NEWS FLASH

Libya, Egyptian Activists Recognize Syrian National Council | Libya’s new leaders yesterday said they will recognize the Syrian National Council as the legitimate government in Syria. “The National Transitional Council has decided after a meeting today to recognize the Syrian National Council as the sole legitimate government in Syria,” NTC member Mussa al-Koni said at a news conference in Tripoli. Syrian dissidents formed the council last week to unite opposition to President Bashar al-Assad. And CNN reports today that a coalition of Egyptian activists — the Democratic Alliance for Egypt — are now backing the new Syrian council. “At the conclusion of the meeting [with the alliance], the 43 parties recognized the Syrian National Council as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people,” a senior member of the SNC said. The European Union yesterday called the SNC a “positive step forward,” one day after Syria’s foreign minister warned of “strict measures against any country that will recognize” the SNC.