Belgian waste company mulls destroying Syrian chemical weapons
SYRIA-CRISIS/BELGIUM:Belgian waste company mulls destroying Syrian chemical weapons
World Food Programme Executive Director Meets Displaced Families In Syria
DAMASCUS - Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), ended a visit to Syria on Thursday after high-level talks with government officials and meeting displaced families in a food distribution centre in the capital Damascus.
Russia again blocks UN Security Council from condemning Syria attacks
SYRIA-CRISIS/UN:Russia again blocks UN Security Council from condemning Syria attacks
COLUMN-Gates, Obama and denying reality in the Middle East
ROHDE-MILITARY/ (COLUMN):COLUMN-Gates, Obama and denying reality in the Middle East
Hans and Gudrun Hammarstrom watch the news about the release of their son in their home in Soderhamn
Hans and Gudrun Hammarstrom, parents of photographer Niclas Hammarstrom (seen on the right of the screen), watch the news about the release of their son in their home in Soderhamn, in northern Sweden January 8, 2014. Two Swedish journalists have been set free after they went missing in Syria in November, Sweden's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Magnus Falkehed and Niclas Hammarstrom were in Beirut and being assisted by Swedish diplomatic staff, a ministry spokeswoman said. REUTERS/Mats Andersson/TT News Agency (SWEDEN - Tags: POLITICS MEDIA CIVIL UNREST) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. SWEDEN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWEDEN. NO COMMERCIAL SALES
Iraqi soldiers search vehicles at a check point in west of Baghdad
Iraqi soldiers search vehicles at a check point in west of Baghdad, January 8, 2014. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to eradicate al Qaeda in Iraq and predicted victory as his army prepared to launch a major assault against the Sunni Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city of Falluja. Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq's western Anbar province last week. The campaign by al Qaeda gunmen to form a radical Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria has rung alarm bells in Western capitals and provided further evidence that the Syrian civil war is exporting instability throughout the region. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY)
Iraqi soldiers stand guard at a check point in west of Baghdad
Iraqi soldiers stand guard at a check point in west of Baghdad, January 8, 2014. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to eradicate al Qaeda in Iraq and predicted victory as his army prepared to launch a major assault against the Sunni Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city of Falluja. Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq's western Anbar province last week. The campaign by al Qaeda gunmen to form a radical Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria has rung alarm bells in Western capitals and provided further evidence that the Syrian civil war is exporting instability throughout the region. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY)
Iraqi soldiers stand guard at a check point in west of Baghdad
Iraqi soldiers stand guard at a check point in west of Baghdad, January 8, 2014. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to eradicate al Qaeda in Iraq and predicted victory as his army prepared to launch a major assault against the Sunni Islamist militants who have taken over parts of the city of Falluja. Fighters from the al Qaeda affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is also active across the border in Syria, overran police stations in Falluja and another city in Iraq's western Anbar province last week. The campaign by al Qaeda gunmen to form a radical Islamic state in parts of Iraq and Syria has rung alarm bells in Western capitals and provided further evidence that the Syrian civil war is exporting instability throughout the region. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY)