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SLOVENIA
TUNISIA

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BELFAST
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SYRIA
In last week's column, we discussed the pressure put on Bashar Assad's beleagured regime by the mounting successes of the rebel Free Syrian Army. That pressure came to a head this past week, when on Thursday the regime flipped the internet kill-switch and Syria disappeared off the face of the web.Commentators speculated wildly about the reasons for the sudden comms blackout, but it was probably no coincidence that at the same time fighting so fierce was taking place near Damascus international Airport that airlines were forced to cancel all flights. Rumours were going around that Damascus had finally been surrounded by the FSA and that the regime was so close to collapse, they were desperately trying to stop this information from getting out.Another rumour suggested that Assad could be about to use his arsenal of chemical weapons to finally put an end to the rebellion, a whisper fuelled further by intelligence reports that government troops were preparing Sarin gas warheads for use in artillery shells. This provoked a response from the US, who cautioned Assad that he would be crossing a "red line" if he used chemical weapons. Call me an optimist, but I'd call that red line pretty generous since it's so far allowed him to get away with butchering approximately 50,000 of his own people.However, it seems that the situation in Damascus has deteriorated enough for the UN to pull out all non-essential staff, and to put the rest on stand-by with orders to leave immediately if the fighting worsens. Which it undoubtedly will.Check back next week to see how the BBC's toadying royal reporters manage to work mentions of Kate's unborn baby into raw news footage showing FSA commanders handing out gas masks.Follow Henry on Twitter: @Henry_Langston
