An Cosantóir

12 | World Strategic Picture The Middle East How to deal with the Syrian Civil War became the centre of international debate after the Bashar Assad regime used chemical weapons against rebel held suburbs of Damascus on August 21st. Sources claim killing over a thousand people, it was the first use of chemical weapons since Saddam Hussein killed 5,000 Kurds in a poisongas attack on the town of Halabja in 1988. Assad, Russia and Iran initially denied that the regime had been responsible. In reaction the American administration signalled that it would bomb Syrian military facilities.  Barack Obama said the regime crossed a "red line", the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted, by 10-7, to support a limited strike and John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, and other Republican heavyweights gave their backing. But many in Congress want America to leave Syria to its fate. At a G20 summit in St Petersburg Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, insisted that any response should not be taken without UN approval. Africa Kenya's vice-president, William Ruto, pleaded not guilty before the International Criminal Court in The Hague to the charge of committing crimes against humanity in early 2008. Kenya's parliament voted to remove the country from the jurisdiction of the ICC, where President Uhuru Kenyatta is also due to stand trial, in November. In conjunction with the Democratic Republic of Congo's armed forces, the UN launched operations against rebels from the M23, a group thought to be backed by Rwanda. Pushing them back from positions around Goma, a city near the CongoRwanda border. The UN's special envoy for the region said that now would be a good time to resume peace talks. Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was sworn in as Mali's president. He called for a period of national reconciliation following the routing of separatists and Islamists. Ten people were killed during fighting in Bangui, the Central African Republic's capital, between members of the rebel group that took over the country five months ago and fighters loyal to its overthrown president, François Bozizé. Asia South Korea and North Korea agreed to reopen the joint Kaesong industrial zone closed earlier this year. South Korea's President, Park Geun-hye, claimed the breakthrough as proof of the value of her "trustpolitik". Frances president, François Hollande, declared that France was "ready to punish" those who "took the decision to gas innocents"; however Britain will not be taking part in any action, after the government was defeated on the issue in Parliament. It is the first time a British government did not secure support for a military operation since 1782. Russia since proposed that Syrian chemical weapons should be placed under the supervision of international inspectors. The plan has been given a cautious welcome by America, France and Britain. Muhammad Morsi, the Egyptian Islamist president deposed by the army in July, will stand trial for inciting the murder of protesters at a demonstration against his government last December, according to Egypt's prosecutor. Mr Morsi has been held by the authorities in an undisclosed location since losing power. Iraq saw several more sectarian bombings with at least 70 people reported to have been killed in a series of attacks, mostly in Shia areas of Baghdad on August 28th. The Americas A military court sentenced Nidal Malik Hasan to death for the killing of 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. This will be the first time the American military will have executed someone since 1961. Hasan was an army psychiatrist at the time with the rank of Major. He turned against the war in Afghanistan. His trial found he had tried to shoot as many soldiers as he could and had earlier contacted a Philippine military helicopters fired rockets at Muslim rebels who were holed up in areas of a major city on the southern island of Mindanao. The rebels have been holding scores of people hostage in Zamboanga City in a crisis that authorities estimate has left as many as 61 people dead and more than 150 wounded. An Cosantóir October 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie radical cleric in Yemen for advice on what American Muslims could do to wage jihad. Media reports claim that the United States' National Security Agency (NSA) may have spied on Petrobras, the Brazilian national oil company. The report was based on a document provided by Edward Snowden. Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff, who is due to make a state visit to Washington next month, demanded an explanation for the apparent spying. Aaron Alexis a former sailor with a "pattern of misconduct" was shot dead in the Washington Navy yard incident after he shot dead 12 people and injured 8 others. Two law enforcement sources say Alexis recently made contact with two Veteran Hospitals. His contact is initially believed to be for psychological issues, the sources said. Europe In Catalonia, hundreds of thousands of people formed a human chain across the region in support of independence from Spain. The Catalan government plans to hold a referendum next year. Turkish police and opposition protesters scuffled in Istanbul after a peaceful rally against the killing of other demonstrators during a summer of unrest. The demonstration had been organised by members of the same groups that protested in May, June and July over government plans to demolish the city's Gezi Park. The protesters are demanding justice from security forces accused of contributing to the deaths of six demonstrators in those turbulent weeks.

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