© Alexei Druzhinin / Sputnik
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz, in Moscow on February 28,2017.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz, in Moscow on February 28,2017.
The current hotspot of the Syrian crisis - Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus - is being used by numerous terrorist groups as a base, from which they launch attacks on the capital and other areas in the country, Putin said, responding to a Russian media journalist's question on the situation there. Damascus is being shelled up to 80 times a day from the besieged area.
Putin particularly stressed that the Russian embassy in Damascus has come under mortar fire. The building has been shelled and suffered damage on numerous occasions during the Syrian conflict. On February 6, the Russian trade mission in the Syrian capital was also targeted. Luckily, the building was unoccupied, but civilians were injured in the attack.
Comment: So "the Party" in both China and the U.S. censor views on social media. That's the real issue here. Freedom of speech is curtailed to varying degrees all over the planet. It's a problem we haven't solved yet - in the east or the west. As for the upcoming decision to allow Xi to be president for life, that's not such a big deal. If a leader does a good job and retains the support of his people, it would serve his nation better for him to stay in office for as long as possible. The danger, of course, is that he will become a tyrant. So far, Xi hasn't given any indication that he is a tyrant. We have to agree with Sarah Sanders here: if that's what China wants to do, that's China's decision.