54 ISIS militants including senior leader 'al-Shishani' killed in Iraq:
The source reported "The army's 8th brigade participated alongside the Anti-Terrorism Forces in operations to retake the neighborhoods of Ramadi from ISIS," pointing out that, "The artillery force of the brigade supported the Anti-Terrorism Forces in the neighborhoods located in central Ramadi,
Wave of attacks kills at least 15 civilians across Iraq:
In the Shiite-majority town of Khalis, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, two explosives-laden cars were detonated. The first car was parked inside a bus station and that explosion killed three and wounded 10, a police officer said.
Iraq: Eight ISIS commanders killed in airstrikes:
"F-16 planes killed dozens of terrorists including eight senior commanders of Daesh in strikes on Hawija and Anbar," said the statement, using a derogatory name for ISIS and not giving further details.
Iraqi ambassador to US: Ramadi liberation 'a few days away':
Iraq's ambassador to the United States says that his country's troops and its allies will retake the city of Ramadi from Islamic State forces in the coming days.
Syria: 35 killed in suspected Russian airstrikes in Eastern Ghouta:
At least 35 people were killed and scores were injured in Syria on Tuesday when Russian jets attacked a marketplace in Eastern Ghouta, local sources told Anadolu Agency. According to the Syrian Civil Defense, the airstrikes targeted an opposition-controlled village, also killing a number of women and children.
Triple ISIS Suicide Attack Kills 11 Syrian Government Fighters:
"Eleven soldiers and pro-regime militiamen were killed and 20 others wounded in the industrial neighbourhood in eastern Deir Ezzor city," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
5 killed in suspected, Damascus 'chemical attack': Pro-rebel activists :
At least five people have been killed in a suspected chemical weapons attack outside the Syrian capital, Damascus, opposition activists say.
Russia rejects accusations of killing Syrian civilians:
Moscow denies claims after Amnesty accuses it of killing civilians in air strikes that may be treated as war crimes.
Syrian government ready to join UN talks to end conflict: Assad aide:
A close adviser to Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday Damascus was ready to join U.N.-sponsored peace talks with its position bolstered by both Russian backing and the West's retreat from a hardline anti-Assad approach.
Syria's Kurds Have Nearly Tripled Their Territory Fighting the Islamic State in 2015:
Amid the chaos in Syria, the country's Kurds have managed to resist the advances of the Islamic State and carve out a zone of unprecedented autonomy in their own lands.
This map shows how much territory ISIS has lost this year:
ISIS has lost 14% of its territory since January. Some of the areas that have been retaken from the group were crucial to the its operations - including the Syrian border-crossing town of Tal Abyad, which connected ISIS's de-facto capital of Raqqa with Turkey.
What really happened to the U.S. train-and-equip program in Syria?:
They had no expense money, little food and no clear idea of how they, just 54 men, were to do battle against the extremists.
DOD downplays ISIS capability after report on anti-aircraft missiles:
The Defense Department on Wednesday downplayed the Islamic State's technological capability, following a report that the terror group is trying to develop anti-aircraft missiles.
70% of Syria refugees in Lebanon live in 'extreme poverty':
Based on an assessment of more than 4,000 refugee households, the report found that an estimated 70 percent of them are living below the Lebanese extreme poverty line of $3.84 per day. "This is a striking increase from 49 per cent in 2014," Mireille Girard, head of the UN refugee agency's Lebanon office, told AFP.
Turkey denies targeting civilians in fight against PKK:
Human Rights Watch report claims army killed 100 Kurdish civilians.
Turkey 'officially acknowledges' attack on Su-24 was a planned step - Russian MoD:
A recent statement by a Turkish official revealing detailed awareness of Russian Air Force sorties in Syria can be regarded as "official acknowledgment" that the operation to down the Su-24 was a planned step, Russia's Ministry of Defense said.
Anonymous 'declares war' on Turkey, claims responsibility for recent massive cyberattacks:
Anonymous threatened to attack the digital infrastructure of Turkey's banks, airports and government
2 Palestinians, 2 Israelis killed in Jerusalem Old City attack:
The attack left one Israeli killed and another injured, while Israeli media reported that a third Israeli was accidentally shot at the scene and later succumbed to their wounds.
The real story behind the killing of Samir Kantar:
Hezbollah's high-profile figure was setting up a resistance movement in the Golan Heights against Israeli occupation.
UN Envoy Warns Yemen Peace Plan Fragile :
On the ground ceasefire violations are continuing even as UN humanitarian agencies warn that civilians are under fire and living in desperate conditions.
Sri Lankan maid spared stoning sentence in Saudi Arabia:
"We have succeeded in getting the death sentence overturned. Our concern was to make sure that the original sentence was not carried out," Harsha de Silva, the deputy foreign minister, told reporters in Sri Lanka's capital.
Saudi to diversify economy away from oil: King Salman:
Saudi King Salman on Wednesday said he has ordered economic reforms to diversify sources of income and reduce high dependence on oil following a sharp drop in crude prices.
Iran calls the new U.S. visa law breach of the nuclear deal:
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday a new U.S. law putting visa restrictions on Iranians and those who had visited Iran would, if implemented, breach a nuclear deal Tehran had struck with world powers earlier this year.
Nigerians: Cameroon troops chase insurgents, kill 70:
"We didn't know what was going on but the Cameroonian troops suddenly appeared and began to ask us for Boko Haram terrorists," said Muhammed Abba, a resident of the village and deputy commander of a local group of civilians set up to fight the extremists in Gwoza. "Before we could say a word, they started firing. That scared most of us and we began to run."
Suspected Boko Haram fighters launch four strikes on Lake Chad area:
Suspected Boko Haram militants launched four attacks over 24 hours on villages in Niger, Chad and Cameroon, killing at least seven people, security and administrative sources said on Wednesday.
Nigeria soldiers killed hundreds of Shiites in raid: report:
Nigerian soldiers fired on unarmed Islamic Shiite children with no provocation in raids that killed hundreds of the minority group in the West African nation, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
French forces kill at least 10 extremists, seize weapons in northern Mali, say officials:
A statement from the French military sent early Wednesday said the forces also seized pick-up trucks and a dozen motorcycles after four hours of fighting with al-Mourabitoun extremists in Mali's northeastern Menaka region on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20.
Ethiopian opposition say 80 killed in protests against new land plan for capital city?:
A report last week by Human Rights Watch that said government forces killed at least 75 people protesting the government plan to incorporate some rural areas into the capital city, Addis Ababa.
Somalia and Brunei ban Christmas celebrations:
Governments of both countries prohibit public festivities saying they could damage the Muslim faith.
Three killed in a roadside explosion in NW Pakistan:
It was the third attack in as many days in the Mohmand tribal region, one of seven such semi-autonomous districts where the military has been battling Al-Qaeda and Taliban-linked militants for over a decade.
Afghanistan: Sangin almost entirely in Taliban hands:
The police headquarters and the main government building fell to the Taliban on Wednesday, a local senator said. The Taliban say their fighters have seized the entire district.
Russia's interests coincide with Taliban's in fight against ISIS:
Russia has established communication channels to exchange information with the Taliban, Zamir Kabulov, a department chief at Russia's Foreign Ministry and President Vladimir Putin's special envoy on Afghanistan, told Interfax. Russia is also ready to supply weapons to Afghanistan, he said, but would do this "with caution and on a commercial basis", Kabulov said.
PM Modi, President Putin Renew Ties Over Private Dinner, Tete-e-Tete:
A number of pacts in defence and nuclear energy sectors are also likely to be finalised. Russia has been India's biggest supplier of arms, though New Delhi has started buying more military hardware from the US over the last few years.
Ukraine, rebels accuse each other of violating latest truce:
The sides had agreed Tuesday to halt all fire and manoeuvres starting from midnight to last through the Christmas and New Year's holidays, but Lysenko said rebels were using heavy weapons, including multiple rocket launchers.
France to pursue plans to strip dual citizens' nationality in terrorism cases:
The French government will go ahead with controversial plans to strip dual citizens of their French nationality in terrorism cases, Prime Minister Manuel Valls says, brushing aside his own justice minister's concerns.
Greece gets one billion euros in third bailout:
Greece's international creditors this week handed over a payment of one billion euros under the terms of its third bailout programme after Athens met their demands for further tough economic reforms.
Greek government hands data on suspected tax cheats to prosecutor:
Greece's Prime Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday his leftist-led coalition government had handed a USB stick with data on thousands of suspect banking transactions to a prosecutor, and said tax evaders would have one last chance to own up
Cameron 'urged to act' after US bans British Muslim family from Disneyland trip:
Mohammed Tariq Mahmood, from Walthamstow, London, was preparing to board a flight with his brother and nine of their children on December 15, but officials from US Homeland Security stopped them as they queued in the departure lounge at Gatwick Airport. Mahmood said no reason was given as to why they could not board the flight, despite their clearance to travel under the Visa Waiver program, which authorizes travel to the US for up to 90 days without a visa.
Now the TSA can force you to go through the body-scanner:
Your next flight might include a mandatory trip through the body scanner, with the US government quietly changing the opt-out rules for searches
1950s U.S. Nuclear Target List Offers Chilling Insight :
It lists many targets for "systematic destruction" in major cities, including 179 in Moscow, 145 in Leningrad and 91 in East Berlin. The targets are referred to as DGZs or "designated ground zeros." While many are industrial facilities, government buildings and the like, one for each city is simply designated "Population."
Most Americans have less than $1,000 in savings:
Approximately 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts and 21% don't even have a savings account, according to a new survey of more than 5,000 adults conducted this month by Google Consumer Survey
In blockbuster poll, Sanders destroys Trump by 13 points:
In this new poll, Sanders has 51 percent to Trump's 38 percent. If this margin held in a general election, Democrats would almost certainly regain control of the United States Senate and very possibly the House of Representatives.
Bernie Sanders vows to curb Wall Street by purging Federal Reserve of bankers:
Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders warned on Wednesday that if he wins the White House he will "fix" the Federal Reserve by throwing bankers off its boards and increasing transparency and regulation as a way of reining in Wall Street.
