Iraq
US using white phosphorus in Raqqa: reports
Several civilians were killed when US air-strikes reportedly targeted ISIS-held Raqqa with white phosphorus—banned by the Geneva Convention as a weapon of war.
Tag: Russia
North America
Conspiranoids betray Reality Winner …of course
Some of the same voices that cheered on Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden are now dissing Reality Winner as an agent of the “Deep State.”
Iraq
Syria: mounting civilian toll of US air-strikes
Over the past month, air-strikes carried out by the US and its coalition partners in Syria have killed the highest number of civilians on record since the bombing campaign began.
Europe
Ukrainian general calls for ‘destruction’ of Jews
A Ukrainian general closely linked to the intelligence services called for "destruction" of the country's Jews—providing fodder for the portrayal of Russian aggression as "anti-fascism."
Planet Watch
US signs Arctic climate declaration —with caveats
Under diplomatic pressure, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signed the Fairbanks Declaration on Arctic climate—but with caveats about how the US will not "rush" to change policy.
Syria
Syria: Trump approves plan to arm Rojava Kurds
The Rojava Kurds, caught in a pincer between Turkey and ISIS, are being forced to accept superpower aid—but with costs for Syrian revolutionary unity against ISIS and Assad.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.