Iraq
Will Kobani intervention spur split in NATO?
Turkey protests US aid to the Kurdish defenders of Kobani, calling the YPG a "terrorist group"—while the US now maintains it is a separate organization from the PKK.
Author: Bill Weinberg
Inner Asia
Uighur leaders to al-Qaeda: No, thanks
Uighur exile leaders were quick to disavow an article in al-Qaeda's media service portraying harsh oppression of Muslims in "East Turkistan," or Xinjiang.
Greater Middle East
Assad plays Kurdish card to divide opposition
The Assad regime dubiously claims to be aiding the Kurdish defenders of ISIS-besieged Kobani—a transparent attempt at an Arab-versus-Kurdish divide-and-rule stratagem.
Iraq
US arms Kobani defenders —heightening contradictions
The US has started to air-drop weapons to Kurdish forces defending Kobani against ISIS—opening a new set of contradictions for the Rojava autonomous zone.
Greater Middle East
Kobani Kurds between Erdogan, ISIS and Assad
As PKK militia beat back ISIS at Kobani, the Syrian opposition increasingly looks to Turkey's President Erdogan as an ally against Bashar Assad. Yet another betrayal of the Kurds?
Mexico
Mexican cartel wars winding down?
Mexican authorities claimed another coup against the cartels with the arrest of Héctor Beltran Leyva, last remaining kingpin of the Beltran Leyva Organization.
Greater Middle East
Kobani in the balance; Kurdish protests escalate
With desperate street-to-street fighting underway in Kobani between ISIS and Kurdish militia, nearly 30 have been killed in Kurdish protests across Turkey.
Iraq
Will world betray Kobani?
As the PKK continues its desperate resistance against ISIS at Kobani, Turkish troops gather on the nearby border—to prevent Kurdish fighters from coming to the town's aid.
Mexico
Fortune magazine ranks top five global cartels
Fortune magazine issued a list of the biggest organized crime groups in the world: elements of Japan's Yakuza, Russian mafia, two Italian syndicates and Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexico
ISIS to attack US through Mexico …Not!
John McCain prompted testimony from a Homeland Security official that ISIS could seek to infiltrate the US through Mexico. The media jumped on it, but there's nothing there.
The Andes
Peru: record coke bust points to Mexican cartels
A record-breaking cocaine bust on Peru's Pacific coast points not only to booming production, but the increasing role of the Mexican cartels in the Andean narco economy.
Afghanistan
Warlords cut deal on Afghan electoral dispute
The deal that ended Afghanistan's electoral deadlock was brokered by the country's leading war criminals—and the US hopes to follow up with a "status of forces" agreement.