U.K. Carries Out First Airstrikes in Iraq

Ministry of Defense Says RAF Destroyed an Islamic State Arsenal and a Machine Gun-Mounted Vehicle

The Wall Street Journal

By JENNY GROSS

Updated Sept. 30, 2014 5:15 p.m. ET

LONDON—Britain's Royal Air Force carried out its first strikes in Iraq on Tuesday, destroying an Islamic State arsenal and a machine gun-mounted vehicle, the Ministry of Defense said.

Ukraine nationalists tear down Kharkiv's Lenin statue

BBC

28 September 2014 Last updated at 22:24 GMT

Nationalists have torn down a statue of Lenin in the centre of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, in a move supported by officials.

People cheered and leapt for joy as the statue came crashing down.

For China, Limited Tools to Quell Unrest in Hong Kong

By EDWARD WONG and CHRIS BUCKLEYSEPT. 29, 2014

The New York Times

BEIJING — China’s Communist Party has ample experience extinguishing unrest. For years it has used a deft mix of censorship, arrests, armed force and, increasingly, money to repress or soften calls for political change.

The many names of ISIS (also known as IS, ISIL, SIC and Da'ish)

The Economist

Sep 28th 2014, 23:50 by M.R. | CAIRO

FOR the third time in as many decades America is leading a powerful coalition to war in the Middle East. On September 23rd the offensive expanded dramatically as coalition aircraft and missiles struck in Syria, widening the theatre beyond its initial arena in Iraq. Their target is a radical jihadist group that has grabbed headlines since June, when its black-clad gunmen burst beyond territory they had captured during Syria’s civil war and seized big chunks of Iraq, including the country’s second biggest city, Mosul. Alarm has grown as they have massacred hundreds of prisoners, sometimes with grisly televised beheadings, and hounded thousands of Christians and other minorities from their homes. Nearly everyone shares a desire to destroy this scourge, yet they cannot seem to agree on what to call it. The group has been variously dubbed ISIS, ISIL, IS, SIC and Da'ish. Why the alphabet soup?

Isis 'just one mile from Baghdad' as al-Qaeda fighters join forces against Syria air strikes

The Independent

MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2014

Isis fighters are reportedly just one mile away from Baghdad as reports emerge of al-Qaeda militants bolstering their ranks in Syria.

According to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, Isis was approaching the Iraqi capital on Monday morning.

Δύο κείμενα για τον ιμπεριαλισμό

Και τα δύο είναι από την εφημερίδα της αριστεράς ΑΥΓΗ.

Περιγράφουν στο πρώτο άρθρο την ομιλία του υπεξ της Ρωσίας Σ Λαβρόφ για την Ουκρανική κρίση και τις προσπάθειες της Ρωσίας για την ανάταξη των σχέσεων με τις ΗΠΑ μακριά από την σημερινή ένταση και στο δεύτερο (περιγράφουν) τον ρόλο των ΗΠΑ στην κρίση του ΙΡΑΚ μετά την κατίσχυση επί του πεδίου των δυνάμεων του Σουνιτικού Χαλιφάτου. Η «Ρωσοστρέφεια» της Ελληνικής Αριστεράς δεν είναι μυστικό για κανέναν, αλλά για κάποιους δεν είναι ούτε καν αξιοπερίεργο.

Insight - With canal and hut, India stands up to China on disputed frontier

BY SANJEEV MIGLANI

NEW DELHI Thu Sep 25, 2014 4:06am IST

(Reuters) - Earlier this month, the Indian army, stationed on a remote Himalayan plateau, built a small observation hut from where they could watch Chinese soldiers across a disputed border.

The move so irked China's military that it laid a road on territory claimed by India and demanded that the tin hut be dismantled. India refused, destroyed a part of the new road and promptly raised troop numbers in the area.

Wall Street Retreats, as China’s Weakening Growth Pulls Shares and Oil Lower

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSSEPT. 22, 2014

(Published in the Wall Street Journal) 

Worries about the outlook for growth in China and a slide in the price of oil pushed the stock market to its biggest loss in almost seven weeks on Monday.

Investors are nervous about China after a run of soft economic data that suggested growth there, the No. 2 economy after the United States, was slowing. The worries about China helped push down the price of oil, and that in turn weighed on energy stocks.

Isis onslaught against Kurds in Syria brings ‘man-made disaster’ into Turkey

In the border town of Suruç, there is anger and despair among the Syrian Kurd refugees who have joined the exodus

Constanze Letsch in Suruç

The Guardian, Monday 22 September 2014 20.43 BST

In the small bus shuttling passengers between Gaziantep and the small predominantly Kurdish border town of Suruç, all conversation is focused on one topic only.

“Suruç is teeming,” says Izzettin Abdi Hacirashad, 51, a spare parts trader. “In the parks, the bus station, the streets. Everywhere. You will see.”

With One Battle Over in Scotland, Another Begins

By JOHN F. BURNSSEPT. 21, 2014

The New York Times

AUCHTERARDER, Scotland — With one struggle concluded and another set to begin, this ancient slate-gray town in the russet-leaved approaches to the Scottish Highlands has been busy in recent days, swapping the political passions of last week for the breezier enthusiasms involved in preparing for what many local residents regard as the greatest sporting event ever to be staged in Scotland.

U.S. and Arab partners bomb ISIS in Syria

By Holly Yan and Jim Sciutto, CNN

September 23, 2014 -- Updated 1053 GMT (1853 HKT)

(CNN) -- The United States and several Arab nations rained bombs on ISIS targets in Syria on Tuesday -- the first U.S. military offensive in the war-torn country and a forceful message to the militant group that the U.S. would not stand by idly while it carried out its rampage of terror.

The airstrikes focused on the city of Raqqa, the declared capital of ISIS' self-proclaimed Islamic State. But other areas were hit as well.

The operation began with a flurry of Tomahawk missiles launched from the sea, followed by attacks from bomber and fighter aircraft, a senior U.S. military official told CNN.

James Clapper: We underestimated the Islamic State’s ‘will to fight’

The Washington Post 

By David Ignatius Opinion writer September 18

The United States has made the same mistake in evaluating fighters from the Islamic State that it did in Vietnam — underestimating the enemy’s will, according to James Clapper, the director of national intelligence.

Scottish Vote on Independence Starts

Referendum Will Determine Whether Scotland Splits From the U.K.

The Wall Street Journal

By JASON DOUGLAS, JENNY GROSS and CASSIE WERBER

Updated Sept. 18, 2014 5:40 a.m. ET

EDINBURGH—Voters in Scotland on Thursday began casting their ballots in a historic referendum on whether to go it alone as an independent country or remain part of the U.K.

ECB hands out cheap credit to banks to boost economy

BY EVA TAYLOR AND JOHN O'DONNELL

FRANKFURT Thu Sep 18, 2014 5:35am EDT

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank handed out the first of its new four-year loans to banks on Thursday, the flagship tool in a new stimulus package it hopes will stave off price deflation and revive the ailing euro zone economy.

Ten Things to Know About Scotland's Independence Referendum

BY ALASTAIR JAMIESON

NBCnews

NDON -- Britain is under 72 hours away from a once-in-a-lifetime vote on Scottish independence that could break up the 307-year-old United Kingdom, splitting apart one of America’s key global allies. With polls suggesting that a Scottish split from the rest of Britain is a real possibility, lawmakers including Prime Minister David Cameron are making urgent appeals to save Britain its biggest constitutional upheaval since the Wars of Independence that led to the creation of the United States.

What will be voted on?

Dollar drops to two week-low vs euro ahead of Fed outcome

BY GERTRUDE CHAVEZ-DREYFUSS

NEW YORK Tue Sep 16, 2014 3:49pm EDT

…"If Scotland becomes separate from the UK, it will most likely become a member of the EU. When it does, it will realise it cannot be 'independent, ever, because many aspects of life (political and economic) will be dictated by Brussels," said SLJ's Jen…

Ratings upgrade subdues Greek yields, Irish supply eyed

Mon Sep 15, 2014 11:56am EDT

Reuters

* Investors buoyed by S&P ratings lift

* PM Samaras says Greece will not need third bailout

* Fed meeting, Scotland vote pose volatility risks

* Spain's bonds claws back ground after torrid week (Updates prices, adds analyst comment)

By John Geddie

Ukrainian president offers rebels major concessions to end uprising

By Anthony Faiola September 15 at 2:36 PM

KIEV, UKRAINE — President Petro Poroshenko on Monday proposed a series of major concessions to end the uprising by pro-Russian rebels in restive eastern Ukraine, offering the separatists a broad amnesty and special self-governance status for territories they occupy.

The proposal also includes protections for the Russian language and would allow the separatist-controlled regions to elect their own judges, create their own police forces and cultivate deeper ties to Russia — while remaining part of Ukraine.

Greece deserves respect for holding to its word

September 15 at 5:35 PM

Letters To The Editor

The Washington Post

Instead of applauding Greece for meeting its responsibility to NATO during a time of unprecedented economic crisis, Charles Lane chose to take an unnecessary, sarcastic swipe at the United States’ longtime ally in his Sept. 4 op-ed column, “ Bombs or benefits? ”

During the crisis, Greece has resisted compromising its defense budget. It is one of four NATO members to meet the alliance’s mandated standard to spend at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Greece spends nearly 2.3 percent.

Obama’s advantages as a reluctant warrior

By David Ignatius Opinion writer September 11

The Washington Post

President Obama certainly didn’t go looking for another war in the Middle East. Indeed, he contorted himself almost to the breaking point to avoid one. But as he explained to the country Wednesday night, he had no choice but to respond with “strength and resolve” to the barbarous Islamic State that is ravaging Iraq and Syria.

Obama’s decision to combat the Islamic State offers him a chance to reset U.S. leadership and his own presidency after growing doubt at home and abroad about what, if anything, he was willing to fight for. His innate cautiousness is now actually a reassurance that he’ll fight this war sensibly, partnering with allies in the region, in a way that doesn’t needlessly exacerbate the United States’ problems with the Muslim world.