The UN human rights chief has called on the international community to protect Syrian civilians as violence surged across the country, with hours of intense shooting that sent stray bullets whizzing across the Lebanese border.
Friday’s bloodshed came as activists reported a grim milestone in the eight-month-old revolt: Last month was the deadliest month of the uprising, with at least 950 people killed in gun battles, raids and other violence as protesters demand the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The UN estimates more than 4,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in the middle of March.
“In light of the manifest failure of the Syrian authorities to protect their citizens, the international community needs to take urgent and effective measures to protect the Syrian people,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, told an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The EU’s latest sanctions, which were announced on Thursday, target 12 people and 11 companies with travel bans and asset freezes.
Those on the new list include the ministers of finance and the economy, as well as army officers.
Also on the list are the pro-government Cham Press TV and al-Watan newspaper, as well as a research center that the EU says provides support to the Syrian military in acquiring equipment for the surveillance of demonstrators.
Three oil companies, which the EU statement said provide financial support to the regime, were also listed.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC also said on Friday that it would halt its operations in Syria.
Despite Friday’s diplomatic squeeze, violence continued.
The most serious violence appears to have occurred in the Syrian town of Talkalakh, where witnesses reported more than six hours of explosions and gunfire starting at 3am.
“We were hearing strong explosions and the crack of heavy machine-gun fire,” Ahmad al-Fahel, who lives on the Lebanese side of the border, said by telephone. “It sounded as if they were destroying the city.”
The town is within walking distance from Lebanon and at least two people were struck by bullets on the Lebanese side. They included an 11-year-old girl and a 40-year-old man, Lebanese security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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