Syria Update

The Syrian opposition will form a provisional government in the second half of August after months of failed efforts, Syrian National Coalition (SNC) chief Ahmad Jarba said on Tuesday.

"I expect a government in exile to be formed around 10 days after Eid al Fitr," the Muslim feast that falls on August 8 or 9, he told AFP in Doha, which he is visiting to seek support. "There are several candidates" for the post of prime minister, he added, saying one "will be chosen by consensus or through election."
The opposition has struggled to put forward a united front during the country's more than two years of conflict. The last attempt to form a provisional government collapsed earlier in July  when rebel prime minister Ghassan Hitto resigned after nearly four months of failed efforts.
[AFP]

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The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) jointly appealed to warring parties in Syria to observe a ceasefire during next week's feast of Eid al-Fitr. 

In their statement released on Tuesday, the Arab League's Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi and his OIC counterpart Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu appealed for "a ceasefire and a cessation of violence in all its forms for the duration of the holy Eid al-Fitr holiday".
They said such a ceasefire would give "the Syrian people the chance to celebrate this important religious occasion, and to perform its rituals in peace and security".
[AFP]

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The United Nations' food agency said  that 600,000 Syrians could not receive aid this month as spiralling violence prevented convoys from reaching them. Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme, told reporters on Tuesday that the agency had aimed to reach a total of three million people in Syria in July, but had succeeded in getting supplies to only 2.4 million.

"Rising violence in many parts of Damascus and Homs, and a proliferation of checkpoints around the main cities have hit the flow of food distribution," she
said.
[AFP]
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Media and financial information firm Thomson Reuters has become the latest victim of hacking by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), which often posts messages supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The account as of late Monday was marked as "suspended".

Thompson Reuters confirmed that its account had been hacked and said it was investigating the incident.

"Earlier today @thomsonreuters was hacked. In this time, unauthorised individuals have posted fabricated tweets of which Thomson Reuters is not the source," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

"The account has been suspended and is currently under investigation."