Saturday, January 23, 2016

1/23/16

Iraq conflict: Civilians suffering 'staggering' violence - UN  The UN says violence suffered by civilians in Iraq "remains staggering", with at least 18,800 killed between 1 January 2014 and 31 October 2015. 

Turkish border on brink of becoming a Russian warfront? Russian troops deploy to Syrian border town, with Turkey 'closely watching' and reinforcing amid fears of all out war. 

Fatah official praises Hitler as 'daring' for annihilating Jews  Fatah leader Tawfiq Tirawi asserts infamous Nazi leader was not 'morally corrupt' but in fact 'daring.' 

Chinese president in Tehran for first visit in 14 years  Xi Jinping is the first leader from six world powers to visit Islamic Republic since nuclear deal was finalized. 

Kerry: Hezbollah has 80,000 rockets, gets most of its arms from Iran  Speaking in Riyadh, secretary of state says US still concerned about some Iranian activities in other countries. 

Russia denies it asked Assad to step down  Spokesman for the Kremlin denies reports that Putin sent a senior intelligence official to Damascus to ask Assad to step down. 

Merkel: Anti-Semitism more widespread than we imagined  German leader says 'intensive action' needed to combat phenomenon, particularly in cultures in which hatred of Jews is rampant. 

Stratcom: China Moving Rapidly to Deploy New Hypersonic Glider  China conducted six successful tests of a new high-speed hypersonic glide vehicle, the most recent in November, and also recently tested an anti-satellite missile, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command said Friday. 

Hawking: Humans at risk of lethal 'own goal'  Humanity is at risk from a series of dangers of our own making, according to Prof Stephen Hawking. 

Saudis not ruling out nuclear bomb in response to Iran  Saudi Foreign Minister says his country will do whatever it needs to protect its people if Iran develops a nuclear bomb.