| October 2009 - News |
| October 2009 |
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Local News Syria boycotts Facebook Facebook made the changes after being targeted in an online campaign mounted by Jewish settlers in the Golan and a pro-Israel lobby group. Until early September, Facebook followed the lead of the United Nations, Britain, the United States and the European Union which designate the Golan Heights as Syrian occupied territory. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967 and has continued to occupy the territory in violation of international law ever since.
Leading Syrian swimmer dies of heart attack Award-winning Syrian swimmer Rudaina Mualla died of a heart attack at the age of 32 in Damascus on September 12, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported. Mualla, the sister of the country’s swimming champion Firas Mualla, won a series of medals at international competitions, including gold at the Greece International Race in 2002 and silver in the long-distance swimming competition at the 1997 World Cup series in Argentina. She also came third in the World Championship in Japan in 1998 and ranked second in the International Nile Race for four consecutive years between 1996 and 2000. However, it is Mualla’s crossing of the English Channel, made with her brothers in 2002, that is regarded as her greatest achievement. Family friends said Mualla had been very upset following the recent death of her father.
SANA launches Turkish web page Syria’s state-run news agency SANA added a Turkish web page to its news service on September 12. The new Turkish site posts economic, business, cultural, tourism and political news on Syria, as well as news about Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s state visits and press conferences. One of the first articles to be posted on the site focussed on the strengthening of Syrian-Turkish relations over the past five years. |
1 February 2012
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