Iraq
Syria: a No-Fly Zone for Rojava?
Following Turkish air-strikes on their forces in northern Syria, Kurdish leaders in the region issued a call for a "no-fly zone"—heightening the contradictions for Washington.
Author: Bill Weinberg
Iraq
Iraq: Turkish air-strikes heighten contradictions
Turkish air-strikes on Kurdish militants both in Iraq and Syria place the US in an increasingly contradictory position—torn between its NATO ally and the most effective anti-ISIS forces.
North America
Anti-protest bills give motorists license to kill
"Anti-protest" bills now pending in several states would exempt drivers who injure protesters blocking traffic from liability. Activists call it a green light to run them down.
Syria
Syria: Russia and Assad dropping Rojava Kurds?
Insistence on regional autonomy and a federal solution for Syria is straining the de facto alliance between the Rojava Kurds and Damascus, despite their mutual enmity for Turkey.
Mexico
Mexicans mobilize against Trump border wall
Andres Manuel López Obrador, Mexico's left-populist presidential front-runner, has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission against Trump's proposed wall.
North America
Trump-Putin breach: real or charade?
Is Trump's breach with Putin real, or is all the sudden sabre-rattling part of an elaborate charade to throw Congress off the scent of ongoing Trump-Putin collusion?
Syria
Hawks fear anarchist haven in Syria
The ultra-hawkish Henry Jackson Society warns that the US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria are allied with anarchists and elements of the Turkish and European armed left.
The Andes
Venezuelan oil goad in US-Russia game
Amid growing crisis in Venezuela, it emerges that the country's state oil company, heavily indebted to Russian giant Rosneft, made a big donation to Trump's inauguration festivities.
New York City
NYC: protest Gilad Atzmon at Theatre 80
Professional Jew-hater Gilad Atzmon will be appearing at Theatre 80, a venerated neighborhood institution in the East Village—with New York antifas preparing to protest.
Iraq
Syria: more aerial carnage in Raqqa endgame
US air-strikes killed more Arab civilians in ISIS-held territory, escalating tensions as US-backed Kurdish forces advance on Raqqa, the Arab-majority ISIS capital.
Greater Middle East
Advance for autocracy in Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's referendum granting himself sweeping powers took place in an atmosphere of terror, with opposition leaders silenced and detained.
Syria
Syria: ‘population transfer’ or sectarian cleansing?
Western media refer to “evacuation” and “population transfer” of besieged Syrian towns, euphemisms that mask the sectarian and genocidal element of the regime strategy.