I am writing to you from a geography where artillery shells fired from tanks fall next to us, where cruelty of war and violence, all forms of brutality have become daily routine for a longtime and where weapons and death have consumed relevance of all words. For days and months now; there is a de facto martial law in place and fundamental human rights and freedoms are suspended. People are literally imprisoned in their basements, their houses torn down under artillery fire, people are showered by bullets, shot and killed by snipers in the middle of the streets. Their bodies are left on the streets and could not be picked up for days neither by medical workers nor their families. The name of this geography is Kurdistan.

Iraq‘s army said on Sunday it had defeated Islamic State fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad, the first major victory for the US-trained force since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants 18 months ago.

Die Offensive der Regierungsarmee auf Ramadi und Falludscha habe sich wegen einer US-Einmischung verzögert, teilte Haidar al-Hosseini al-Ardawi, Kommandeur der schiitischen Freiwilligenmiliz al-Haschd al-Schaabi, der iranischen Agentur Fars mit. „Offenbar wollen die USA die IS-Anführer mit Hubscharubern evakuieren“, so wird der Kommandant zitiert.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a visit to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Dec. 29-30, Anadolu agency reported.

The Democratic People‘s Congress (DTK), made up of Kurdish non-governmental organizations, made the call after a two-day meeting in Diyarbakir.

„The rightful resistance mounted by our people against the policies that degrade the Kurdish problem, is essentially a demand and struggle for local self-governance and local democracy,“ said the final resolution of the meeting, titled „declaration of political resolution regarding self-rule“.

Die Fraktionen von „Grünen“ und „Linken“ im Bundestag behaupten, der Einsatz des deutschen Militärs im Krieg in Syrien sei zwar verfassungswidrig, aber dagegen vor dem Verfassungsgericht klagen könnten sie nicht. Genau genommen stimmt das. Es ist dennnoch ein Beispiel der perfiden Heuchelei der parlamentarischen Scheinopposition. Klagen nämlich kann die Landesregierung von „Die Linke“ unter Beteiligung der „Grünen“ in Thüringen.

Die Langstrecken-Flugabwehrraketensysteme S-400, die auf dem Stützpunkt Hmeimim in der syrischen Provinz Latakia stationiert sind, sichern die russische Luftwaffe in Syrien.

FACT SHEET on DECLARED CURFEWS BETWEEN 11-25 DECEMBER 2015 and VIOLATIONS of RIGHT TO LIFE AGAINST CIVILIANS ACCORDING to the DATA of HRFT DOCUMENTATION CENTER

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Die im Irak agierenden Kämpfer des „Islamischen Staates“ (IS) haben enge Beziehungen zur Türkei. Die Terroristen bewegen sich ungehindert über die irakisch-türkische Grenze, wobei Ankara für ihre Nachschubrouten sorgt. Darüber hinaus werden IS-Kämpfer in der Türkei trainiert und ausgebildet. Dies hat im Gespräch mit RT Karim al-Nouri, Sprecher der Brigade der schiitischen Volkswehr, erklärt.

(12.12.2015) After a decade mastering one type of political leadership – weighing things up and sitting things out – she may have entered her third, and perhaps final, act with two recent, risky decisions

(24.12.2015) Britain’s senior spies have briefed Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, on the threat posed by Islamic State in a rare exchange of intelligence, The Times has learnt.

The German leader, in return, shared information with the heads of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ on President Putin, the unrest in Ukraine and the situation in Crimea.

(25.12.2015) Merkel soll sich noch vor den Anschlägen in Paris in der Residenz des britischen Premiers in Chequers mit dem Chef des Inlandgeheimdienstes Mi-5, Andrew Parker, dem Leiter des Auslandsgeheimdienstes Mi-6, Alex Younger, und dem Chef des Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Robert Hannigan, getroffen haben. Auch der britische Premier David Cameron war bei dem Treffen anwesend. Das Treffen fand zwar noch vor den Anschlägen in Paris statt, doch der Kampf gegen Extremisten war der Mittelpunkt des Gesprächs.

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Gillian Christensen, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, would not confirm the report to CNN Saturday but did not dispute it.

The plan was quickly condemned by Democratic presidential candidates but welcomed by Trump, who quickly tweeted that the plan was implemented because of his regular calls to deport the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Hundreds of American military service members have just vowed to protect an eight-year-old Muslim girl from Donald Trump and the Internet loves it.

They’ve filled Facebook with pictures of themselves in uniform captioned with the hashtag #IWillProtectYou and promises not to let her or any American live in fear of their government.