Europe
Conspiracy vultures descend on Paris
The Palestinian Authority's official newspaper runs an op-ed claiming Israel was behind the Paris attacks—just one of several such unhelpful responses.
Author: Bill Weinberg
North Africa
France bombs Syria; US bombs Libya
Two days after the Paris attacks, French warplanes carried out air-strikes on the ISIS capital Raqqa—as the US bombed ISIS targets in Derna, Libya.
Iraq
Kurdish forces liberate Sinjar from ISIS
On the same day as the Paris attacks, a serious blow against ISIS was dealt in Iraq as the town of Sinjar was liberated by a mixed force led by Kurdish Peshmerga troops.
Europe
From Beirut to Paris…
The terror campaign in Paris has shocked the world, while the previous day's ISIS attacks on a Shi'ite district of Beirut were mere background noise for the world media.
Central America
Guatemala threatens Belize?
A change of government in Guatemala and Belize is reviving long-simmering fears of war between the Central American neighbors.
Europe
Cold War déja vu in NATO mega-maneuvers
NATO is just winding up its biggest military exercise since the end of the Cold War—Operation Trident Juncture, involving 36,000 troops from over 30 countries.
Greater Middle East
Syria: anti-ISIS forces advance —despite everything
The new Kurdish-Arab alliance in northern Syria continues to advance into ISIS-held territory—in spite of efforts by virtually all the regional powers to sabotage it.
Mexico
Anarchist bomb blasts in Mexico City?
A group called the "Pagan Sect of the Mountain" claimed responsibility for improvised bomb attacks on Mexico City buses, in a communique filled with anti-civilization rhetoric.
Planet Watch
Obama and the KXL-TPP contradiction
Obama nixed the Keystone XL pipeline a day after announcing he will sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership—which includes mechanisms for challenging the KXL cancellation.
Afghanistan
UN sees decline in Afghan opium: Pyrrhic victory?
The UN notes a sharp drop in opium cultivation in Afghanistan after years of big increases—but due to drought and desertification, not government eradication efforts.
Southeast Asia
Burma: will ceasefire wind down opium war?
Burma’s regime signs a "national ceasefire" with ethnic rebels in the opium-producing north ahead of historic elections—but the biggest rebel armies didn’t sign on.
Mexico
Mexico: narcos in assassination attempt on ex-gov?
Fernando Moreno Peña, ex-governor of Mexico's narco-stronghold Colima state, survived an assassination attempt. Two predecessors were not so lucky.