Syrian Government Ready for Rurther Peace Talks To End Five-Year Conflict, State Media Says

Syria's Government says it is ready for further peace talks with the opposition and is intent on a political solution to the five-year conflict.

"Syria ... is ready to continue the Syrian-Syrian dialogue without any preconditions ... and without foreign interference, with the support of the United Nations," state news agency SANA quoted an official in the foreign ministry as saying.

The UN hopes to convene a new round of intra-Syrian peace talks in Geneva in August, its Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said this week. particularly around Aleppo, where Government forces recently cut off the only road into rebel-held areas of the divided northern city.
The United States and Russia, which back opposing sides in the conflict, are meanwhile to discuss an American proposal for closer military cooperation and intelligence sharing on Syria to combat extremist groups.
Secretary of State John Kerry said this month that Washington and Damascus ally Moscow had reached a common understanding on the steps needed to get Syria's peace process back on track.

Newborn baby dies in hospital airstrike

Meanwhile, four makeshift hospitals and a local blood bank in Aleppo have been hit by air raids in the past 24 hours, a group of doctors said.
The bombardment killed a two-day-old baby in the children's hospital in a besieged eastern neighbourhood of Aleppo, said the Independent Doctor's Association (IDA), a group of Syrian doctors that supports clinics in the city.
The infant's oxygen supply was cut after a strike on the hospital at 1:00am local time, the second strike on the hospital in about nine hours, according to the IDA.
The IDA said the four hospitals that were hit — the children's hospital, Al-Bayan, Al-Zahraa, and Al-Daqaq — would all be going out of service "as a result of the escalating series of aerial attacks taking place against health facilities in Aleppo by Syrian and Russian warplanes".
The World Health Organisation said Syria was the most dangerous place for health care workers to operate last year, with 135 attacks on health facilities and workers in 2015.
More than 280,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, and millions have been forced to flee.  REUTERS

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose on Friday said he would not stop being vocal in his criticism of the All Progressives Congress-led government despite attempts to keep him silent. Fayose was the guest on a personality programme on Fresh FM in Ibadan where he alleged that APC had deployed powers within its reach to intimidate him because of his criticism of the Federal Government. He said “I am being persecuted because I am vocal. Why some of us are talking today is because if we betray the masses, God will not forgive us. That is why people like us have to exhibit courage to speak the truth. And if you notice, they are leaving no stone unturned to cage me from commenting, but that cannot be possible. They cannot win this war. “I can’t keep quiet, they can’t shut my mouth. I am being persecuted but unfortunately I am becoming more popular. To this government, anybody in APC is considered as saint, but PDP people are rogues. That’s why you see some of our people crossing to their side and immediately, they become saints.” The governor claimed to be the last man standing, adding that people like Femi Fani-Kayode had been kept quiet and that the next step for the APC government was to kill the Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria. “What I want Nigerians to ask the Federal Government, which is currently prosecuting some people over alleged fraudulent campaign money, is that who financed their own election campaign or where did they get their own funding for the election?” Speaking on the money found in his account during the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s investigation, Fayose said the money credited to being in his account was N300m, which was on fixed deposit, and N82m in cash deposit. He said, “The money in my account is N300m, which I made public in my asset declaration form. That is why the court, which is the last hope of a common man, freed my man who was in their net and the court even awarded a N5m damages against the government. We can’t continue like this. “My concern has always being that economy must be the priority of any government. People are hungry, the economy is bad. The brake of our economy has relapsed. No business seems prospective again. It’s not about the vehicle but the driver, it is about the head. The hardship is getting harder. Nigerians are not investing in the economy because of fear, same things as foreigners. There is threat on the capital. “The APC presidential team campaigned with a private jet, is that free? They also spent heavily for their elections, where did they get their money? People are complaining seriously in the country, as for me, we have entered one chance with this current government. They took us into a lift, closed the door and they switch off the source of power supply, that is exactly what is really happening,” said Fayose.

Read more at: http://dailytimes.ng/i-will-not-stop-criticizing-apc-administration-fayose/#respond_88689

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose on Friday said he would not stop being vocal in his criticism of the All Progressives Congress-led government despite attempts to keep him silent. Fayose was the guest on a personality programme on Fresh FM in Ibadan where he alleged that APC had deployed powers within its reach to intimidate him because of his criticism of the Federal Government. He said “I am being persecuted because I am vocal. Why some of us are talking today is because if we betray the masses, God will not forgive us. That is why people like us have to exhibit courage to speak the truth. And if you notice, they are leaving no stone unturned to cage me from commenting, but that cannot be possible. They cannot win this war. “I can’t keep quiet, they can’t shut my mouth. I am being persecuted but unfortunately I am becoming more popular. To this government, anybody in APC is considered as saint, but PDP people are rogues. That’s why you see some of our people crossing to their side and immediately, they become saints.” The governor claimed to be the last man standing, adding that people like Femi Fani-Kayode had been kept quiet and that the next step for the APC government was to kill the Peoples Democratic Party in Nigeria. “What I want Nigerians to ask the Federal Government, which is currently prosecuting some people over alleged fraudulent campaign money, is that who financed their own election campaign or where did they get their own funding for the election?” Speaking on the money found in his account during the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s investigation, Fayose said the money credited to being in his account was N300m, which was on fixed deposit, and N82m in cash deposit. He said, “The money in my account is N300m, which I made public in my asset declaration form. That is why the court, which is the last hope of a common man, freed my man who was in their net and the court even awarded a N5m damages against the government. We can’t continue like this. “My concern has always being that economy must be the priority of any government. People are hungry, the economy is bad. The brake of our economy has relapsed. No business seems prospective again. It’s not about the vehicle but the driver, it is about the head. The hardship is getting harder. Nigerians are not investing in the economy because of fear, same things as foreigners. There is threat on the capital. “The APC presidential team campaigned with a private jet, is that free? They also spent heavily for their elections, where did they get their money? People are complaining seriously in the country, as for me, we have entered one chance with this current government. They took us into a lift, closed the door and they switch off the source of power supply, that is exactly what is really happening,” said Fayose.

Read more at: http://dailytimes.ng/i-will-not-stop-criticizing-apc-administration-fayose/