U.N. report confirms chemical arms attacks
UNITED NATIONS – U.N inspectors said Thursday that chemical weapons have been used in the Syrian conflict, definitely in a widely publicized Aug. 21 attack near Damascus and probably in four other locations between March and late August.
The report by U.N. chemical weapons experts, led by Swedish professor Ake Sellstrom, examined seven alleged chemical weapons attacks and said it lacked information to corroborate the allegations at two locations. The inspectors’ limited mandate barred them from identifying whether the government or opposition fighters were responsible for any of the attacks.
Thursday’s report said evidence indicated chemical weapons were probably used in Khan al Assal outside Aleppo, Jobar in Damascus’ eastern suburbs, Saraqueb near Idlib in the northwest, and Ashrafiah Sahnaya in the Damascus countryside.
U.S. drone attack kills several, Yemen says
SANAA, Yemen – Missiles fired by a U.S. drone slammed into a convoy of vehicles traveling to a wedding party in central Yemen on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, Yemeni security officials said.
The officials said the attack took place in the city of Radda, the capital of Bayda province, and left charred bodies and burnt out cars on the road. The city, a stronghold of al-Qaida militants, witnessed deadly clashes early last year between armed tribesmen backed by the military and al-Qaida gunmen in an attempt to drive them out of the city.
There were no immediate details on who was killed in the strike, and there were conflicting reports about whether there were militants traveling with the wedding convoy.
Putin defends values of nation in speech
MOSCOW – President Vladimir Putin cast Russia Thursday as a defender of conservative values against the “genderless and infertile” Western tolerance that he said equates good and evil.
Putin’s 70-minute state-of-the nation address marked a determined effort to burnish Russia’s image that has been dented by Western criticism of an anti-gay law.
Russia has insisted that a law banning “propaganda of non-traditional relations” does not discriminate against gays, but gay rights group say it has given a green light to harassment and intimidation.
Without directly referring to the anti-gay law, Putin focused on upholding traditional family values, which he said were the foundation of Russia’s greatness and a bulwark against “so-called tolerance – genderless and infertile.”
Associated Press
