Syria condemns Obama's call for Assad to step down

A government owned Syrian newspaper on Saturday rejected US and European calls for President Bashar Assad to step down, saying they revealed the face of the conspiracy against Damascus.The government issued its first official response to the US and European demands for Assad to step down.The daily Al-Thawra newspaper, which speaks for the Syrian regime, rejected the calls and any kind of foreign intervention in Syrias internal affairs, saying Damascus will never permit anyone to do that.It also accused the West of trying to sideline Damascus from the Israeli-Palestinians conflict, which it said is a strategic aim for Israel, Washington and Europe.A high-level UN team recommended on Thursday that the violence in Syria be referred to the International Criminal Court over possible crimes against humanity.On Friday, the UN released the full text of its report on the crackdown.It said Syrian government forces may have committed crimes against humanity by conducting summary executions, torturing prisoners and targeting children. The release includes rebuttals from the Syrian Foreign Ministry, offering a rare firsthand look into the regimes justifications for the crackdown.