Syria isis attack

The American call for a ceasefire in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib has fallen on deaf ears with Russia and Turkey both vowing to continue what appears to be the last battle of the nine-year war, despite the "horrifying" humanitarian crisis unfolding there, as the United Nations has described it. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday there is no military solution to the fighting in Idlib, which is the only major area of Syria that remains outside the control of President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies. The region was home to some 3 million people before the regime launched its latest offensive in December, half of them refugees that fled fighting elsewhere in Syria. The area is largely controlled by Islamist militias, the strongest of which is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which was formerly allied with Al-Qaeda. More than 900,000 people have left their homes as Syrian forces push into Idlib backed by Russian airstrikes. Rebels in Idlib are being … [Read more...] about U.S. demand for Syria ceasefire ignored as Turkey and Russia vow to continue war’s final battle

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was the target of a hoax that saw him call a person he believed to be Armenia's newly appointed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan , and talk to him for over 18 minutes, UK officials confirmed on Thursday. In fact, Johnson discussed global politics with a Russian prankster in a call set up by the team of internet provocateurs Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov. The duo posted the audio recording of the call online. "This shouldn't have happened and an investigation is under way to determine the circumstances around this call and to make sure this doesn't happen again," said the spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May. Bonding over Erdogan limerick The call opens with Johnson offering his congratulations to the Pashinyan impersonator on the election victory in Armenia, and inviting him to visit London. The fake Pashinyan then tells Johnson he is scheduled to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin next week and asks Johnson for advice on … [Read more...] about UK’s Boris Johnson fooled by Russian pranksters impersonating Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan

Russian parliament to consider ban on exchanging Ukrainian Azov prisoners Finland to apply for NATO membership Ukraine's military says it is evacuating remaining troops from Azovstal steelworks Turkey's concerns over NATO enlargement need to be addressed, Jens Stoltenberg said This article was last updated at 16:06 UTC/GMT WHO worried about deteriorating health situation in Ukraine The World Health Organization estimates that at least 3,000 people had died in Ukraine because they couldn't access treatments for chronic diseases since the start of the war. "Forty percent of households have at least one member in need of chronic treatment that they can no longer find, resulting in an estimated at least 3,000 premature avoidable deaths," Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said. He said the UN health agency had documented over 200 attacks on healthcare facilities, and few hospitals in Ukraine are currently functioning. "No health professional should have to … [Read more...] about ICC sends war crimes investigative team to Ukraine — live updates

Armenia reiterated on Friday that it was "ready" for international mediators to help end hostilities with Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh as fighting between the neighbors raged for a sixth day. Baku has insisted only the Armenian withdrawal from the region, recognized internationally as Azerbaijani territory, can guarantee a ceasefire. Armenia said that its military shot down drones belonging to Azerbaijani forces with one reaching within 10 miles of Yerevan, although Baku denies this. "Armenian air defense forces have already eliminated three [drones]," the Armenian government tweeted on Thursday, as the dispute over the predominantly Armenian-populated region threatens to draw in Turkey and Russia. Meanwhile, the defense ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh said that the death toll in the biggest eruption in the decades-long conflict had reached 154, after another 54 casualties on Friday. Olesya Vartanyan from the International Crisis Group said that … [Read more...] about Nagorno-Karabakh conflict creeps closer to Armenia’s capital