Special to WorldTribune.com By Joanna Paraszcuk, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group has reportedly issued a decree ordering all men in the Iraqi city of Mosul to grow beards on the grounds that the shaving of facial hair is haram (forbidden) under Shari’a law. A report […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Russia released a video on Dec. 25 of what it claims to be its warplanes destroying several Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) oil trucks in northern Syria. “We’ve attacked many terrorist bases, hits were identified on targets and much damage was caused to the terrorist infrastructure,” Russian Armed Forces Lt. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey Israel has no choice but to deal with unsavory regimes but it might be a mistake to renew ties with Turkey. The communist leadership of China; President Putin of Russia; Turkey’s Erdogan, King Salman of Saudi Arabia. Should Israel deal with such regimes? They are all wholesale violators of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Ukraine’s 90 percent increase in military spending prompted by Russia’s annexing of Crimea marked the largest defense budget growth in the world for 2015. Iran and Israel paced the Middle East in defense spending growth while several Gulf Arab states cut spending as oil prices continued to slide, according to IHS Jane’s […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Russian warplanes are using an Iranian air base to launch attacks on anit-Assad regime rebels in Syria, according to a report. “The Iranian armed forces appear to be allowing Russian aircraft to use their military airfields in support of combat operations over Syria,” said a report by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Russian President Valdimir Putin on Dec. 17 continued his verbal assault on Turkey while NATO moved to contain mounting tensions. In his annual news conference before some 1,400 reporters at a Moscow conference center, Putin hinted that Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 in November in an “arrangement” with the United States […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com WASHINGTON ― The term “new cold war” is gaining common currency. That’s because of Russia more than China. Russian President Vladimir Putin is talking like a latter-day Cold Warrior in nationalist, ethnocentric terms that alarm a new generation of Kremlin-watchers. Putin, they say, is appealing to deep instincts […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Russian military personnel are in the process of assembling the first S-300 air defense systems that Moscow recently delivered to Iran, according to Israeli intelligence. “It [S-300] will be operational over the next few weeks in Iran,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said. Russian state arms producer Almaz-Antey said in June it […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Russia’s leadership countered more optimistic U.S. claims, reporting that Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is far from “contained” in Syria. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the terror group is expanding its influence and now controls 70 percent of Syria, contradicting the recent comments by U.S. President Barack Obama that ISIL […]
Special to WorldTribune.com While Russia’s claim that Turkey is obtaining oil from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) may be true, the Assad regime that Russia is backing is buying up far larger amounts of ISIL’s crude, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. “ISIL is selling a great deal of oil to the Assad […]