U.S. tells Syria to send its diplomats home
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration ordered the Syrian government Tuesday to suspend its diplomatic and consular missions in the United States, requiring all personnel who are not legal U.S residents to leave the country.
The order, three years after the start of Syria’s bloody civil war, essentially shutters the Syrian embassy in Washington and its honorary consulates in Troy, Mich., and Houston. It comes in response to a decision by President Bashar Assad’s government to suspend consular services for Syrians living in the U.S.
“We have determined it is unacceptable for individuals appointed by that regime to conduct diplomatic or consular operations in the United States,” U.S. special envoy to Syria Daniel Rubenstein said.
Thailand says blip may have been jet
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Ten days after a Malaysian jetliner disappeared, Thailand’s military said Tuesday it saw radar blips that might have been from the missing plane but didn’t report it “because we did not pay attention to it.”
Search crews from 26 countries, including Thailand, are looking for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished early March 8 with 239 people aboard. Frustration is growing among relatives of those on the plane at the lack of progress in the search.
Military officials in neighboring Thailand said Tuesday their own radar showed an unidentified plane, possibly Flight 370, flying toward the strait beginning minutes after the Malaysian jet’s transponder signal was lost.
Associated Press
