Europe
Russia: police detain metro bombing suspect
Russian authorities say they have detained a suspect in the St. Petersburg metro bombing, as rights groups protest Moscow's draconian new anti-terrorism legislation.
Tag: Russia
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.
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.
The Caucasus
Chechnya: concentration camps for gays?
Alarming reports are emerging that Chechyna has opened “the first concentration camp for homosexuals since Hitler,” following a “gay purge” in the southern Russian republic. (Photo: Human Rights Campaign via Twitter)
The Caucasus
Alania re-emerges from history, Georgia pist
The vote over the name change from South Ossetia to Alania reveals how the autonomist aspirations of the Ossetians (however legitimate) have been exploited in the Great Game. (Map: Wikipedia)
Syria
Syria: gas attacks, air-strikes and hypocrisy
Trump, whose own air-strikes have killed hundreds, decides he must bomb an Assad air-base to retaliate for a gas attack—while the “anti-war” left is undisturbed by the gas attack.
Syria
Syria: carnage and betrayal in Raqqa endgame
The US air-lifts Kurdish fighters into ISIS territory in preparation for a final assault on Raqqa—while bombing the city, deepening the growing enmity between Kurds and Arabs.
Greater Middle East
Russia to establish base in Syrian Kurdistan
The Kurdish YPG militia says it has agreed to establishment of a Russian military base in its territory, although Moscow calls it a "reconciliation center."
Greater Middle East
Pentagon behind Syria mosque massacre: reports
The US is denying reports that it bombed a mosque in northwestern Syria during evening prayers, killing at least 50—despite mounting evidence from survivors and witnesses.
Syria
Kurdish forces hand over villages to Assad regime?
Amid shifting alliances in the scramble for northern Syria, Kurdish-led forces are accused of handing over territory to the Assad regime, in a deal brokered by Russia.
North Africa
Libya: oil ports change hands yet again
The Benghazi Defense Brigades seized Libya's key oil ports from warlord Khalifa Haftar, and urged the Tripoli-based "official" government to take control of the country's "oil crescent."
North America
Trump travel ban bars Syrian activist from Oscars
Syrian cinematographer Khaled Khatib was barred by Homeland Security from traveling to the US for the Oscars, where a documentary he worked on was awarded.