Turkish jets 'intercept Russian plane'
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Turkey says it scrambled F-16 fighter jets to intercept a Russian warplane that violated its air space near the Syrian border on Saturday.
The destruction of the 2,000-year-old Arch of Triumph would be the latest attack by militants under their interpretation of Islamic law.
NATO-member Turkey opposes Syria’s government, a key ally of Russia.
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Archive footage shows the Arch of Triumph in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra before Islamic State militants destroyed it. The arch is a major monument in the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Palmyra, known as the as the Pearl of the Desert. Both the citadel and the ruins are on the Unesco World Heritage list and before the war around 150,000 tourists visited the site every year
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Democratic presidential contender wants to close loopholes that affect background checks on people who buy guns online and at gun shows
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 Washington Times |
Hillary Clinton rips Benghazi probe, says GOP admitted it's a 'political ...
Washington Times Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at a grassroots organizing meeting at Philander Smith College Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, in Little Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson) ** FILE ** more >. By S.A. Miller - The Washington ... Kevin McCarthy and the English LanguageAmerican Thinker (blog) Visibly angry Hillary Clinton talks Benghazi on TODAY: Committee is 'not ...Today.com Letter: Chaffetz, McCarthy not the better person Obama isSalt Lake Tribune HeraldNet -ABC News -Newsmax all 37 news articles » |
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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border on Saturday, prompting the Air Force to scramble two F-16 jets to intercept it, the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Russian and U.S. and coalition aircraft have continued their separate bombing campaigns over Syria in recent days, escalating the risk that miscommunication could lead to unintended collisions.
 РБК |
FT: Россия расстроила планы США о создании бесполетной зоны в Сирии
Коммерсантъ Планы международной коалиции под руководством США о создании бесполетной зоны в Сирии были нарушены из-за вмешательства России в боевые действия в этой стране, пишет The Financial Times. Как утверждает издание со ссылкой на источники, коалиция почти сумела ... FT узнала о сорванных Москвой планах США о бесполетной зоне в СирииРБК FT: Россия помешала планам США по созданию бесполетной зоны в СирииГазета.Ru Российская операция сорвала планы США о бесполётной зоне в СирииРусская Служба Новостей Пронедра Все похожие статьи: 7 » |
 CNBC |
Why Russia sanctions are here for the long-haul
CNBC Russia's military intervention in Syria has spurred speculation that a common enemy — Islamist extremists — could soothe tensions between Moscow and the West and help in the lifting of sanctions over tensions in Ukraine. However, both sides are ... and more » |
Russia’s Air Campaign No Different From Assad’sby webdesk@voanews.com (Jamie Dettmer)
For more than a year, Syrian insurgents and civilians in rebellious areas in the war-torn country have been enduring a reign of terror from the skies with President Bashar al-Assad’s aircraft dropping cheaply produced improvised “barrel bombs” on them. Now they’re coming under attack from Russian bombers firing so-called “dumb missiles” designed to maximize casualties. In video footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry to the media over the past five days of Russian warplanes taking off from the Bassel al-Assad airbase on the Syrian coast for their sorties, a variety of munitions have been spotted by military analysts - but most have been dumb bombs. The unleashing of unguided ordnance by Russian warplanes was roundly condemned at the weekend by British Defense Minister Michael Fallon. “They are dropping unguided munitions in civilian areas,” he said in an interview with a British newspaper. “There are clear markings for the OFAB 250-270 unguided bombs on Russian jets in Syria,” said Elliot Higgins, the founder of the Bellingcat blog site, which focuses on weapons use in the Syrian civil war and the conflict in east Ukraine’s Donbas region. Russia’s air war in Syria so far is similar to the terror that Assad’s air campaign has been sowing from the skies the past few years, say analysts. Cheap improvised devices such as barrels, oil drums and canisters packed with high explosive and metal fragments and fuel began in 2014 to replace purpose-built but aged and imprecise missiles as the Syrian administration ran out of them. And for the past year the crude-but-deadly barrel bombs have been the Syrian air force’s weapon of choice, prompting widespread international condemnation. They were first used in August 2012 with rudimentary fuses that would detonate on impact, but more recently some have been fitted with altitude-sensitive fuses, which make the bombs explode before they hit the ground, causing even wider damage. Indiscriminate weapons As an arbitrary-killing weapon, the high-explosive OFAB 250-270, which weigh 270 kilograms and hurls shrapnel over a wide area, is only a few technological steps above a barrel bomb. The Soviet-era bomb was designed to destroy military industrial sites, railway junctions and field facilities, and shred personnel in open terrain. It was widely used in Afghanistan and the 2008 war with Georgia. Military analysts say improvised devices like barrel bombs and high-explosive dumb bombs share a characteristic. They are about symbolism and “the terrorizing of a population,” according to Peter Quentin of the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank. On Sunday - as criticism mounted about the use of dumb bombs - a Russian air force spokesman, Col. Igor Klimov, told the Kremlin-run RIA news agency that Russian Su-34 and Su-24 warplanes were also using KH-29L air-to-surface laser-guided missiles in Syria. The KH-29L is the Russian equivalent of the American smart missile the AGM-65 Maverick, which is being used by U.S. warplanes in Syria. Within hours of Col. Klimov’s statement, state-run Russian media began to flood social media sites with photographs of Russian warplanes fitted with KH-29L missiles attached under their wings. Precision guided technology doesn’t drive out risk or ensure that bombs and missiles don’t go astray. Accurate on-the-ground or surveillance intelligence is also an essential for targeting, as the weekend U.S. bombing of a hospital in the Afghan town of Kunduz likely demonstrates. But the use of imprecise ordnance increases dramatically the likelihood of civilian and non-combatant casualties because of the indiscriminate nature of the bombing. Unguided high fragmentation dumb bombs have been more evident in footage broadcast by Russia Today from correspondents based at Bassel al-Assad airbase. “I've mainly seen the planes fitted with unguided munitions; but there have been some rare examples of them using guided munitions,” Higgins, who has been monitoring the channel’s broadcasts, told VOA. US, others accuse Russia On Thursday, Lt. Gen. Robert P. Otto, deputy chief of staff in the U.S. Air Force, told reporters that it appeared the Russian forces were relying on “dumb bombs” more than precision weapons guided by lasers or satellites. Syrian political activists and rebel commanders agree. “Russia is using just dumb bombs, that’s going to increase the number of civilian casualties,” Hadi Albahra, an anti-Assad opposition leader, tweeted Sunday. Khaled Khoja, head of the Syrian National Coalition - the Western-backed anti-Assad opposition group - said Russia was "clearly" targeting civilians and opposition-held areas, and called for the enforcement of a no-bombing zone. He accused Moscow of just “enabling Assad’s war on civilians.” Evidence that dumb munitions are being used more is also coming from analysis of Russian Defense Ministry-supplied video footage of the impact of the airstrikes. David Cenciotti, a former Italian air force pilot who runs The Aviationist - a military warfare web site - says footage he analyzed of a bombing run Wednesday “shows shrapnel from a bomb possibly exploding south of the target; the second part shows the same target and other shrapnel, but you can also clearly see the blast of a bomb at the bottom of the scene; the third one shows bombs seemingly missing their target by several meters.” Estimates of casualties from the five days of Russian bombing vary. The pro-opposition monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday its activists had documented 39 civilian deaths, including eight children and eight women. The group said it had verified the deaths of 14 fighters; a dozen from the Islamic State group in a raid near Raqqa and two from al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Russia bombing raids have hit several provinces since Wednesday with most focused in Idlib in the northwest and Hama in central Syria in territory not controlled by the Islamic State group, the main target of the air campaign, according to the Kremlin.
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 The Guardian |
The Invention of Russia by Arkady Ostrovsky; The New Tsar by Steven Lee Myers ...
The Guardian On the night of 25 December 1991, Christmas night but not to Russians, I was sitting in the studio of a sculptor in central Moscow. Many a monument to Lenin or Marx around the communist world had the imprimatur of Lev Kerbel; but this much-decorated ... |
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Three new studies of Vladimir Putin’s rise to power and his authoritarian methods of stifling free speech make gloomy reading
On the night of 25 December 1991, Christmas night but not to Russians, I was sitting in the studio of a sculptor in central Moscow. Many a monument to Lenin or Marx around the communist world had the imprimatur of Lev Kerbel; but this much-decorated artist-cum-propagandist was hunched over his flickering black-and-white television set, watching the Soviet flag being lowered from atop the Kremlin.
Kerbel, who was born on Revolution Day in 1917, was mystified by the turn of events. As the new Russia embraced its own variant of capitalism, he would make sculptures of oligarchs or their wives. He would complain to me that they were tricksy when it came to paying. Such was the lot of Soviet man in transition.
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Reuters |
Turkey says Russian warplane violated its airspace
Reuters ISTANBUL A Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border, prompting Ankara to scramble two F-16 jets to intercept it and summon Moscow's ambassador in protest, the foreign ministry said on Monday. Turkey, which has the ... Turkey F-16s Intercept Russia Warplane After Airspace ViolationNBCNews.com Turkey 'intercepts' Russian jet violating its air spaceYahoo News Turkish jets intercept Russian fighter plane violating its air space, foreign ...ABC Online BBC News -CNN all 106 news articles » |
Turkey says Russian warplane violated its airspaceby Kareem Shaheen in Beirut
Ankara lodges formal complaint with Russians after incident near Syrian border, in which Russian plane was intercepted by F-16 jets
Turkey says its military intercepted a Russian fighter plane that had violated the country’s airspace while apparently flying a sortie over Syria – an incident that risked further inflaming tensions days after Russia’s military intervention began.
Turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs said two F-16 fighter jets intercepted the Russian plane while it was flying south of Hatay, a province that borders Syria, on Saturday.
Continue reading... The Guardian |
Turkey says Russian warplane violated its airspace
The Guardian Russia began airstrikes in Syria last week in defence of its embattled dictator, Bashar al-Assad. The raids have primarily targeted opposition fighters battling to topple Assad while drawing closer to his stronghold of Latakia, as well as areas ... Turkey says intercepted Russian jet violating its air spaceYahoo News Turkish jets intercept Russian fighter plane violating its air space, foreign ...ABC Online all 32 news articles » |
The Turkish Foreign Ministry says a Russian warplane has violated Turkish airspace.
 NBCNews.com |
Turkey F-16s Intercept Russia Warplane After Airspace Violation
NBCNews.com A Russian warplane "violated" Turkish airspace near the Syrian border and was intercepted by two F-16 jets, officials said Monday amid international concern at the risks of parallel military action in the conflict. Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned ... Turkey says Russian warplane violated its airspaceReuters Turkey Scrambles Fighter Jets After Russia Violates AirspaceHaaretz Turkey 'intercepts' Russian jet violating its air spaceYahoo News ABC Online all 88 news articles » |
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 CNBC |
Russia ready to meet OPEC to talk oil prices
CNBC Russia is ready to meet with members of the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC) -- as well as non-member oil producers -- to discuss the situation facing global oil markets, according to the country's oil minister. Alluding to a ... Oil up as Russia mulls OPEC talks, rig count dropsReuters Oil up as Russia ready to talk with oil suppliers, US rig count dropsYahoo! Maktoob News all 156 news articles » |
The Guardian |
Turkey intercepts Russian jet in its air space
CNN (CNN) Turkey said it intercepted a Russian jet that violated its air space over the weekend. The country called in the Russian ambassador and lodged a strong condemnation of the violation, Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement Monday. "The ... Turkey says Russian warplane violated its airspaceThe Guardian Turkey F-16s Intercept Russia Warplane After Airspace ViolationNBCNews.com Russia's airstrikes in Syria are playing well at homeCBS News The Week Magazine-Sky News-Voice of America all 2,082 news articles » |
Yahoo News |
US defence chief warns Russia has 'losing strategy' in Syria
Yahoo News "It remains my hope that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin will see that tethering Russia to a sinking ship is a losing strategy, and will decide to confront the threat presented by (IS) instead of continuing its unilateral airstrikes against Assad's ... Assad `Cannot Last' in Syria as Russia Escalates, Carter SaysBloomberg all 30 news articles » |
Turkey: Russian Jets Violated Airspace Near Syrian Borderby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Turkey said Monday a Russian jet had violated its airspace near the border with Syria, leading to two Turkish F-16s escorting the Russian plane out of the area. A foreign ministry statement said the incident happened Saturday, and that Turkey warned Russia it would be "responsible for any undesired incident" if another airspace violation takes place. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted the Russian Embassy in Turkey saying the incident did happen and that explanations were made to Turkish officials. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Russian violation of Turkey's airspace "raises stakes in what is already a high-risk situation." Meanwhile, Russian warplanes continued to conduct airstrikes within Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday its forces struck nine Islamic State targets during the past day, including hitting artillery, communications and command centers and a training camp in Hama, Homs, Latakia and Idlib. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Iraq, where the United States has been leading a coalition of airstrikes against the Islamic State group, has not asked Russia to carry out strikes there. Lavrov also said Russia is open to establishing contact with the Free Syrian Army, one of the rebel groups that has been fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the past four years. Western governments have criticized Russia's involvement in Syria, saying Russian airstrikes are targeting rebels instead of the Islamic State group. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday that Russia has "escalated the civil war" in Syria with its bombing campaign. Assad said Sunday that the whole Middle East would be destroyed if Russia's aerial bombardment of militants opposed to his government does not succeed. "The alliance between Russia, Syria, Iraq and Iran must succeed or else the whole region will be destroyed," Assad told Iranian state television. But he added that "the chances of success for this coalition are great and not insignificant."
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Two Encouraging Russian Polls: Few Back ‘Foreign Agent’ Law and Many Torture Victims Protestby paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, October 5 – Fewer than one Russian in five thinks the Kremlin’s “foreign agent” law which requires NGOs receiving funds from abroad to register as such and almost half of those who have been victims of torture by the Russian siloviki say they have turned to various agencies for defense against such abuse, according to two new polls.
The first of these findings, Asmik Novikova, a researcher for the Public Verdict Foundation, shows that Russians have been far less swept along by the regime on this issue than many think; and the second that Russians are less “nihilistic” about law than many suppose and are ready to invoke the law in their own defense (civitas.ru/news.php?code=15480).
The Kremlin has argued that Russians need to know who is paying for those who publish books, conduct meetings or engage in other kinds of activities, but, the sociologist says, “half of those polled do not see any use for themselves in such information.” Twenty-eight percent found it hard to answer, and “only 18 percent” said that the law was useful.
Thus, Novikova continues, “a little more than 80 percent, that is the overwhelming majority either do not understand why it is necessary to have the ‘agent’ status’ or do not consider this demand of the law as useful for themselves.” Moreover, Russians were divided on whether such a label harmed the NGOs involved.
Roughly a third (31 percent) said such labelling was insulting, 40 percent said they didn’t see any problems with it, and roughly another third (29 percent) said that they couldn’t say whether it was or not. That suggests, the researcher argues, that Russian society is roughly divided in thirds rather than monolithically united.
A second poll about how many Russians have been victims of torture by the authorities and how they react to it reflects a similar division in society, she says. Seven percent of Russians – approximately 10 million people – say they have been victims of police torture, with a third turning to the authorities for redress, a third to NGOs, and only a third not protesting.
Almost half (42 percent) of Russians who have been victims of torture say they have made use of legal means to defend themselves against it. According to Novikova, this is a very high figure and suggests that the widespread view that Russians will not make use of law to defend themselves is at a minimum overstated.
Moreover, and even more encouraging, victims are quite prepared to spend money and often a lot of it on lawyers or on organizations that can help them seek redress for the crimes committed against them by the authorities, the sociologist says.
Torture remains a major problem in Russia. About half of those queried (46 percent), Novikova continues, say that the police engage in torture. Just under a quarter (23 percent) say they don’t, and almost a third (31 percent) say they are unsure, a pattern that gives context to other reports that the attitudes of citizens toward the police have improved of late.
(Some groups in the Russian Federation are particularly likely to be the victims of torture by the police and penal authorities. Among the most common victims are Chechens incarcerated there, as a new survey of that problem “from hell” provided by Radio Liberty’s Russian Service shows (svoboda.org/content/article/27286075.html).)
But on the basis of these two polls, Novikova draws what she says are two “cautiously” optimistic conclusions: the Kremlin’s “foreign agent” campaign has not discredited NGOs involved in the defense of the rights of Russians, and Russians themselves increasingly see such groups as “effective provides of legal help,” at least in the case of victims of torture.
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says Russia is pursuing a "losing strategy" in Syria.
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GENEVA (AP) - The latest developments in the hundreds of thousands of refugees and other migrants passing through Europe on their way west. All times local.
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Leaders from the European Union and Turkey will be fine-tuning a plan to help Ankara cope better with refugees from Syria and Iraq ...
Hillary Clinton, who waited a long time before striking a conciliatory tone about her use of private email at the State Department, said at a town hall hosted by NBC Monday that questions about her server were “beyond the pale.”
“There have been seven or eight Benghazi committees,” Today Show host Savannah Guthrie said. “This is the first to actually discover and find your emails. Was that a public service?”
“No. I mean, no,” Clinton said. “Before this whole thing was a big controversy, the State Department was looking for information. My emails were on the government account. More than 90 percent of them. The State Department was pulling them out. They’d been handed over. Look, I’ve been around this political situation for a long time, but some things are just beyond the pale. I’m happy to go, if it still is in operation, to testify. I’m happy to turn over my emails. I’ve gone further than anybody ever has.
“That’s ok. I’m willing to do that. But the real issue here is what happened to four brave Americans.”
Since the story broke in the spring, Clinton continually dismissed the saga over her use of private email while secretary of state as a distraction that she didn’t have to apologize for, insisting over and over that what she did was allowed by the government.
Eventually, Clinton did say she was “sorry” for what she’d done. Questions ranging from her potential misuse of classified information to why she elected to use a private server to conduct government business at all have dogged her campaign and caused her trustworthiness numbers to suffer with voters.
The post Clinton: Questions About my Email Are ‘Beyond the Pale’ appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
Whatever effect Russia's airstrikes are having on the ground in Syria, their impact at home is clear: They prove to Russians that their country is showing up the United States and reclaiming its rightful place as a global power.
FBI arrests Anchor Point man
Kenai Peninsula Online An Anchor Point man faces federal charges for allegedly threatening law enforcement over the radio. Larry Clarence Volz Jr., 58, was arrested Thursday during a Federal Bureau of Investigation search of his home on the 41000 block of the Old Sterling ... |
A senior Iranian military leader warned this weekend that “all U.S. military bases in the Middle East are within the range of” Iran’s missiles and emphasized that the Islamic Republic will continue to break international bans on the construction of ballistic missiles.
Much of this missile work, like the details of Iran’s advanced arsenal, remains secret, according to Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force.
Hajizadeh dismissed the threat of military action by the United States, warning that all U.S. assets and allies are in range of Iran’s current missile arsenal, according to comments made Sunday in Tehran and recorded by Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.
The threats of attack on the United States were issued as Iran unveiled new high-tech torpedoes and the formation of a joint war room along with Russia, Syria, and Iraq.
“Some of the threats by the U.S. are aimed at appeasing the Zionists, while others are for the purpose of domestic consumption (in the U.S.), but what is important is that they are aware of and acknowledge our capabilities and deterrence power,” Hajizadeh was quoted as saying.
“We do not feel any need to increase the range of our missiles and (our perceived enemy) targets are fully within the range of our missiles,” he added.
Iran will not slow down the research and construction of advanced missiles, the IRGC leader said, despite international bans on such action.
“We do not see any restriction for our missiles and the IRGC’s preparedness and missile drills are conducted without a halt and according to our annual time-table, but only some of them are publicized through the media,” Hajizadeh said.
The comments echo those of IRGC Navy Commander Ali Fadavi, who warned last month that “the U.S. knows the damages of any war and firing bullets in the Persian Gulf.”
“The U.S. is obedient and passive in the Persian Gulf and we impose our sovereignty right in the Persian Gulf very powerfully,” Fadavi said.
The Pentagon confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon last month that Iranian warships confront the U.S. Navy on a “daily basis.”
Iran’s renewed war rhetoric and anti-U.S. posturing comes amid reports that Iran and Russia have taken the lead in Syria, where both countries are working to bolster the embattled President Bashar al-Assad.
A senior Iranian official disclosed over the weekend that Iran, Russia, Syrian, and Iraq are working on forming a joint war room to coordinate operations in the region.
The so-called “information exchange center” would be the first step in formalizing a joint operations center to coordinate military efforts in Syria and elsewhere, according to political adviser to Iraq Mohsen Hakim, head of the country’s Islamic Supreme Council.
“The information center has been formed some days ago after six months of discussions,” Hakim was quoted as telling Fars.
Information obtained by this operations center would be disseminated to officials from each participating country, according to Hakim, including the Russian and Syrian armies.
“Hakim underlined that the information center can be a preliminary step to set up a joint operations room or Centcom,” Fars reported.
Meanwhile, Iran unveiled a new high-tech torpedo that it claims can hit targets both in and out of the water. The technology for the missile has been borrowed from the Russians, according to Iranian officials who spoke to Fars.
The post Iran: Missiles Pointed at U.S. Targets appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
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Turkey summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the violation of its airspace by a Russian warplane near the border with Syria over the weekend, and demanded that Moscow avoid future infringements, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.
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October 5, 2015, 2:18 PM (IDT)
Russia’s deputy chief of staff, Gen. Nikolay Bogdanovsky, with a large military delegation, arrives in Israel for a two-day visit Tuesday, Oct. 6, to discuss coordination between the two militaries. However, Moscow seems to be sending Jerusalem an altogether different message: Friday, Oct. 2, the Russian Defense ministry announced the surprise deployment of Navy cruiser, the Moskva, armed with 64 advanced anti-aircraft missiles S-300 ship-to-air missiles opposite the Syrian coastal town of Latakia. debkafile: Moscow has created an effective no-fly zone over Syria, N. Israel, S. Turkey, Jordan and Cyprus.
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
IRAQ and SYRIA
Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad has said that no political reforms are possible in the country until “terrorism” has been defeated there, in an interview with Iran’s Khabar television network. [Washington Post’s Liz Sly] The regime leader also publically backed Russian airstrikes and said that the Russian campaign “must succeed or we are facing the destruction of a whole region.” [AP]
ISIS has destroyed Palmyra’s Arch of Triumph, an ancient monument built about 2,000 years ago. [BBC]
US-backed opposition rebels in Syria have called on the US to supply them with antiaircraft missiles to defend their positions against Russian airstrikes. [Washington Post’s Liz Sly and Andrew Roth]
The US-led coalition against ISIS plans to open a major front in the northeast of Syria, targeting militant positions in Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital, military and administration officials have said. [New York Times’ Eric Schmitt and Michael R. Gordon]
Russian military aircraft violated Turkey’s airspace, the country’s foreign ministry said today, summoning Moscow’s ambassador to protest the incident. [Reuters]
UK Prime Minister David Cameron criticized the Russian intervention in Syria on Saturday, accusing it of conducting indiscriminate airstrikes, “actually backing the butcher Assad and helping him.” [Wall Street Journal’s Jason Douglas and James Marson] And the country’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond commented that Russian support of the Assad regime would ultimately hurt the fight against ISIS. [Wall Street Journal’s Jenny Gross]
Russia’s involvement in Syria is unlikely to turn the tide in the conflict, suggest Andrew Roth and Thomas Gibbons-Neff, citing analysts who point to Moscow’s aging military equipment and the poorly trained Syrian army. [Washington Post]
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders opposes a unilateral no-fly zone in Syria, siding with President Obama on the subject, saying that it is a move which could “get us more deeply involved” in the Syrian conflict and “lead to a never-ending US entanglement in that region.” [Washington Post’s Josh Wagner and Anne Gearan]
“Syria increasingly looks like a battleground between great powers with unequal commitments,” write Adam Entous et al, discussing the conflicting agendas of the parties to the civil war. [Wall Street Journal]
“Iraqi civilian losses used to be referred to as the inevitable ‘collateral damage’ of war” but it is becoming “painfully clear” that in the war against the Islamic State, those killed have not even “earned that ghastly euphemism.” Zareena Grewal discusses the deaths of relatives in Mosul by a US airstrike on September 21. [New York Times]
Whether Vladimir Putin is “winning” through his Syrian intervention depends on how you define success, discusses Ross Douthat. [New York Times]
AFGHANISTAN
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has accused the US of committing a war crime after a US airstrike hit the organization’s hospital in the city of Kunduz on Saturday morning. MSF has pulled its staff out of the city in the wake of the strike which killed 22 people. [The Guardian’s Sune Engel Rasmussen and Jessica Elgot] MSF has updates of the situation here.
MSF is “disgusted” by claims of the Afghan government that the strike took place following reports of Taliban fighters hiding in the hospital. [BBC] Tim Craig and Craig Whitlock comment on the distinctly “muted” Afghan response to the strike. [Washington Post]
The Department of Defense has launched a full investigation, President Obama said in a statementin which he extended his condolences to those affected by the “tragic incident.” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that there will be accountability “if that is required,” and added that it may take some time to get the facts in the “confused and complicated” situation. MSF has said that an internal investigation is “wholly insufficient” and called for an independent probe into the strike. [Reuters]
UN officials condemned the airstrike as “tragic” and “inexcusable,” and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated the explicit protection of hospitals and medical personnel under international humanitarian law. [UN News Centre]
The US formula is now clear “bombing whatever countries it wants, justifying it all by reflexively labeling their targets as ‘terrorists,’ and then dishonestly denying or casually dismissing the civilians they slaughter as ‘collateral damage,’ opines Glenn Greenwald at The Intercept.
Afghan forces have recovered most of Kunduz today, according to police and residents of the city. [Reuters] Reports conflict however, Al Jazeera reporting that the Taliban claims to have retaken large parts of the city from Afghan forces.
Afghanistan’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah said that the government’s failure to act sooner in Kunduz was “mainly” due to “insufficient resources,” speaking with the Wall Street Journal’s Bret Stephens.
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour is cementing his position with “intrigue and battlefield victory,” writes Joseph Goldstein, profiling the new leader. [New York Times]
Kunduz “marks a new phase in the war and a critical test for the effort by the United States and NATO to leave the bulk of the fighting to Afghan security forces,” writes Emile Simpson at Politico Magazine.
ISRAEL and PALESTINE
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to wage a “harsh offensive against Palestinian Islamic terrorism,” in a Facebook post written on his return from New York. [New York Times’ Isabel Kershner and Jodi Rudoren] Following a later meeting with security officials, Netanyahu said that additional steps to combat terrorists include “fast-tracking the razing of terrorists’ homes.” [The Guardian’s Peter Beaumont and Kate Shuttleworth]
Palestinians have been barred from entering Jerusalem’s Old City, a “drastic” move by security forces following the lethal stabbing of an off-duty Israeli soldier and a rabbi there on Saturday night. [Washington Post’s William Booth]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed concern that “these latest incidents signal a dangerous slide towards escalation.” [UN News Centre]
The IDF targeted Hamas military facilities in Gaza early today in response to two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel late last night. [Haaretz]
A Palestinian youth was killed during clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank on Sunday night, local media reported. [Haaretz]
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
A Pentagon team has resumed a site survey of a possible “Guantánamo North” in Colorado, the Defense Department said Friday. [Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg]
The Obama administration is threatening to veto the annual defense bill; President Obama has threatened to veto every defense bill for the past six years, though has never gone through with it. [The Hill’s Jordain Carney]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored violence by Nigerian militant group Boko Haram as an “affront to humanity,” condemning a Friday bomb attack and multiple suicide bombings last Thursday. [UN News Centre]
Leaked memos have shown that the White House may be backpedaling on its commitment to a technological solution that would let investigators bypass encryption; privacy advocates and tech companies have taken this as a signal of growing momentum in the encryption fight. [The Hill’s Cory Bennett]
US-trained foreign military forces have “collapsed, stalled or defected,” with “alarming frequency,” write Eric Schmitt and Tim Arango, providing further details. [New York Times]
The American government has pursued far fewer violations of the arms embargo against Iran over the past year than it has in recent years, according to a review of court records, a pattern which raises questions about how strictly it will be applied in the future following the conclusion of the nuclear accord. [Reuters’ Yeganeh Torbati]
Libya: “this is the story of a failed revolution and the people it engulfed,” from Elizabeth Dickinson atForeign Policy.
“[W]ith only 16 months left before the president’s term ends, Carter is shaping up to be more of a caretaker than a reformer,” comment Dan De Luce and Paul McLeary, discussing Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s tenure in the post. [Foreign Policy]
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The Guardian |
Assad gives backing to Russian airstrikes on Syrian militant groups
The Guardian Russian airstrikes on territories controlled by rebels fighting against the Syrian government have been given the public backing of the country's president, Bashar al-Assad. Assad said in an interview broadcast on Iranian television that the attacks ... Assad says Russian air campaign vital to save Middle EastReuters Assad praises Russian intervention in SyriaFinancial Times At least 39 civilians killed in Russian air strikes, Syrian Observatory for ...ABC Online BBC News all 1,308 news articles » |
Russia's Airstrikes in Syria Are Playing Well at Home
ABC News Whatever effect Russia's airstrikes are having on the ground in Syria, their impact at home is clear: They prove to Russians that their country is showing up the United States and reclaiming its rightful place as a global power. So far, Russia's ... and more » |
Syria Won't Erase Putin's Ukraine Problemby By Paul Quinn-judge
Military success in Syria may help Putin by pushing Ukraine off the headlines but it will not solve the problem he created in eastern Ukraine - and perhaps in the long run at home, writes columnist Paul Quinn-Judge.
Russia Can't Sell Its Syria Propaganda – Analystsby By Daria Litvinova
Almost as soon as the first reports of Russian air strikes in Syria hit the press, President Vladimir Putin accused the West of launching a new assault in an information war against Russia.
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USA TODAY |
FBI profilers to help explain more about Oregon school shooter
USA TODAY ROSEBURG, Ore. — As many residents headed to church on a cool, clear Sunday morning, three days after a shooting at the community college here left nine dead plus the gunman, FBIprofilers are beginning their efforts to help explain the shooter's actions. and more » |
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter said Sunday he would hold personnel accountable if an investigation shows that a U.S. airstrike in Kunduz, Afghanistan, hit a Doctors Without Borders-run hospital.
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Authorities say three water fixtures at the Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs hospital have tested positive for bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease.
Veterans Affairs officials said Friday that the affected fixtures at the Oakland hospital include a patient shower, a staff sink and a public sink, but the type ...
 Bloomberg |
VW Chief Warns Cheating Scandal May Threaten Company's Existence
Bloomberg Volkswagen AG's designated Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch warned managers that the diesel-emissions scandal could pose “an existence-threatening crisis for the company,” as it pleaded for public trust with full-page ads in national newspapers. Merkel calls on VW to clear up emissions-rigging scandalWashington Post Modi, Merkel to push trade talks, lay ground for India-EU summitHindustan Times Merkel touches down in India, Modi tweets "Namaste"Firstpost Times of India-NDTV all 229 news articles » |
A wild Leopard in India gets a metal pot stuck on its head. Report by Jonny Nelson.
The US state of South Carolina remains on high alert amid widespread flooding that has cut power to thousands and forced water and road rescues.
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 TIME |
Textbook Company to Update Description of Slaves as 'Workers' After Criticism
TIME Textbook publishing giant McGraw-Hill will rewrite a section of a book after a Houston mother complained that the text made light of the treatment of the slaves that were forcibly brought to the Americas from Africa. Outrage over the textbook language ... McGraw-Hill to rewrite textbook that describes African slaves as 'workers' and ...fox13now.com A Mom Called Out A Textbook Publisher For Saying Slaves Were “Immigrant Workers”BuzzFeed News Texas Mom Criticizes Major Textbook Publisher for This Section on Immigration...TheBlaze.com OzarksFirst.com all 36 news articles » |
 Irish Examiner |
Assad says no peace settlement until war against terrorists is won
Washington Post BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Sunday that there can be no reforms in Syria until “terrorism” has been vanquished, dampening speculation that Russia's military intervention might herald a swift settlement to the four-year-old conflict. Russia intensifying Syria airstrikesCNN Congress Can Respond to Putin With More SanctionsWall Street Journal Putin's Bombs Add to Reasons Why Syria's War Is Here to StayBloomberg Miami Herald -Reuters -Voice of America all 2,033 news articles » |
U.S. Aims to Put More Pressure on ISIS in Syriaby ERIC SCHMITT and MICHAEL R. GORDON
About 3,000 to 5,000 Arab fighters are to join more than 20,000 Kurdish combatants in an offensive backed by dozens of allied warplanes to pressure Raqqa, the Islamic State’s main stronghold in Syria.
 New York Times |
US Aims to Put More Pressure on ISIS in Syria
New York Times WASHINGTON — The American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has begun preparing to open a major front in northeastern Syria, aiming to put pressure on Raqqa, the terrorist group's de facto capital, according to military and administration ... Assad says no peace settlement until war against terrorists is wonWashington Post Russia intensifying Syria airstrikesCNN Assad says Russia campaign must succeed in SyriaFox News Wall Street Journal -Miami Herald -Bloomberg all 2,676 news articles » |
 The Indian Express |
Russia's airstrikes in Syria playing well at home; reclaiming global power status
The Indian Express The Russian airstrikes that began Wednesday have mainly targeted central and northwestern Syria, strategic regions that are the gateway to Assad's strongholds in the capital, Damascus, and along the coast. Comments. Moscow | Published:October 5, 2015 ... Assad says no peace settlement until war against terrorists is wonWashington Post Middle East will be destroyed if Isil not stopped, says AssadIrish Independent Russia's airstrikes helping Putin flex muscle where Obama faltersFirstpost Irish Examiner -ABC News -Miami Herald all 1,353 news articles » |
IS Reportedly Destroys Another Ancient Syrian Site in Palmyraby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Islamic State militants have reportedly destroyed another irreplaceable ancient artifact in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Activists say so-called Islamic State blew up the city's Arch of Triumph, describing it has having been "pulverized." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the arch had ornaments that Islamic State considered blasphemous. Upon hearing the news, Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told the Reuters news agency, "It's...
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