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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on opposition lawmakers in Kosovo on Wednesday to stop setting off tear gas in parliament, and on the young country to combat corruption, Islamic radicalism and ethnic division. In the Balkans for the first time as secretary of state, Kerry's brief stop in Kosovo underscored Western concern over the slow pace of progress 16 years after a U.S.-led NATO air war set the former Serbian province on the road to independence.

Turkey could cut off Islamic State’s supply lines. So why doesn’t it? David Graeber Last modified on Thursday 19 November 2015 12.04 EST Western leaders could destroy Islamic State by calling on Erdoğan to end his attacks on Kurdish forces in Syria and Turkey and allow them to fight Isis on the ground How could Isis be eliminated? In the region, everyone knows. All it would really take would be to unleash the largely Kurdish forces of the YPG (Democratic Union party) in Syria, and PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ party) guerillas in Iraq and Turkey. These are, currently, the main forces...

In Dresden, Russian flags of protest against Islam and Merkel Whether with Russian flags, T-shirts or calls of help to President Vladimir Putin, the anti-Islam PEGIDA movement in Dresden is not just xenophobic - it's also friendly toward Russia. But to what extent? DW takes a look. The square in front of Dresden's famous opera house - the Semperoper - was full. Three day after the terrorist attacks in Paris, the regular Monday event saw 10,000 people come to protest the German government's refugee policies. That's a few more thousand that the week before, but only half as many as...

Pro-Ukraine activists block repair of sabotaged power lines to Crimea . Reuters By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets 1 hour ago KIEV (Reuters) - Pro-Ukrainian activists prevented repairs to sabotaged power lines leading to Crimea on Monday, keeping the Russian-annexed peninsula starved of electricity for a second day and tensions between Moscow and Kiev high. Ethnic Tatars and members of Ukrainian nationalist battalions largely blocked access for engineers to four pylons in Kherson, a region of the Ukrainian mainland controlled by Kiev, which unknown attackers blew up over the weekend "Teams are ready to fix the consequences of the blasts...

Published on Nov 18, 2015 Airstrike against an ISIS oil refueling plant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EIwy2RoQo4 and Published on Nov 18, 2015 Elimination of tanker vehicle columns, which were transporting oil products in the interests of terrorist armed groups Julian Ropcke ‏@JulianRoepcke 20m20 minutes ago Where the heck do you find #hundreds of fuel tankers in the Syrian desert?ISIS logistics?! Looks quite real though!

Conflict News ‏@Conflicts 39m39 minutes ago VIDEO: Bombs rain down on Latakia #Syria VIDEO: Bombs rain down on Latakia #Syria pic.twitter.com/TaJpdQ9zKe— Conflict News (@Conflicts) November 18, 2015

Russian Air Force heavy bombers made their first appearance over Syria yesterday night. It looks like Moscow stepped up its military effort in Syria even before the intention to intensify the air strikes was announced by Putin on Nov. 17. As initially reported by Reuters, a US official has confirmed that Moscow has conducted a significant number of strikes in Syria using both sea-launched cruise missiles and long-range bombers. The Russian MoD said 25 long-range bombers took part in the raid: 5 x Tu-160s, 6 x Tu-95MS and 14 x Tu-22M3.

Russia blasted the Islamic State's declared capital in Raqqa, Syria, early Tuesday morning after publicly confirming that a homemade bomb took down its airliner over Egypt. The Russian strikes come days after the French also stepped up their air campaign against the Islamic State in Raqqa after a string of six attacks, while President Obama has said the U.S. strategy does not need a revision. A U.S. defense official said the Russians notified the U.S. before conduct its bombing runs, according to the safety protocols the two countries agreed to last month.

President Vladimir Putin says he's shared Russian intelligence data on Islamic State financing with his G20 colleagues: the terrorists appear to be financed from 40 countries, including some G20 member states. During the summit, "I provided examples based on our data on the financing of different Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) units by private individuals. This money, as we have established, comes from 40 countries and, there are some of the G20 members among them," Putin told the journalists. Putin also spoke of the urgent need to curb the illegal oil trade by IS. "I've shown our colleagues photos taken...

Moscow (AFP) - Moscow called on Saturday for the international community to unite in its fight against terrorism after a string of attacks in Paris left more than 128 people dead on Friday. "This tragedy has become another testimony of terrorism's barbarity, which poses a challenge to human civilisation," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a telegram to French counterpart Francois Hollande, according to the Kremlin. "It is clear that the real unification of the international community's efforts is needed for an effective fight against this evil." Putin added that Russia was ready to "closely cooperate" with France in its...

During Tuesday's Republican debate, Donald Trump repeated his claim that if he became president he would strive to work with Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin. The American billionaire went so far as to suggest he supported the Russian president's intervention in Syria, adding that he understood Putin as "I got to know him very well because we were both on '60 Minutes,' we were stablemates, and we did very well that night." Trump's friendly message to the Russian leader received a rebuke from another candidate, Carly Fiorina, who explained that she would not work with Putin. "I have met him as...

As investigators pick through the rubble of a Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt's Sinai on Saturday, and as Western officials sift through their own intelligence reports, a report says Metrojet Flight 9268 may have been brought down by a bomb planted by an airport worker. The bomb could have been smuggled on board by someone working at the airport in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, the BBC is quoting UK intelligence as saying.

Experts say Syria insurgents used mustard gas on foes near Aleppo November 6, 2015 12:00 AM By Anthony Deutsch / Reuters THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Chemical weapons experts have determined that mustard gas was used in a Syrian town where Islamic State insurgents were battling another rebel group, according to a report by an international watchdog seen by Reuters.

Russia's Defense Ministry says the military has conducted a series of ballistic and cruise missile launches from various sites across Russia in the latest demonstration of the nation's resurgent military might. The ministry said Friday's exercise involved launches from ground sites, sea and air in what appeared to be one of the largest such maneuvers this year.

September 23, 2015 3:45 pm Russia’s Syria build-up takes Iran by surprise Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da2bc14e-61e2-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2.html#ixzz3ma7Pkrmp The US is not the only country puzzled by Moscow’s recent military build- up in Syria. The leaders of Iran, supporters of Damascus alongside Russia, are also scratching their heads about President Vladimir Putin’s intentions. ...snip.... High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this...

undreds of Ukrainian right-wingers rallied in Kyiv on July 21 to protest against government policies in the wake of a deadly standoff between radical nationalists and police in the country's west. Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh announced that his group would start a campaign to conduct a national referendum on whether President Petro Porshenko and his government should be impeached and an “absolute blockade” set up against territory in eastern Ukraine under the control of pro-Russian separatists.

One year ago, Dasha Oratovska and Sasha Zakhovaieva fled from Kyiv's Independence Square as riot police launched an assault on anti-government protesters, firing flares and rubber bullets into the crowd. Sasha lost consciousness and was dragged by a friend to a makeshift hospital in the nearby Trade Unions building. The building soon caught fire, forcing doctors and wounded protesters to evacuate. As the Euromaidan Revolution reached its bloody crescendo, Dasha found Sasha sitting, dazed, on St. Sophia Square, a short distance from Independence Square. Six months later, Dasha left Ukraine, likely permanently. Sasha remains in Kyiv but has begun formulating...

LifeNews is showing a video of a system in 3 transport crates, with lettering in English, that was found in a wrecked Kiev encampment in Debaltseve. I believe it was the 40th Regiment's HQ. Start at4:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjf95WiAo3g#t=254 They don't really show it well, but my guess is that it could be a Sat Communications System. Others on another website are saying it's likely a US Counter-Mortar Radar. I thought the wealth of knowledge on FR might be able to answer this question?