Turkey announced wide-ranging sanctions against Syria on Wednesday in response to continuing military crackdown on protests.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu unveiled measures that include a freeze on Syrian assets in Turkey and a ban on transactions with the Syrian central bank.
The sanctions by Turkey, one of Syria’s top trading partners, come as the Arab League and the European Union are enacting their own punitive measures — a triple blow that highlights the growing isolation of the Damascus government and could significantly hurt Syria’s economy.
EGYPT: Islamic Brotherhood leads in election results.
Partial results show the Muslim Brotherhood emerging as the biggest winner in Egypt’s landmark parliamentary elections, and leaders of the once- banned Islamic group demanded to form the next government, setting the stage for a possible confrontation with the ruling military. The generals who took power after the fall of Hosni Mubarak say they will name the government, and the parliament would have no right to dissolve it.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Government tries perks to keep protests at bay.
The United Arab Emirates is boosting state salaries and offering citizens other perks to mark the Persian Gulf nation’s 40th anniversary, following similar moves by other Arab countries to try to soften challenges by their increasingly restive populations.
TUNISIA: Exiled dictator sentenced to prison.
Tunisia’s former dictator was convicted in absentia Wednesday of torturing army officers and sentenced by a military court to five years in prison. Zine Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14.
Denver Post wire services
