Russia casts doubt on Syria ceasefire deal as army gains ground: Russia said on Saturday a Syria ceasefire plan was more likely to fail than succeed, as Syrian government forces backed by Russian air strikes took rebel ground near Aleppo and set their sights on the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa province.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKCN0VM09G
Assad's ouster certain despite Russia's backing, says Saudi: Bashar Al Assad will not be ruling Syria in the future and Russia's military interventions will not help him stay in power, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told a German newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.
http://www.tradearabia.com/news/INTNEWS_300815.html
Saudi Arabia to send planes to Turkey for Islamic State fight -media: Saudi Arabia will send aircraft to NATO-member Turkey's Incirlik air base for the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was reported as saying on Saturday.
http://news.trust.org/item/20160213114756-7pty8
Syria rebels say get more missiles from Assad's enemies:: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's foreign enemies have sent rebels new supplies of ground-to-ground missiles to confront a Russian-backed offensive by the government near Aleppo, stepping up support in response to the attack, two rebel commanders said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-missiles-idUSKCN0VL278
Turkish military says killed 27 Kurdish militants in southeast: Turkish security forces have killed 27 militants in the mainly Kurdish southeast, the army said on Friday, a day after the interior minister said security operations had finished in the town of Cizre where the conflict has been focused.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-kurds-idUSKCN0VL10T
Turkey 'completes' bloody military operation in Kurdish town of Cizre : On Friday, HDP said that at least 79 civilians had died as a result of the fighting, and another 66 bodies were either entombed in a basement or waiting in a morgue to be identified, Reuters reported.
https://www.rt.com/news/332221-turkey-cizre-kurds-killed-op/
ISIS shoots down fighter jet in Libya's Benghazi:
The ISIS militant group claimed its fighters downed the plane, according to SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S. monitor of militant activity on the Internet. A military source said the pilot survived having parachuted to safety, but his whereabouts were not immediately clear.
http://blogfactory.co.uk/archives/26292
UK must renew Trident to keep 'special relationship' with US - Ash Carter:
The UK has to renew its submarine-borne Trident nuclear weapons system if London wants to maintain its "special relationship" with Washington, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said.
https://www.rt.com/uk/332376-us-carter-uk-trident-nuclear/
Four billion people facing severe water scarcity: We find that two-thirds of the global population (4.0 billion people) live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least 1 month of the year. Nearly half of those people live in India and China. Half a billion people in the world face severe water scarcity all year round.
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/2/e1500323.full
Congressman Wants To Allow States To Drug Test Food Stamp Recipients:
Aderholt argues that the change would save money. It would also narrow eligibility for the program for people who automatically qualify through federal heating assistance. His office estimates that the savings would amount to about $1.2 billion.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2016/02/12/3749172/drug-test-snap/
