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Peter Ford (diplomat)
Peter William Ford (born 27 June 1947) is an English diplomat who served as the British ambassador to Bahrain from 1999 to 2003 and Syria from 2003 to 2006. Education and career Ford was educated at Weston Point Community Primary School, Helsby Grammar School in Cheshire and The Queen's College, Oxford. Having finished his Arabic studies he worked in Beirut, Riyadh, Paris and Cairo before being appointed British ambassador to Bahrain as well as Syria from 2003 to 2006. Retiring from the Diplomatic Service in 2006, he became Representative of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA in the Arab world. In February 2017, Ford became a Director of the British Syrian Society, alongside President Assad's father-in-law Dr Fawaz Akhras. Positions In 2003, as ambassador to Bahrain, Ford says he sent critical memoranda to London before the Iraq War. Later, he regretted not having been more outspoken. During his time in Damascus (2003-2006), he says he distanced himself more and more from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The English language, the Anglican Church, and Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fawaz Akhras
Fawas Akhras ( ar, فواز أخرس) (born September 1946) is a Syrian–English cardiologist known for being the father-in-law of Bashar al-Assad and chairman of the British Syrian Society. Biography Akhras qualified in medicine in 1973. Akhras has been described as "a key figure in liaison between the Syrian and British governments".Andrew GilliganSyria: Assad's father-in-law compares Syrian uprising to London riots ''Telegraph'' 15 March 2012 He is the founder of the British Syrian Society and is involved with a number of Syrian causes. He is a consultant interventional cardiologist at the Cromwell Hospital in South Kensington, London, and practices at his private medical clinic, Cardiac Healthcare Services, in Harley Street, London. He lives in Acton, London, and is married to former diplomat Sahar Otri al-Akhras. Their daughter, Asma married Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in 2000. It was reported before the Syrian civil war that he had influence on the Syrian presi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iraq Dossier
''Iraq – Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation'' (more commonly known as the ''Iraq Dossier'', the ''February Dossier'' From pages 35–42 o"The Decision to go to War in Iraq: Ninth Report of Session 2002-03" (PDF). or the ''Dodgy Dossier'') was a 2003 briefing document for the British prime minister Tony Blair's Labour Party (UK), Labour Party government. It was issued to journalists on 3 February 2003 by Alastair Campbell, Blair's 10 Downing Street#Office of the Prime Minister, Director of Communications and Strategy, and concerned Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. Along with the earlier ''September Dossier'', these documents were ultimately used by the British government to justify its involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, invasion of Iraq in 2003. Dossier The term ''Dodgy Dossier'' was first coined by online polemical magazine ''Spiked (magazine), Spiked'' in relation to the ''September Dossier''. The term was later employed by ''Channel 4 New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Khan Shaykhun Chemical Attack
The Khan Shaykhun chemical attack took place on 4 April 2017 on the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate of Syria. The town was reported to have been struck by an airstrike by government forces followed by massive civilian chemical poisoning. The release of a toxic gas, which included sarin, or a similar substance, killed at least 89 people and injured more than 541, according to the opposition Idlib Health Directorate. The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war since the Ghouta chemical attack in 2013. The OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism attributed the responsibility of the attack to the Syrian government.Both ISIL and Syrian Government responsible for use of chemical weapons, UN Security Council told ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad and ancient Greek philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Zeno of Citium. Adherents of the Druze religion call themselves " the Monotheists" or "the Unitarians" (''al-Muwaḥḥidūn''). The Epistles of Wisdom is the foundational and central text of the Druze faith. The Druze faith incorporates elements of Isma'ilism, Christianity, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Pythagoreanism, and other philosophies and beliefs, creating a distinct and secretive theology based on an esoteric interpretation of scripture, which emphasizes the role of the mind and truthfulness. Druze believe in theophany and reincarnation. Druze believe that at the end of the cycle of rebirth, which is achie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alawites
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Islam. The Alawites revere Ali (Ali ibn Abi Talib), considered the first Imam of the Twelver school. The group is believed to have been founded by Ibn Nusayr during the 9th century. Ibn Nusayr was a disciple of the tenth Twelver Imam, Ali al-Hadi and of the eleventh Twelver Imam, Hasan al-Askari. For this reason, Alawites are also called ''Nusayris''. Surveys suggest Alawites represent an important portion of the Syrian population and are a significant minority in the Hatay Province of Turkey and northern Lebanon. There is also a population living in the village of Ghajar in the Golan Heights. Alawites form the dominant religious group on the Syrian coast and towns near the coast, which are also inhabited by Sunnis, Christians, and Ismail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions (''ṣaḥāba'') at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (''rāshidūn'') caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shīʿa Islam are called Shīʿa Muslims, Shīʿītes, or simply Shīʿa or Shia. Shīʿa Islam is based on a ''ḥadīth'' report concerning Muhammad's pronouncement at Ghadir Khumm.Esposito, John. "What Everyone Nee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χριστός), a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term ''mashiach'' (מָשִׁיחַ) (usually rendered as ''messiah'' in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term ''Christian'' used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches, or in a proverbial sense "all that is noble, and good, and Christ-like." It does not have a meaning of 'of Christ' or 'related or pertaining to Christ'. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pandora's Box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing physical and emotional curses upon mankind. Later depictions of the story have been varied, while some literary and artistic treatments have focused more on the contents than on Pandora herself. The container mentioned in the original account was actually a large storage jar, but the word was later mistranslated. In modern times an idiom has grown from the story meaning "Any source of great and unexpected troubles", or alternatively "A present which seems valuable but which in reality is a curse". In mythology According to Hesiod, when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus, the king of the gods, took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. Pandora opened a jar left in her care containing sickness, death and many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2005 to 2010, and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Witney from 2001 to 2016. He identifies as a one-nation conservative, and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies. Born in London to an upper-middle-class family, Cameron was educated at Heatherdown School, Eton College, and Brasenose College, Oxford. From 1988 to 1993 he worked at the Conservative Research Department, latterly assisting the Conservative Prime Minister John Major, before leaving politics to work for Carlton Communications in 1994. Becoming an MP in 2001, he served in the opposition shadow cabinet under Conservative leader Michael Howard, and succeeded Howard in 2005. Cameron sought to rebrand the Conservat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
