Erstellt am: 17. 7. 2012 - 14:50 Uhr

Burning City and Burning Borders

Reality Check: Chemical weapons in Syria and the missing young people of post-revolution Tunisia.

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A vehicle on fire allegedly on the international road at Naher Aisha area of Damascus, Syria

Upping the Violence Ante in Syria

The BBC got quite an exclusive yesterday: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will use chemical weapons against opposition forces and may have already deployed them. That's what Nawaf Fares, the first Syrian ambassador and most prominent syrian politican to defect, told the BBC. This unconfirmed disclosure comes as violence, including hand-to-hand combat on the streets of Syria's capital Damascus, is constantly on the increase. International Security Analyst Paul Rogers gives us his take on the latest developments in Syria...

Missing Tunisians

The "Harragas" are "those who burn the borders" - this is an Arabic term used in Tunisia to refer to people who leave the country and head towards Europe in search of a better life. They often pop up in European news headlines, when overcrowded boats get into trouble off the shores of Italy, or particularly last year when there was a huge influx of migrants from North Africa onto the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, which is only 80 kilometer from the African coast. Those who survive the journey and make it onto dry land are kept in detention centres, subject to the European Union’s strict immigration laws. Now a group of activists is trying to highlight the plight of migrants from North Africa and calling for more solidarity from the EU.