The Arab League on Wednesday gave the Syrian regime three days to halt months of deadly violence against its people or face economic sanctions, Qatar's prime minister said.
The 22-member League is "giving the Syrian government three days to stop the bloody repression" of its civilian population, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told a press conference after a meeting of member states in Rabat.
Full StoryProtesters pelted the Moroccan embassy in Damascus with eggs and stones on Wednesday, Morocco's ambassador said as his country hosted an Arab League meeting aimed at ending bloody unrest in Syria, amid another attack on the UAE embassy in Damascus.
Morocco's ambassador, Mohammed Khassasi, told Agence France Presse that more than 100 demonstrators had attacked the building and stripped it of its flag.
Full StoryTurkey and members of the Arab League called Wednesday for "urgent measures" to protect Syrian civilians from violent repression by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
In a statement issued after a Turkish-Arab cooperation forum in the Moroccan capital Rabat, they also declared they were "against all foreign intervention in Syria."
Full StoryFrance has recalled its ambassador to Syria, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday, after its diplomatic missions there were attacked amid ongoing protests against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
"There has been renewed violence in Syria, which has led me to close our consular offices in Aleppo and in Latakia, as well as our cultural institutes and to recall our ambassador to Paris," Juppe told parliament.
Full StoryFrance summoned the Israeli ambassador in Paris to a meeting at the foreign ministry Wednesday to protest after an air strike wounded a French diplomat in Gaza along with his wife and daughter.
A spokesman for the ministry said that France's ambassador in Tel Aviv had complained to Israeli authorities over the bombing, and that Israel's envoy had been required to meet with senior officials in Paris.
Full StoryThe United Arab Emirates, which was said to be in final talks with France to buy 60 Rafale fighter jets, said Wednesday the French offer was unworkable and uncompetitive, WAM state news agency reported.
"Unfortunately, Dassault does not seem to realize that political will and all diplomatic efforts could not overcome uncompetitive and unworkable commercial terms," WAM quoted Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the deputy head of the armed forces, as saying.
Full StorySaudi Arabia will urge the U.N. General Assembly to condemn attacks on diplomats following an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the kingdom's envoy to the United States, the official SPA news agency reported on Wednesday.
The Saudi mission to the United Nations will "today (Wednesday) present a draft resolution to the General Assembly entitled: 'Terrorist Attacks Against Persons with International Immunity'," SPA said.
Full StoryPalestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas pledged on Wednesday to "speed up" work with Hamas to form a new caretaker government and to prepare for fresh elections.
In an address to the Palestinian leadership timed to mark seven years since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat and the 23rd anniversary of their declaration of independence, Abbas vowed to push ahead with efforts to cement a landmark unity deal between Fatah and Hamas.
Full StorySyrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime will be isolated by the Arab world if it does not halt the deadly crackdown on its own people, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday.
"The cost for the Syrian administration of not fulfilling the promises it made to the Arab League is its isolation in the Arab world as well," Davutoglu said at a meeting with Arab League foreign ministers.
Full StoryAnti-regime protesters, inspired by the suspension of Syria from the Arab League, staged a massive rally in Sanaa on Wednesday to urge the regional grouping to do the same with Yemen.
"Arab League, we demand the freezing of (Yemeni) membership," chanted the protesters who marched from Change Square, the epicenter of anti-government demonstrations, towards al-Hasaba -- both in the north of the capital.
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