RantCrush Top 5: April 13, 2017

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has given his first interview since the chemical attack last week. He called the story a “fabrication” made up by the West to justify the strike on the Syrian government’s air base. Assad claimed there was no chemical attack, despite the fact that 80+ people died and hundreds were injured by the chemical agent sarin. The attack is widely believed to have been carried out by his own government. “It’s stage one, the play [they staged] that we saw on social network and TVs, then propaganda and then stage two, the military attack,” he said while questioning the authenticity of the video footage of the victims. He also said that the U.S. is “hand in glove with the terrorists.”

Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam was a trailblazing jurist and a force for good.

On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest sympathies. https://t.co/hnic07Shp1

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 12, 2017

Yesterday, Russia made the tension with the U.S. even worse by vetoing a U.N. resolution drafted by the U.S., France, and Britain. It would have required Assad to co-operate with an investigation into the chemical attack. It was the eighth time Russia used its veto to back the Syrian government. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, said, “By its failure Russia will continue to be isolated.”

Amb @NikkiHaley condemns Russia’s veto of a #UNSC resolution on accountability for #SyriaChemicalAttack → https://t.co/BcPH5JGAIV #UNSCprez pic.twitter.com/IuqeH3BqPU

— U.S. Embassy Syria (@USEmbassySyria) April 13, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.