Gen. Ruben Dario Alzate was kidnapped by FARC, a Colombian guerilla group, after an unexplained, unarmed visit to a rural village. No one knows why he made the ill-informed decision, but the abduction may have ended efforts by FARC and the government to end their 50-year-old war.
Abubaker Deghayes, a British property manager, is mourning the death of a second son who has died fighting in Syria with the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra. Deghayes says Western governments must do more to reach out to youth who are tempted to enlist in jihadi groups.
Syria’s rebels say the first American suicide bomber in Syria carried out a successful bombing on Sunday. Aryn Baker, Time’s Middle East bureau chief, says hundreds of Westerners have joined the ranks of extremist groups in Syria. Syria’s rebels say the first American suicide bomber in Syria carried out a successful bombing on Sunday. Aryn Baker, Time’s Middle East bureau chief, says hundreds of Westerners have joined the ranks of extremist groups in Syria.
Intense clashes in the Syrian city of Homs pit government troops against Islamist fighters who are primarily aligned with the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate. Wall Street Journal correspondent Sam Dagher is there and says that despite the fighting, Syria’s government is pushing ahead with effort to prepare the city for June elections.Intense clashes in the Syrian city of Homs pit government troops against Islamist fighters who are primarily aligned with the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate. Wall Street Journal correspondent Sam Dagher is there and says that despite the fighting, Syria’s government is pushing ahead with effort to prepare the city for June elections.
UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon has withdrawn his last minute invitation for Iran to attend Syrian peace talks in Switzerland on Wednesday. Aryn Baker, Time Magazine’s Middle East bureau chief, says the rebels argued for Iran to be “uninvited” to the talks because Tehran was unwilling to back the creation of a transitional government in Syria.