Free Republic

Valeriy Fedorovych allegedly shot down Russian Su-34 jet flying over Chernihiv He collected debris from the exploded jet and keeps it in his garage Pensioner was awarded a medal by the State Border Service of Ukraine A Ukrainian pensioner shot down a Russian Su-34 jet with a rifle, sending it spiralling to the ground, a government agency has said.Valeriy Fedorovych opened fire when the enemy aircraft flew overhead in Chernhiv, according to the State Border Service of Ukraine.It is claimed he picked off the jet, which costs an estimated £74million, and footage circulating at the time showed it careening back...

The short answer is that a prisoner of war is entitled to the protections set forth in the 1949 Geneva Convention. In contrast, an unlawful combatant is a fighter who does not play by the accepted rules of war, and therefore does not qualify for the Convention's protections. Buried within that short answer, however, are a host of complexities and troubling implications. First, what does it take to qualify as a prisoner of war? The criteria are: "(a) that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates; (b) that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has accepted an invitation to visit neighbouring Iraq, Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday, a move that would be unlikely to be welcomed by the United States. Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki said Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had invited Ahmadinejad after Maliki visited Tehran on August 8-9, but added a final decision had yet to be taken. "When a definite decision about the trip is made, the timing will be announced to the public," Mottaki told reporters in the northeastern city of Mashhad, according to the ISNA news agency. With Shi'ite Muslims now...