For a country concerned primarily with land-bound ISIS terrorists — who lack either a navy or an air force — that‘s a curious mission profile. But for a country concerned with Iran‘s increasing bellicosity in the Persian Gulf, these upgrades are a logical purchase.

American intelligence agencies have said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group has doubled in size in the country recent months, putting the numbers of fighters at between 5,000 and 6,500.
But, in a warning that carries historical echoes of the 2003 Iraq invasion, a range of top analysts, sources on the ground and –speaking privately – US officials have said they believe these estimates to be wildly overblown.

The German government has called for a ceasefire in Yemen in order to enter humanitarian aid to the country, stressing reaching a ceasefire is first priority.
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter-Steinmeier is due to start a three-day visit to the UAE and Oman on Sunday. The situation in Yemen will be on the top of the issues to be discussed.

(4.März) Turkish police fired tear gas and used water cannon on a crowd to forcibly enter the country‘s top-selling newspaper on Friday after a court ordered its confiscation. (Video)

(3.März)Having gathered in their first trilateral meeting in Nicosia, on 3rd March 2016, they jointly:

1. Reiterate their wish to increase parliamentary cooperation, exchanges and contacts through bilateral visits and regular trilateral meetings;
2. Resolve, therefore, to establish regular, annual meetings of the Committees in charge of foreign affairs in the Parliaments of Cyprus, Greece and Israel;
3. Agree that matters to be discussed in future meetings include, inter alia, parliamentary cooperation; sharing views on regional issues and matters related to energy; on research and development and technology; cyber security; counter-terrorism; joint emergency response to natural disasters; exchange of information in emergency situations; agriculture; tourism; culture; education and migration.
4. Undertake to explore areas of further cooperation.
5. Call upon the International Community, the United Nations and the European Union to take all measures necessary to pacify the Eastern Mediterranean region, to stop the population flows into Europe and to help financially, politically and physically the states receiving and those along the refugee route.
6. Call upon the States on the refugee route to refrain from unilateral actions that hinder the movement of refugees and increase the intensity and scope of the humanitarian crisis.
7. Decide to meet again when the three Heads of State/Government will meet, before or after their meeting in Israel in the second half of 2016.

A group of journalists and activists is suing the New York Police Department for civil rights violations over its use of military-grade sound cannons known as Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRADs) during protests against police brutality in 2014.

The lawsuit, filed late Thursday against the city and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, charges that police used the LRADs to force the dispersal of peaceful demonstrators who had gathered in midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2014 to protest the non-indictment of NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

Thirteen years after Indian Engineering Service (IES) officer Satyendra Dubey was murdered for exposing corruption in golden quadrilateral highway construction project, whistleblowers continue to face life threats and harassment for raising voice against irregularities in government departments.

It’s not enough for journalists to defend their own rights. They need to ask how they can better advocate for the people who are indispensable to their work. Their jobs depend on freeing the flow of information – and so does our democracy.