to torture".”

'Scores dead' as Syrian tanks storm Hama city   At least 136 people reportedly killed in violence throughout the country, a day ahead of the start of Ramadan. "Syrian security forces have launched a major assault on Hama, the country's third-largest city, a day before the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The National Organisation for Human Rights, a Syrian activist group, said 136 people were killed in Hama and three other centres across the country on Sunday.  The activist group reported at least 100 deaths in Hama, after tanks and soldiers stormed the city and said that dozens of anti-government protesters died in Deir ez-Zor, Harak and Al Bukamal. Al Jazeera's Rula Amin said that the number of deaths "are on the rise and the government seems adamant in wanting to crush the protests".

Head of the armed forces says he quit over jailed officers, in a move that reflects a deep rift between military and government; new ground forces commander appointed. “Turkey said on Friday its top four military chiefs were all seeking retirement, in moves that appeared to reflect a deep rift between the secularist military and a government with roots in political Islam. State-run Anatolian news agency said the head of the armed forces General Isik Kosaner and the commanders of the ground, naval and air forces were all stepping down, in what some Turkish media initially described as resignations. Kosaner said he was quitting his post in protest at the jailing of military officers in a variety of court cases which meant he could no longer defend the rights of his staff, the Hurriyet news website reported.”

“A federal judge has ordered the government to unseal grand jury transcripts of testimony by former President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal. Ruling in a lawsuit brought by a historian and several historical associations, Chief U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the transcripts to be unsealed. The testimony was taken near Nixon’s California home in 1975 – after he had resigned in the wake of the scandal. The Watergate scandal, which began with a June 1972 burglary in Washington, eventually led to the President’s resignation after investigations linked the burglars to top White House operatives. “The special circumstances presented here – namely, undisputed historical interest in the requested records – far outweigh the need to maintain the secrecy of the records,” Lamberth wrote. “The Court is confident that disclosure will greatly benefit the public and its understanding of Watergate without compromising the tradition and objectives of grand jury secrecy.” The g...

"Defying intimidation, children in Gaza stood their ground to wrestle the world record for kite flying back from China, hours after their United Nations-run summer camp facility was attacked by unknown assailants. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 10 men attacked and vandalized the facility in north-west Gaza early today. The attackers damaged a large billboard, burned a UN flag and torched part of the stage. In the kite-flying event, the official tally of children flying flags was more than 13,000. The verified figure will be released tomorrow. But the result beats the previous record of 10,465, which had been claimed in April by the Kite Association of Weifang Binhai Economic Technological Development Area in Weifang City, Shandong Province, China. “Taking on the might of China is a daunting feat for the children of Gaza,” said UNRWA acting director in Gaza, Christer Nordahl. “But they have risen brilliantly to the cha...

“A panel of three federal judges has denied requests by Robert W. Jackson III’s attorneys this afternoon to delay the convicted murderer’s execution set for early Friday morning. Jackson’s team were still holding hope, saying they still have motions before the U.S. Supreme Court. The judges from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard the requests via telephone at 5 p.m. in the Philadelphia Federal Courthouse at Sixth and Market streets, said Jason Miller, spokesman for the Delaware Attorney General’s Office. One of the main issues attorneys brought up is the use of pentobarbital, the lethal injection that is to be administered in Friday’s execution. It has been used 18 times but attorneys argued that it has had its problems. A Florida court halted an execution this week because of concerns over the new death penalty drug. A second issue raised by Jackson’s attorneys is whether he is even guilty of the 1992 killing of 47-year-old Elizabeth Girardi during a robbery at her Hockessin ho...