September 28, 2015 – Our Weekly Selection
Our weekly roundup of articles on Syria’s economy and society.
Syrian war spurs first withdrawal from ‘doomsday’ Arctic seed vault: “Syria’s civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of crop seeds from a “doomsday” vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies.”
Villages abandoned as Syrians flee northern Aleppo: “The northern countryside of Aleppo has been emptied as thousands fled to surrounding areas following the intensification of the Islamic State attacks in August.”
Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Confronting Difficult Truths: “Jordan and the international community should take the difficult but necessary steps to maximize the benefit the Syrian refugees can bring to prevent the crisis from having further negative impacts on the country’s most vulnerable people.”
Jordan’s Refugee Crisis: “If Jordan is to confront its national challenges and continue to provide a safe haven for Syrian refugees, the country will depend on increased international support.”
Latakia Is Assad’s Achilles Heel: “In light of its large Sunni population, the coastal city and its environs are not secure for the Syrian regime, possibly explaining why Russian forces are concentrating there.”
Why Russia is increasing its military presence in Syria: “ear of a collapse, or a coup, that might in the worst case deprive Russia of its naval base at Tartus, the only military facility Russia still controls outside the former Soviet Union, will have been genuine.”
Final resolution of PYD 6th Congress released
Experts and locals scrambling to document Syria’s heritage: “Scientists are slipping 3-D cameras into Syria to local activists and residents to scan antiquities. A U.S.-funded project aims to provide local conservators with resources to help safeguard relics. Inside Syria, volunteers scramble to document damage to monuments and confirm what remains.”
Syria Is Losing Out On Huge Reserves Of Oil And Natural Gas In the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, While Cyprus and Israel Get Rich: “Levant Basin has a mean undiscovered oil resource of 1.7 billion barrels of oil and undiscovered natural gas resource of 122 trillion cubic feet. Both Cyprus and Israel — with help from Texas-based Noble Energy Inc. — are looking to become regional powerhouses for the exportation of natural gas.”
Syria: UN cites utter desperation behind ‘tsunami’ of refugees into Europe: “Refugees face horrible living conditions, and restrictions in the legal regimes for refugees in the countries where they live […] When people don’t have proper shelter and are living on 45 cents a day, of course they want to move,”