A much awaited UN report confirmed that Sarin gas was used in an attack on Damascus suburbs on August 21. The report did not say who launched the attack, but evidence points to Syria’s government.
The UN experts’ report had few surprises for those of us who have been investigating that deadly attack. But now what? Will there be justice for those who died? Will Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court?
For the first time in four years, Iran opened up access to Facebook and Twitter. No one knows if the government opened up access across the country, or if it is only temporary.
In Iran, hundreds of students have been banned from universities for real or perceived political activity since Ahmadinejad's presidency. At least one Iranian official hopes that will soon change.
Calls for “virginity tests” for high school girls emerge regularly in Indonesia. A better idea would be sex education – not just for school-age girls, but also for boys.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will brief the Security Council on the UN inspectors' report on Syria at 11:15 this morning, New York time, with the document expected to confirm chemical weapons were used in Damascus suburbs on August 21 but not to assign direct responsibility. Evidence so far points to government forces as the culprit.
At the weekend, Russia and the US announced a deal to put Syria’s chemical weapons beyond use, but the expected UN Security Council resolution will apparently say little if anything about the killing by conventional weapons, which has taken 98% of the 110,000 lives lost in the ongoing war. It is also not sure whether the body will refer the situation to the International Criminal Court to demand accountability for the many abuses and atrocities committed by both sides.
