This much we can tell you for sure: the still-untitled Han Solo spin-off movie will not be called “Red Cup.” That’s the working title, a nod to the fact that George Lucas named Solo’s character for the plastic drinks brand. (True story.) But what about the actual title for the standalone film, which as of Tuesday is scheduled for May 25, 2018? Thus far Lucasfilm has it […]
By Tom Perry and John Davison | BEIRUT BEIRUT The U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance has crossed into Deir al-Zor province for the first time as part of an offensive against Islamic State, a Kurdish military source said on Tuesday. The advance into the province, most of which is under the control of the ultra-hardline group, is part of an operation to encircle and ultimately capture […]
By Lawrence Hurley | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON Conservative Supreme Court justices on Tuesday voiced scepticism about extending constitutional rights to non-citizens in a case involving a 15-year-old Mexican shot dead by a U.S. agent from across the border in Texas that could have broad implications. The court’s ruling in the case argued before the eight justices could affect legal claims filed by non-U.S. citizens arising from executive actions […]
ZDNet Google and Microsoft have pledged changes to their search engines which will make life harder for users seeking illegal, copyrighted material. Google, Microsoft, and the UK government have worked out their differences and reached a truce over the availability of pirated material online. While removing links to any website which claims to offer copyrighted material smacks of censorship, the tech giants have offered to sign up […]
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi | AMMAN AMMAN Islamic State-linked Syrian militant groups on Monday launched a surprise attack on moderate rebels in southwestern Syria near the Golan Heights near where the Jordanian and Israeli borders converge, seizing several villages and a large town, rebels and witnesses said. Rebels said the militants were able to extend their area of control in territory that forms a natural barrier between Syria […]
By Phil Stewart | BAGHDAD BAGHDAD The U.S. military is “not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil”, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said, distancing himself from remarks by President Donald Trump, as he held talks with Iraqi leaders on Monday. Mattis was the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit Iraq since Trump irked Iraqis with a temporary ban ontravel to the United States and for saying America should haveseized […]
BEIRUT Syrian government forces fired rockets at a rebel-held area on Damascus’s outskirts on Sunday, pressing an attack that began the day before and has killed up to 16 people, a medical worker and war monitors said. The medical worker and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was the biggest attack on the Qaboun area, to the city’s northeast, in at least two years. At […]
Feb. 19, 2017 | 1:33 Iraqi forces resumed efforts to retake Mosul from the Islamic State on Sunday, launching airstrikes on the western part of the city where hundreds of thousands of civilians are still trapped. NYtimes
Like others interviewed, Abu Marwan, citing concerns about safety, agreed to speak on the condition that his full name not be published. He and others are identified by honorifics or nicknames. Residents said anyone caught using a cellphone risked being beaten or killed by militants. Continue reading the main story Abu Salah, who lives in the Bab al-Tob neighborhood in western Mosul, said the Islamic State, also […]
Photo Iraqi forces advance toward western Mosul on Sunday. Credit Khalid Al-Mousily/Reuters ERBIL, Iraq — Iraq’s government announced the beginning of an offensive on Sunday to take back the western half of Mosul from the Islamic State, nearly three years after the city was overrun by the terror group. Overnight, planes crisscrossed the sky over the city’s occupied half, carpeting the ground with leaflets, which made a […]
Red Baraat’s oft-touted boast as “the best party band in years” – a quote from America’s National Public Radio they are so proud of it is part of their website display name – was under no threat when they kicked off a multi-emirate UAE tour in Abu Dhabi on Friday (February 17). The eight-piece Brooklyn troupe opened the second day of Barzakh Festival, a two-day celebration of […]
By Jonathan Landay | MUNICH MUNICH Russia has shown no change in behaviour or policies to embrace U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer of better relations or cooperation in fighting Islamist militants, U.S. officials and lawmakers say. Trump’s latest overture was delivered by Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday to a security conference in Germany held amid European worries over U.S. commitment to the continent’s security and […]
Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. So what if Donald Trump strong-armed media advertisers in the same way he’s trying to get companies to keep jobs in the United States? The subject was broached by a faraway observer after Trump’s angry and rambling anti-press rhetorical screed […]
ISTANBUL: Turkey has presented two proposals to the United States for how to carry out a joint military operation to drive Daesh from its stronghold in the Syrian city of Raqqa, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Saturday.Turkey has said repeatedly that the planned operation should be conducted by local Arab forces, possibly with support from Turkish troops, as opposed to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) — […]
BEIRUT Syrian warplanes carried out air strikes in a besieged rebel-held district of Homs on Saturday that killed at least two people, adding to a death toll of more than 20 in nearly two weeks of air raids, an activist and monitors said. Al-Waer, the last rebel-held neighbourhood in the western city of Homs, had for months been spared much of the intense violence raging elsewhere in […]
By Tulay Karadeniz | ANKARA ANKARA Turkey’s military said on Friday it was close to taking the northern Syrian city of al-Bab from Islamic State, a victory that would deepen Turkish influence in an area where it has created a de facto buffer zone. Al-Bab, an Islamic State stronghold 30 km (20 miles) from the border, has been a key target in an offensive launched by Turkey […]
ADEN: The Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition supporting the legitimacy in Yemen has made the protection of civilians its top priority and is taking all measures to minimize losses.The coalition leadership, which reaffirms its commitment to international human rights and humanitarian law, has taken steps to protect civilians, members of medical units and humanitarian organizations as well as journalists.The coalition works extensively with UN organizations and the International […]
By Angus McDowall | ALEPPO, Syria ALEPPO, Syria In the rubble-strewn square outside Aleppo’s ancient citadel and under the scorched vaults of its covered souk, workmen are starting to mend the destruction of a war that has shattered the Syrian city’s priceless historical heritage. About 20 volunteers sorted through the debris in Khan al-Gumruk, one of the souk’s great medieval inns, piling up the stones from a […]
For a long time TruePublica has consistently reported that Britain is the centre of the global money laundering business with its London Headquarters and network of off-shore tax havens. We have challenged reports and studies that have protected ‘The City’ and its army of suited mobsters that openly defy both domestic and international financial legislation whilst it administers the global looting machine. (Read our piece: Enemies of the State: […]
“Throughout the entire length of the battle for Aleppo, there have been multiple claims of violations of human rights and multiple denials,” said Eliot Higgins, a senior fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council. Continue reading the main story “What we have been able to present now is a wealth of evidence confirming the targeting of civilian structures, namely hospitals, which in certain […]
The Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada was teeming with activity late last month, but it had nothing to do with testing alien technology, nuclear bombs, or any other conspiracy theory. This time, the U.S. Air Force focused on improving operations to achieve better results during warfare. The Air Force held a Red Flag 17-1 on Jan. 24 to test out its multi-domain operations, and made a […]
KABUL At least 18 civilians were killed last week in air strikes by international forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, an initial United Nations inquiry has concluded. American military officials say their aircraft have conducted around 30 air strikes in Helmand in the past week. A spokesman said they were looking into the inquiry. “We are investigating the allegations and working diligently to determine whether civilians were killed […]
BANGUI A top militant and three others were killed in Central African Republic when a U.N. helicopter fired on fighters advancing towards the town of Bambari, a rebel group said on Sunday. The UN’s mission known as MINUSCA shot at fighters from the Popular Front for the Renaissance of Central African Republic (FPRC), on Saturday after they crossed a “red line” it had set north of the […]
ISTANBUL President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday the final goal of a Turkish incursion into Syria was not just to retake the city of al-Bab from Islamic State, but to cleanse a border region including Raqqa of the jihadists. Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are pressing a major offensive on al-Bab, 30 km (20 miles) south of the Turkish border. The advance risks putting them in direct conflict with […]
