It was a bad week for blow back. So it goes. Tit-for-tat. Violence begets violence, as every schoolboy knows. Just at the brouhaha over the US solider Bowe Bergdahl being freed by his Taliban captors was simmering, the Taliban attacked Karachi Airport. Soon after, this was followed by yet more drone attacks on Waziristan that killed women and children. [...]
So after the grotesquerie of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 suicide killers of 9/11, meet Saudi Arabia’s latest monstrous contribution to world history: the Islamist Sunni caliphate of Iraq and the Levant, conquerors of Mosul and Tikrit – and Raqqa in Syria – and possibly Baghdad, and the ultimate humiliators of Bush and Obama. [...]
The Ukrainian President is sitting at the top of a living volcano and must understand that exacerbating conflict with Russia will put an end to his presidency, Michael J. Carley, professor of history and 20th century international relations, told RT. [...]
Ukrainian police have detained two men with a package presumably containing a homemade explosive device near Russia's consulate in the city of Odessa. The explosive has been sent for inspection, the local Ministry of Interior reports. [...]
US Secretary of State John Kerry says that Washington is ready to use radical measures to halt the ISIS offensive in Iraq - including enlisting Iran's help and launching air strikes. "We're open to discussions if there is something constructive that can be contributed by Iran, if Iran is prepared to do something that is going to respect the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq," [...]
The Sunni militants fighting to make an Islamic state in Iraq have scored another victory in their move to control more territory. They captured Tal Afar, a city of 200,000 residents in north-west of the country. The city was taken just before dawn on Monday, Mayor Abdulal Abdoul confirmed to AP. [...]
Radical Sunni militants who have been capturing cities in northwest Iraq claimed on Twitter that they executed 1,700 Iraqi soldiers. The radicals posted graphic photos as evidence. The photographs, which were posted on the Twitter account associated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS/ISIL), came with captions that described their alleged massacre. [...]
Tony Blair's essay on how the Middle East should blame its own religious dynamics for its troubles - instead of Western attempts at intervention - has seen London Mayor Boris Johnson launch a scathing attack on the "unhinged" former PM. Johnson’s strong condemnation is a reaction to the arguments made in the former British Prime Minister’s piece entitled 'Iraq, Syria and the Mi [...]
After failing to pay its gas bill, Ukraine now has to pay in advance for any natural gas from Russia, Gazprom said on Monday. Both companies have filed lawsuits against each other at the Stockholm Arbitration Court. “This decision was taken due to systematic failure of Naftogaz Ukraine to pay. [...]
In an incident that may be a first in diplomatic history, Kiev's top diplomat publicly "effed" the head of another state. Foreign Minister Andrey Deshchitsa chanted "Putin's a f**ker" with a cheering crowd that earlier vandalized the Russian embassy. [...]
Russia and Ukraine failed to resolve a gas pricing dispute during Sunday talks in Kiev. Gazprom says its demands have not changed and Kiev is expected to pay its debt of $1.95 billion by 06:00 GMT on Monday, otherwise the gas supply will be stopped. Gazprom’s position remained unchanged after EU-brokered negotiations finally ended around 2:30 a.m. Moscow time (10:30 p.m. GMT) on Monday [...]
The US is getting ready for an open dialogue with Iran to discuss Iraq's security concerns and ways of responding to radical Sunni militia that have been gaining ground in western Iraq, The Wall Street Journal quoted senior US officials as saying. [...]
Apparently, the bloody wave of Islamic extremism gripping Iraq is an internal occurrence and was in no way facilitated by the Western invasion. This is former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's version of events concerning the entire Middle East. In fact, the former prime minister describes at length how it’s necessary to rid oneself of any feeling of responsibility that the crumbling country an [...]
NATO is preparing a package deal to ramp up the Ukrainian military because it "must adapt" to Russia viewing it as an enemy, the outgoing chief of the military bloc said. The deal would be submitted to foreign ministers of members states later this month, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told El Pais in an interview. [...]
Self-defense forces in the town of Gorlovka, eastern Ukraine, say they have downed another plane - a Sukhoi-24 bomber jet. The pilot is alive and currently being taken for questioning, witnesses told RIA Novosti reports. [...]
Forty-nine Ukrainian troops were killed when their military Il-76 transport jet was taken down by local militia forces just before it started its descent toward Lugansk Airport. Some military hardware and supplies were lost as well. [...]
At least one Ukrainian armored vehicle crossed the Russian border with Ukraine Friday overnight and stopped in the Rostov Region, according to Russia's Security Service. The military abandoned the vehicle and returned to Ukraine. [...]
A total of 13 aircraft suddenly vanished off radars for about 25 minutes on two occasions over Austria and neighboring countries, Austria's flight safety monitor said, calling for an EU probe into the "unprecedented" incidents. The flights vanished from air traffic controllers’ screens in Austria on June 5 and June 10 for 25 minutes each time, Marcus Pohanka of Austro Control – Austria’s [...]
Brazilian police have used teargas and stun grenades in San Paolo clashing with about 200 protesters angry with the govt overspending on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This occurred hours before the tournament's opening game to be held in the city. [...]
A spokesperson for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed this week that a fleet of Russian bombers set off alarms in the United States after coming within 50 miles of California's Pacific coast. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for NORAD, told Washington Free Beacon reporter Bill Gertz that a pair of Tu-95 Bear H aircraft maintained by Russia came close to US airspac [...]
Vice President Joe Biden undoubtedly ruffled some feathers in Germany on Tuesday when he suggested the country was "xenophobic" and much less accommodating to immigrants compared to the United States. Speaking at an event held by the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, DC, Biden gave a speech in which he described three things the United States needs to do to “keep our e [...]
Gazprom will not postpone Ukraineâs gas payment deadline set for Monday, CEO Aleksey Miller said. If Kiev fails to pay and therefore causes gas transit problems to Europe, Russia will pump more through the Nord Stream and Yamal-Europe pipelines. [...]
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