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THE SPHINX 6 World News It has now been a year since the first protests against President Bashar al- Assad in Syria, and the conflict seems no nearer to abating despite escalating violence. After the Arab Spring that toppled both Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Muammar Gadaffi in Libya, and was sparked by an uprising against President Ben Ali of Tunisia, the Syrian government has been attempting a crackdown to prevent a revolution of the same kind. The United Nations have claimed, “thousands of deaths” have occurred, but on the 4th of February 2012 a UN resolution calling on Assad to step down was vetoed by China and Russia. This prompted 200 aid groups, including Christian Aid and Human Rights Watch, to call on the Security Council to unite in ending the violence. Homs, seen as the main opposition stronghold, has been under continuous bombardment and shelling, with many arrested and tortured. Several larger attacks have been made besides the underlying conflict, including one that left photographer Remi Ochlik and Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin among the dead. In response to the killings, French President Nicolas Sarkozy commented, “This regime must go and there is no reason that Syrians don’t have the right to live their lives and choose their destiny freely.” British Prime Minister David Cameron recently said, "The shortest way of ending the violence is a transition where Assad goes, rather than a revolution from the bottom." Mr Assad has been accused of concentrating power in the hands of his family and the Alawites, the Shia heterodox sect to which Mr Assad belongs, leaving the Sunni majority of 74% unable to access jobs and basic amenities. The value of the Syrian pound crashed after Arab League, EU and US sanctions on tourism and the oil trade, leaving the economy in decline and causing difficulties such as electricity blackouts and basic food shortages. Last September, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food expressed concern that an estimated 2 to 3 million people in Syria were living in “extreme poverty”. Amnesty International claims that in 2011 the authorities “continued to use state of emergency powers to punish and silence their critics, including political activists, human rights defenders, bloggers and Kurdish minority rights activists.” The country has been in a state of emergency since 1963. There are also divisions amongst the opposition, as members of the Syrian National Council clash with the National Co-ordination Committee on issues such as government policy and foreign intervention. Differences with the Free Syrian Army, army defectors seeking to topple Assad, have led the international community to wonder if peace can ever be achieved in the region. The United States branded the UN veto “unacceptable”, but President Barack Obama has stated there will be no military intervention, telling the BBC “The notion that the way to solve every one of these problems is to deploy our military... hasn't been true in the past, and it won't be true now." The Liverpool Arab Society recently held a fundraising week in which they succeeded in generating over £7,000 to donate to Syria Relief. One year on, violence continues on the streets of Syria After continued confrontations between the two embittered states, an Egyptian brokered ceasefire has been called between Israel and Palestine. Since being implemented, there have been continued if infrequent rocket fire between the two states. Both states aim to keep the peace but Israel have warned that they will continue pre-emptive strikes if they become aware of strikes planned on them. The violence, which lasted 4 days, was littered with air strikes from both sides of the border, ultimately killing 25 Palestinians.This bout of fighting was triggered by an Israeli air strike in the Gaza region. Their target was a senior leader of the Palestinian militant group the Popular Resistance Committee, but fatalities throughout the weekend also included at least 4 civilians, one known to be a twelve-year-old boy. In light of the ceasefire it has come out that images tweeted by both sides supposedly showing the current conflict were in fact several years old. One Palestinian photo claimed to show a female casualty, but was in fact an accidental death. The Israeli tweet, which came from the government spokesman Ofir Gendelmen, was captioned with: "When a rocket fired by terrorists from Gaza is about to hit their home." As it was posted during the conflicts and from an official source, his twitter followers assumed that it was a contemporary photo. However when questioned he replied “I never stated that the photo was current. It illustrates the fear that people in southern Israel live in." Controversially, the father of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit has publicly said he understands why Palestinians kidnapped Israelis. He claimed he would do likewise in the same situation, citing the use of similar force by Israelis against the British when attempting to realise Israel after WWII and the Holocaust. Conflict between Israel and Palestine escalates Spencer Montagu Millie Kidson The European Union (EU), United States (US) and Japan have launched a case in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against China over restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals. Rare earths are ubiquitous in modern technology, and essential for manufacturing industries. China currently accounts for 97% of the world output of rare earth minerals. US President Barak Obama demanded China “let the market work on its own” and claimed the country was breaking WTO rules by limiting exports. The WTO is often regarded as a controversial organisation aiming to liberalise world trade, and comprises 153 members. Included in its remit is resolving trade disputes between participating states, and it has processes designed to enforce the organisation’s rules. China claims its export restrictions are intended to protect the environment and preserve supplies of the valuable resource. "We regret their decision to complain to the WTO," China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei said, according to the official Xinhua news agency. "In the meantime, we are actively preparing to defend ourselves." This is only the latest in a ratcheting up of trade disputes between the state capitalist giant and its more economically liberal export markets. The EU, US and Japan have all been actively backing efforts to find alternative sources of rare earth elements, in an effort to break the Chinese domination of the market. Japan is said to be particularly concerned about the potential for China to use REEs as a geopolitical weapon, as relations have worsened since the Senkaku boat collision incident in 2010. EU, USA & Japan challenge China over Rare Earths James Margeson Syria Key Dates 15/03/11: ‘Day of Rage’ sees street protests across Syria 25/03/11: Troops open fire on protestors for the first time 18/08/11: B. Obama condemns “horrifying” assaults on Homs 04/10/11: Russia and China veto proposed UN sanctions 15/03/12: U.N announce more than 8,000 Syrians have been killed
