Syrians flee as troops mass, West concern grows

Thousands of Syrians fled into Turkey fearing military assault, officials said, as the country braced for (做好準備) the prospect of more violent protests against the rule of President Al-assad, whose crackdown intensified international concerns over Syria’s handling of pro-democracy protests, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world. Turkish’s Red Crescent was setting up second camp near the border to shelter refugees fleeing from Syria, though Syria has barred most independent media from the country, making it difficult to verify(證實) accounts(描述) of the violence. World powers have shown no appetite for any Libya-style military intervention in Syria, which also has so far shrugged off(不理) sanctions(制裁) and verbal reprimands(譴責).

Mass 聚集，集中

Bin Laden's No. 2: Muslims will destroy America

Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida’s longtime No. 2 and considered the network’s operational head warmed that America faces not individual terrorists or groups but the international community of Muslims seeking to destroy it and its allies such as Israel. Ayman al-Zawahri also heaped praise (eulogize) on Bin Laden, who was killed in May 2 raid by the U.S. SEALs in Pakistan. He has also long sought to topple many leaders of Arab world whose regimes have been toppled or shaken by popular uprisings this year like in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, or Syria, though militant Islam has played no role in any of them so far and activists claimed they seek civil, not religious rule. However, Al-Zawahri is a less charismatic figure believed to lack Bin Laden’s ability to bring together many nationalities and his appointment as the next al-Qaida leader could further fracture an organization that is thought to be increasingly decentralized.

Jihad=holy war

Financial protection act to become law

Legislators passed a law to regulate the selling of financial products and services, preventing consumers from losses from complicated deals that they do not fully understood. In other words, if consumers incur losses from financial transactions they do not fully understand, they will be entitled to compensate from the selling party. An arbitration committee whose rulings will be equivalent to court’s verdicts will be formed to arbitrate disputes arising from such deals. However, whether the committee could treat such issues efficiently and fairly hinges on the authority’s implementation of enforcement regulations.

German consider EU aid after cucumber slur: Spain

Since officials in the northern city of Hamburg, who initially blamed Spanish cucumbers for E. coli contamination, showed that this week they wrongly blamed Spanish produce, German has considered EU compensation for Spain after a fatal bacteria outbreak in Germany. Span’s prime minister stressed the negative consequences and serious economic damages the crisis has provoked among Spanish vegetable and fruit exporters have approximately brought about a great loss of more than 200 million euros a week as tens of thousands of produce went unsold in a Europe-wide reaction to the outbreak.