Feb 09, 2015 – Our Weekly Selection

Articles this week include a report on the bread subsidy problem in Syria, corruption in opposition ranks, a decline in ISIS’ income and many others.

Interim Govt. Faces Bankruptcy Amid Mass Corruption: “Opposition government on verge of bankruptcy after revelations of fake jobs and corruption.”

Assad’s Bread Problem: “The policy change, a shock to many Syrians, may prove to be a key chapter in a conflict where the government has used starvation and hunger as effectively as it has barrel bombs and chemical weapons.”

Regime Closes Bakeries in Liberated Areas: “Decision comes amid speculation the regime will abandon state institutions in opposition-held areas.”

People’s Assembly Calls for Monitoring of Markets and Fuel Prices: “He said that the state’s retail outlets have been asked to sell at prices lower than market prices by 5 percent, adding that the ministry will give a 10 percent discount to purchases of over SYP 2,000 in its affiliated outlets during the first seven days of each month.”

Syrian Refugees and Regional Security: “But as funds are increasingly directed to battle IS, efforts to tackle the Syrian regional refugee crisis—another potentially pervasive and far-reaching trend—continue to be understaffed and underfunded.”

It will be a long haul: “The coalition is also having some success in hitting IS in its wallet. By destroying oil installations, the air strikes have denied IS its main source of cash. Oil receipts may have dropped by two-thirds to $750,000-$1.3m a day from $2-3m in June.”

Local Council to Make Canal Flow Again: “This canal flows into the Euphrates in the town of Ayyache,” he said. “At first sight, a visitor might think that it is one of the Euphrates’s tributaries. This will eventually turn the area into a tourist destination after our revolution succeeds.”