Twenty-four civilians were killed by air strikes and artillery fire in the opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib on Tuesday, first responders say. Nine people, including three children, died when warplanes bombed the town of Talmenes, the White Helmets reported. Meanwhile the wife and three children of one of the group’s volunteers were among six members of the same family killed… Read more »
Recently, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to close two United States military bases in the country. This may appear as a media game being played by an increasingly authoritarian and bombastic leader; however, this actually may be a part of a much larger geopolitical strategy for Turkey. Turkey has long been an ally of the U.S. and the west… Read more »
Young Shia Muslim men clashed with police in Lebanon’s capital overnight, after a video emerged that purportedly insults religious figures they revere. The youths, reportedly supporters of the Hezbollah and Amal movements, set cars ablaze and threw stones and fireworks at police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse them. It was the third consecutive night of violence… Read more »
Italian prosecutors have accused Egyptian officials of deliberately trying to mislead the investigation into student Giulio Regeni’s death. Regeni, a postgraduate student at the University of Cambridge, was doing research for his doctorate in Cairo when he went missing in January 2016. His body was found nine days later. Prosecutors said Egypt’s claims about Regeni’s death had either been contradicted… Read more »
A Polish crowd-funding initiative has raised nearly 250,000 zlotys (£50,000) to buy a new lorry for an Iranian driver, who was stranded when his vehicle broke down. Fardin Kazemi was delivering raisins to Poland, and was due to continue to the Czech Republic to pick up goods for import to Iran. He had to sleep in his vehicle, when he… Read more »
(TeleSUR) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened Sunday to shut down two strategic military bases used by the United States if Washington imposes sanctions on Turkey for buying the S-400 Russian missile system. “If necessary, we’ll close Incirlik and also Kurecik,” Erdogan said in a televised interview, in a reference to the bases located in the southern part of the… Read more »
(BBC News) Thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Algerian capital, Algiers, to protest against Thursday’s presidential election. They briefly overran a polling station. An attempt by police to disperse the crowd failed. Two more voting centres were stormed in the Kabylie region, east of the capital. The vote follows the ousting of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who… Read more »
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor said on Friday she will launch a full investigation into alleged war crimes in the Palestinian Territories, which could include charges against Israelis or Palestinians. “I am satisfied that … war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip,” Fatou… Read more »
(The Intercept) December 10 2019, 7:00 a.m. MASSIVE, SUSTAINED PROTESTS in Baghdad and Tehran that have been met with violent responses from security forces throughout the fall and winter have rapidly altered the political dynamics in both Iraq and Iran. But it is still uncertain whether the grassroots anger that has erupted will lead to significant change in either country… Read more »
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft made a rare compassionate public gesture toward her Iranian counterpart in the U.N. Security Council chamber on Thursday. Since Washington pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, tensions between the United States and Tehran have risen. But after a contentious U.N. Security Council meeting on… Read more »