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4:43 a.m. EST ASK FOR HELP! "Just talked with the Crimean residents say that last night was just terrible-shot of all in a row and immediately. people are scared to live in cellars, and are ready to go at least to the end of the world. So, please-can anyone help with the evacuation and resettlement of people, please please can somebody has a vacant House or apartment, you may have a passenger van-we help commercial bus and carry the exhausted people and children in the cargo bay on the floor would not have been correct. more news-Severodonetsk red cross mark...

As parliaments in more and more European nations vote to recognize “Palestine,” European politicians insist they are doing so to promote the objective of an independent Palestinian state living in peace beside a secure Israel. But both the declared aims of Palestinian leaders and the pattern of European policy vis-a-vis Israel and the Palestinians give the lie to European averments of benign intent. Neither party of the divided Palestinian leadership has, to say the least, demonstrated an interest in peace with Israel. Hamas, now controlling Gaza and enjoying extensive popularity in the West Bank, openly trumpets its objective not only...

If you think that Vladimir Putin would be dissuaded from his territorial ambitions by a few billionaires more or less being punished in Moscow, then you probably deserve to condemned to a Purgatory that resembles Obama’s White House. Despite assurances that Russia was on the ropes via economic sanctions imposed by the West after the Bear stirred up ethnic conflict in Ukraine, there are no signs but that Russia under Putin is restless. And hungry. New fighting has erupted near Donetsk with Russian supported separatists firing shells resulting in the death of 11 people. Since so-called “peace-talks” are underway between...

Recent developments involving the Islamic Republic of Iran can fairly be characterized as grave. Iran has announced that it has begun construction on two more nuclear plants, and the authorities have imprisoned a Washington Post journalist on mysterious charges. **SNIP** On behalf of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Matt Brooks of the Republican Jewish Coalition put out this statement: What exactly was President Obama suggesting when he said opposition to his Iran policy is due to “donors”? No one would say opposition to his Russia policy is due to ‘donors,’ or his Cuba policy is due to “donors,” or his general...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A heated exchanged between President Barack Obama and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) broke out Thursday over whether the U.S. should reimpose sanctions on Iran amid ongoing negotiations over the country's nuclear program, according to two senators who were in the room. Menendez, the leading Democrat pushing for additional sanctions against Iran, forcefully pressed Obama on the need for additional sanctions during a meeting in which Obama urged Menendez and other senators to drop their efforts to pass sanctions legislation. Additional sanctions, Obama argued, could torpedo ongoing negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. The unusually sharp exchange, between...

During OSINT-page exploration of the Russian military and mercenaries in social networks were able to identify the location of the base of Russian military equipment, located in the "Remmehzavod, traffic police" in the city of Krasny Luch. The photos posted in the profile of one of the natives of the city of St. Petersburg, Russian citizen who came to Ukraine to defend "the ideals of the Russian world", allowed to reveal the location of a large cluster of Russian military equipment.

From the very beginning of the War in Donbas the Russian propaganda rhetoric worked to ensure that this conflict is ‘purely internal’, that this is a ‘civil war’ in which “the people of Donbass rebelled against Kiev junta” and that this was a result of a “military coup, created via the Maidan”. Such a cliché is used to brainwash population of the Russian Federation, as well as the people living in the occupied Crimea and the Donbas. Yet, this neat theory collapses as the facts of thoughtful and strategic preparation of the Russian aggression against Ukraine emerge. The preparation of...

During OSINT-page exploration of the Russian military and mercenaries in social networks were able to identify the location of the base of Russian military equipment, located in the "Remmehzavod, traffic police" in the city of Krasny Luch. The photos posted in the profile of one of the natives of the city of St. Petersburg, Russian citizen who came to Ukraine to defend "the ideals of the Russian world", allowed to reveal the location of a large cluster of Russian military equipment.

On the morning of January 15, the terrorists continued to attack Nikishyne, Kamyanka and Ridkodub simulating the attacks of Debaltseve from the southward. Despite them having heavy armed vehicles in Torez, Snizhne and Krasnyi Luch, only manpower was used. In the afternoon the terrorists attempted to discredit the Ukrainian forces. At the moment of the arrival of the OSCE mission at the Donetsk airport, there was an attempt of provocation in the Petrovskyi district of Donetsk (approximately 15:00). But units of the Ukrainian forces who were expecting such a provocation called their bluff. Later the terrorists made a desperate attempt...

Tensions between Russia and the U.S. over Crimea are spilling into the world of tech: developers are reporting that Apple is sending out notices of termination to people whose accounts are registered in Crimea, citing sanctions that the U.S. has ordered against the region as a response to Russia annexing it earlier in 2014. This means the developers cannot create nor publish apps in Apple’s App Store. The move follows Valve apparently also terminating access to its Steam games distribution platform in Crimea, too.

On January 14, Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, to cut back by 60% the natural gas delivered to Europe through Ukraine. His ostensible reason: Ukraine was illegally siphoning off gas for its own use—a charge Ukraine denies. Overall Europe depends on Russia for 30% of its gas supplies, and some 80% of Europe’s Russian natural gas comes via Ukraine. Putin’s order would leave six countries in eastern and southeastern Europe totally without gas.

MH17 and Moscow’s Magical Mystery Jets By Mark Galeotti After a weekend of virtual silence—while elements of the Russian media tried to fill the infospace with all kinds of lurid and rapidly-debunked rumor and conjecture—Monday saw Moscow hit back at the allegations that Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by separatist rebels with Russian government assistance. Beyond President Putin’s strangely constrained personal statement (not the body language of a man at all comfortable with the situation), a key element were the “ten questions” posed by Lt. Gen. Andrey Kartopolov, chief of the General Staff’s Main Operations Directorate and Lt....

For years, it was thought that Israel had destroyed Syria’s nuclear weapons capability with its 2007 raid on the Kibar complex. Not so. New intelligence suggests that Bashar al-Assad is still trying to built the bomb. And he may be getting help from North Korea and Iran. […] Analysts say that the Syrian atomic weapon program has continued in a secret, underground location. According to information they have obtained, approximately 8,000 fuel rods are stored there. Furthermore, a new reactor or an enrichment facility has very likely been built at the site—a development of incalculable geopolitical consequences. Some of the...

Iran, and not just Russia and Syria, is taking advantage of President Barack Obama's decision to refrain from military force against Syria to collect a shower of diplomatic and political dividends. The new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani announced Tuesday that the coming meeting of the General Assembly opening in New York later this month "may prove the perfect setting to reignite talks about the nation's nuclear program." The US Treasury Department accordingly lifted a string of sanctions restricting humanitarian and athletic exchanges between US and Iranian NGOs and environmental projects, as a counter-gesture of good will. Washington was not put...

As a consequence of the Eurozone crisis, racism is on the rise, in the same way that the 1929 crisis inspired anti-Semitism. But this time the scapegoats are Muslims, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told a Brussels audience on Thursday (15 January). […] One important message was that the EU, and the West in general, had missed the opportunity provided by the Arab revolutions. The West didn’t mobilize, as it did for Eastern Europe, after the end of the Cold War, Davutoğlu argued. More concretely, he blamed the West for not having supported the “moderate young generation” in Syria, the...

KIEV, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Ukrainian troops launched a "mass operation" overnight, retaking almost all the territory of Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine lost to separatists in recent weeks, even as thousands gathered in Kiev for a state-sponsored peace march on Sunday. The army's offensive at the airport brought the fighting close to the big industrial city of Donetsk itself, centre of a pro-Russian separatist rebellion. Residents reported intensified outgoing shelling including from residential areas in central parts of the separatist-held city. With attempts to restart peace talks stalled, pro-Russian rebels have stepped up attacks in the past week and...

By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyNew England, USA — January 17, 2015 … The above mosque is not in Iraq, Syria, Turkey or Iran. But one would have wished it was. The speaker was Dr. Saud Anwar, mayor of South Windsor, Connecticut. Dr. Anwar is respected for saving lives. Saud Anwar is a physician who specializes in Lung Diseases and Critical Care Medicine. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals. Dr. Anwar is involved in humanitarian and peace initiatives nationally and internationally. He is frequently invited to consult for...

On Thursday, January 15, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Ukraine. The document has been very tough and uncompromising with regard to Russia, even with the traditional support of Ukraine by the European Parliament. It refers to the European Parliament the EU Council with a proposal to not only maintain but also to strengthen the sanctions, and the member states - to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons. The document also contains a number of other very important point. Although this decision is not legally binding, it will be a significant element of pressure on other governments of the European...

Socialism: Venezuelans are being arrested for posting Internet photos of shortages in stores. So let's get this straight: Murder and mayhem are de facto legal in that crime pit, but posting evidence of socialism's failure merits jailing. As socialism plays out to its logical conclusion in Venezuela, the specters of long lines, rationing, troop enforcers, bizarre edicts and desperate statements are now the order of the day. Not only have more than a dozen Venezuelans been arrested for posting photographs of empty store shelves on social media, three governors have responded to long lines by — prohibiting them; ordering the...

(IraqiNews.com) On Thursday, a local source in Nineveh province said, that the ‘Wild Boar’ aircraft which belongs to the U.S. Air Force has carried out four air strikes that killed and wounded dozens of ISIS elements, adding that the aircraft sparked panic in the ranks of ISIS. The source said in an interview for IraqiNews.com, “The U.S. aircraft A-10 Warthog (Wild Boar) carried out, at dawn today, four air strikes on gatherings of ISIS elements in the village of Sultan Abdullah in Makhmour district, southeast Mosul,” adding that, “The raids resulted in the death and injury of dozens of ISIS...