By THE NEW YORK TIMES | Mar. 21, 2017 | 1:13 For the first time in years, rebels demonstrated that they can threaten the capital of Syria, as fierce fighting continued for a third day on the northeastern edge of the city. NYtimes
By Maria Tsvetkova | GELENDZHIK, Russia GELENDZHIK, Russia Russia’s force in Syria has suffered losses since late January more than three times higher than the official toll, according to evidence gathered by Reuters, a tally that shows the fight in Syria is tougher and more costly than the Kremlin has disclosed. Eighteen Russian citizens fighting alongside Moscow’s allies, the Syrian government forces, have been killed since Jan. […]
While the government still seems to be consolidating control over major population centers along Syria’s western spine, it appears at a minimum likely to face a lingering rural insurgency and bombing campaigns in the cities by hard-line jihadist groups. Continue reading the main story At the least, the rebel assaults carried a political message: that the insurgents could still disrupt life in the capital and challenge the […]
Authored by Robert Parry via The Strategic Culture Foundation, The Kagan family, America’s neoconservative aristocracy, has reemerged having recovered from the letdown over not gaining its expected influence from the election of Hillary Clinton and from its loss of official power at the start of the Trump presidency. Former Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland, who pushed for the Ukraine coup and helped pick […]
BEIRUT: The head of the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said a US-backed assault to drive Daesh from its de facto capital Raqqa would begin at the start of April and the YPG would be taking part, despite fierce opposition from neighboring Turkey.A spokesman for the US Pentagon said no decision had been made yet on the Raqqa offensive.US-backed forces, including the YPG, are closing in on the […]
Iona Craig, who reported on the aftermath of the botched Navy SEAL raid in Yemen for The Intercept from Yeman, did so with the help of the Pulitzer Center. Iona Craig. Grants from the Pulitzer Center go a long way for international journalists who eke out a difficult existence covering tough stories from dangerous places. The details of her recent Yemen experience should give pause to most […]
WASHINGTON Republicans considering whether or not to back U.S. President Donald Trump’s healthcare reforms in a crucial House of Representatives vote this week face a painful choice. If they vote against, they could face the wrath of a vengeful and combative president. If they vote for it, they risk retribution from the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and other powerful right-wing players whose money can be […]
WASHINGTON — The United States military has begun formally investigating an American airstrike in Syria that officials said targeted dozens of Qaeda operatives at a meeting place that activists and local residents maintain was part of a religious complex where 49 civilians were killed. United States Central Command has begun two investigations: one to determine whether there is credible evidence that civilians were killed in the strike, […]
The biggest challenge facing Joel de la Garza, chief security officer for file sharing giant Box, is juggling the need to be secure with the need to allow for innovation. Speaking with ZDNet in Sydney, the California-based CSO explained that as a security professional, it is always hard for him to say anything positive after spending 20 years exposed to the cybersecurity threat landscape. He said he […]
BEIRUT Tahrir al-Sham, an alliance of Syrian jihadist rebel groups, said on Tuesday it was launching a new offensive near the city of Hama in the central part of western Syria. The group said on a social media feed that it had carried out two suicide car bomb attacks close to the town of Soran in the countryside north of Hama. “The battle of Hama has begun, […]
A balanced diet is defined as one which contains proper proportions of fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates. All these nutrients help one maintain their fitness levels and health. Food is one of the most underrated factors which helps maintain and safeguard against mental aliments like depression, schizophrenia, hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and attention deficiency. Earlier reports show that having a healthy diet helps in reducing the […]
In a poorly rolled out bit of security theater, the US just banned people from carrying laptops, cameras, and tablets—but not phones—in the cabins of airliners traveling from several Middle Eastern and North African cities to the US. The regulation affects fliers from Amman, Cairo, Istanbul, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Casablanca, Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. It’ll also affect anyone connecting through those airports. No US […]
By Luke Baker | JERUSALEM JERUSALEM Russia and other world powers must move to limit Iran’s growing military strength in Syria because it poses a regional threat, the director-general of Israel’s Intelligence Ministry told Reuters in an interview. Israeli officials estimate Iran commands at least 25,000 fighters in Syria, including members of its own Revolutionary Guard, Shi’ite militants from Iraq and recruits from Afghanistan and Pakistan. It […]
The two defectors, who live in an undisclosed location abroad, made their case on Monday to small group of human rights experts and reporters in a private meeting at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and in a brief interview afterward. Neither photographs nor recordings of the session were allowed, to help protect their identity. They and their extended family are presumed to be at risk from […]
Authored by Melkulangara Bhadrakumar via The Strategic Culture Foundation, The common thread running through the two major ‘hot spots’ in the Middle East today – the conflicts in Syria and Libya – is undoubtedly the threat to international security from the extremist groups operating in these theatres. Therefore, Syria and Libya become test cases of the efficacy of the international community – Russia and the United States […]
“I think this administration wants to be more engaged in fighting terrorism,” Mr. Abadi added. “I sense a difference in terms of being head-to-head with terrorism.” Continue reading the main story Neither American nor Iraqi officials, however, explained what economic support might be provided by the United States and the international community to help rebuild Iraqi cities that have been damaged during the conflict. Nor did they […]
Perched atop the Delta IV rocket as it blasted off in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 18 was a US Air Force’s Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-9) satellite. The WGS-9 will be the ninth member of the planned network of 10 military communication satellites in space. “WGS provides anytime, anywhere communications for soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and international partnership through broadcast, multicast, and point-to-point connections,” Robert Tarleton, […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi thanked U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday for removing Iraq from a travel ban affecting several Muslim-majority countries and said he sought stronger cooperation in fighting Islamic State militants. The two leaders sat down face to face at the White House for the first time since Trump took office on Jan. 20. Abadi is trying to […]
Education technology in the classroom is a waste of time and money. This is the dominant debate at the fifth Global Education & Skills Forum (GESF). Introducing the motion, moderator Dino Varkey, Chief Executive Officer of GEMS Education, said education technology spending globally will reach US$19 billion by 2019, according to Fortune magazine. At that cost, expectations of measurable returns are increasing. “While many sing praises of […]
When Tim Armour graduated from Middlebury College, a liberal arts institution in Vermont, he faced a conundrum. He could either accept a graduate programme slot at a West Coast investment group, or go and run a windsurf shop in Florida. Because he loved to windsurf but did not want to turn down a more sensible job, he asked the asset manager whether he could put off the […]
It has been clear for months that Mosul will be liberated. And sure enough, Iraqi forces backed by U.S. assistance and firepower are now moving to clear the remaining western neighborhoods of Iraq’s second-biggest city. Islamic State leaders have reportedly fled the city and military operations will soon be complete. Success in Mosul is a testament to the determination of the Iraqi forces that have lead this […]
When the European Commission published a “white paper” this month on the future of Europe, something was missing. Two weeks earlier Pierre Moscovici, EU economy commissioner, had told an audience in Athens that the blueprint would include “ambitious ideas” for “deepening of the economic and monetary union” — code for overhauling the system of budget rules and policy co-ordination that underpins the single currency. Instead, amid warnings […]
Two days after Syria claimed it had shot down an Israel jet over its territory on Friday morning, an incident Israel denied even if it admitted violating Syria’s sovereign airspace by engaging in an air raid near Palmyra, the Israeli defense minister threatened to destroy Syrian air defenses after they shot (but allegedly did not down) at Israeli warplanes, which violated Syrian airspace and bombed targets on […]
By Idrees Ali | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON In March 2014, the U.S. military paid an Afghan man just over $1,000 to compensate for killing his civilian son in an operation near the border with Iran, according to U.S. military records released to Reuters. Six months later, another Afghan father was given $10,000 by the U.S. military after his child, also a civilian, was killed in an American-led […]
