Word: syria
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When a gang of criminals ambushed and murdered four Lebanese soldiers on Monday in the Bekaa Valley, they might have expected a certain amount of impunity. The valley - which lies just over Lebanon's Mediterranean mountain range and runs along the border with Syria - has long been a center of lawlessness in a country famed for its volatility. The Lebanese government - weakened by sectarian squabbling, rampant corruption, and interference by foreign powers - usually turns a blind eye to much of the drug cultivation and weapons smuggling that goes on there. But this time, the Lebanese army hit back. This week...
Russia is currently 147th in Transparency International's annual corruption survey, alongside Syria, Kenya and Bangladesh. A recent poll by the independent Levada Center, meanwhile, found that while 85% of respondents believe officers do their job satisfactorily or very well, the majority also see the police as part of "repressive structures." (See pictures of London's police on duty...
There are even tougher issues to tackle. According to several activist organizations, traffickers ferry their victims overseas illegally on forged passports or "legally" through forced marriages, sometimes abusing the Islamic tradition that allows a man to have four wives. A trafficker "will marry four, he will take them to Syria, it's legal, and divorce them there, and he comes back and does it again. How can we stop it?" Salim says. Similarly, the principle of temporary marriages, known as al-Mut'a in Shi'ite Islam and al-Misyar in Sunni Islam (they can extend anywhere from two hours...
...North Korea, the successful firing of the Taepodong II likely had two purposes: at a moment when the Obama administration has indicated it is willing to engage with hostile regimes - Iran and Syria specifically - Pyongyang "just threw a big rock at the White House, and said, 'We're here, too,'" says one Western diplomat in Seoul. Internally, the launch comes at a critical moment. Kim Jong Il had a stroke late last summer, and there is intense speculation as to the state of Kim's health and his level of control over his regime. "The launch says to North Koreans...
...Syria-first approach to peace talks has often encountered resistance in diplomatic circles, on the grounds that the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the Palestinian problem. That may be true, but the counterargument might go that in the Middle East, you have to play the hand you're dealt. Despite their hawkish talk, Netanyahu and Lieberman are unlikely to resist an opportunity to conclude a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. Nor is Obama...