The Unserious Air War Against ISIS

The campaign against Serbia in 1999 averaged 138 strike sorties daily. Against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: seven.

The Wall Street Journal

By MARK GUNZINGER And  JOHN STILLION

Oct. 14, 2014 7:04 p.m. ET

Since U.S. planes first struck targets in Iraq on Aug. 8, a debate has raged over the effectiveness of the Obama administration’s air campaign against Islamic State. The war of words has so far focused on the need to deploy American boots on the ground to provide accurate intelligence and possibly force ISIS fighters to defend key infrastructure they have seized, such as oil facilities. But debate is now beginning to focus on the apparent failure of airstrikes to halt the terror group’s advances in Iraq and Syria—especially Islamic State’s pending seizure of Kobani on the Syrian border with Turkey.

White House insists anti-Isis strategy is on track despite setbacks on the ground

Isis advances on Baghdad and Kobani despite 21 air strikes

Turkey bombs Kurdish targets in south-east of country

Dan Roberts in Washington and Constanze Letsch in Istanbul

The Guardian, Tuesday 14 October 2014 20.31 BST

The Guardian

The US-led campaign to combat Islamic State (Isis) fighters in Syria and Iraq is facing a growing crisis of confidence as setbacks on the battlefield coincide with efforts to improve allied coordination and calls for President Barack Obama to escalate the military attacks.

WHO: Ebola Is Modern Era's Worst Health Emergency

 AP      | By By JIM GOMEZ

Posted: 10/13/2014 7:29 am EDT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The World Health Organization called the Ebola outbreak "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times" on Monday but also said that economic disruptions can be curbed if people are adequately informed to prevent irrational moves to dodge infection.

ISIS May Have Chemical Weapons

Posted: 10/13/2014 9:01 pm EDT  

Akbar Shahid Ahmed

akbar.ahmed@huffingtonpost.com

WASHINGTON -- The Islamic State militant group may possess chemical weapons that it has already used to extend its self-proclaimed caliphate, according to photos taken by Kurdish activists and examined by Israeli researchers.

Fear and firepower: Bloodlust biggest weapon in ISIS arsenal

By Perry ChiaramontePublished October 14, 2014

FoxNews.com

The terrorist army of Islamic State has missiles, tanks and bombs, but the potent weapon that allows a relatively small force to keep much of Iraq and Syria in its grip is bloodlust - in the form of beheadings, crucifixions and mass executions.

Greek recession deeper initially but milder later, revised data shows

ATHENS Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:35am EDT

(Reuters) - The recession in Greece that began in 2008 was deeper than thought in the early phase but turned milder than estimated in the last two years, revised data showed on Friday.

Russia Interventions Cross $3 Billion as Rate Bets Surge on Oil

By Vladimir Kuznetsov  Oct 10, 2014 1:44 PM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

Russia’s currency interventions have exceeded $3 billion this month as sanctions and an oil-price slump batter the ruble, boosting bets policy makers will raise interest rates to stem the drop.

The central bank sold $1.5 billion on Oct. 8, according to data on its website today, the most for a single day since a $4.41 billion intervention that preceded the Crimea referendum to join Russia in March. Wagers for interest-rate increases soared to a six-year high as Brent oil’s slide to four-year lows sent the ruble sliding further past 40 per dollar.

Ruble Rout Pounding Russia’s Retailers as Prices Soar

By Matthew Campbell and Ilya Khrennikov  Oct 10, 2014 11:53 AM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

The generally upbeat story -- and current hardship -- of Russia’s middle class since the end of the Cold War can be partly told through Dixy Group.

Greek Bond Investors Look to Confidence Vote for Respite

By Nikos Chrysoloras and Antonis Galanopoulos  Oct 10, 2014 11:14 AM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

After a monthlong rollercoaster for Greek government bonds and stocks, the country’s lawmakers are poised to give investors a brief respite.

Greece Seeks $508 Million by Securitizing Real Estate

By Sharon Smyth and Eleni Chrepa  Oct 10, 2014 1:02 PM GMT+0300

Bloomberg

The Greek fund charged with selling state assets will attempt to raise 400 million euros ($508 million) by securitizing real estate in a move designed to attract investment to the debt-stricken country.

The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund will sell shares in a company with about 300 properties ranging from retail, office and tourism-related real estate including land for development, Andreas Taprantzis, the fund’s executive director, said in an Oct. 8 interview in his Athens office. The company will then sell debt backed by the properties.

Οι νεόπλουτοι του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ

ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ 12:40

Πάσχος Μανδραβέλης

Από την εφημερίδα Καθημερινή

Στη χώρα όπου ανθούν η φαιδρά πορτοκαλέα και ο ΣΥΡΙΖΑ ακούσαμε κι αυτό: η Πολιτική Γραμματεία του κόμματος της αξιωματικής αντιπολίτευσης αποφάσισε να... κρατήσει μούτρα στον κοινοβουλευτικό εκπρόσωπο του κυβερνώντος κόμματος, ήτοι στον κ. Αδωνι Γεωργιάδη, εξαιτίας των ατυχών δηλώσεων του τελευταίου για τις καταθέσεις.

ISIS enters Kobani, city's defenders see 'last chance to leave,' sources say

By Ralph Ellis, CNN

October 5, 2014 -- Updated 2250 GMT (0650 HKT)

(CNN) -- ISIS moved closer to seizing Kobani on Sunday as militants entered the southeastern edge of the Syrian city and street-to-street fighting began, a fighter and a media activist inside the city told CNN.

The city's defenders were looking for ways to escape the Kurdish stronghold strategically located near the Turkish border, the fighter said.

"It's the last chance to leave," the fighter said. The fighter and media activist requested their names be withheld for security reasons.

ECB Pauses to Observe Results of Recent Stimulus Measures

Rates on Hold, as Policy Makers Set to Buy Bonds and Asset-Backed Securities to Help Economy

The Wall Street Journal

By BRIAN BLACKSTONE CONNECT

Updated Oct. 2, 2014 1:41 p.m. ET

NAPLES, Italy—The European Central Bank took no new action on Thursday, despite inflation weakening to a five-year low, signaling it will wait to see if stimulus measures undertaken in recent months lift the eurozone’s weak economy.

Australia authorizes special forces troops to go to Iraq

BY LINCOLN FEAST

SYDNEY Fri Oct 3, 2014 3:16am EDT

(Reuters) - Australian special forces troops will be deployed in Iraq to assist in the fight against Islamic State militants, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday, and its aircraft will also join U.S.-led coalition strikes.

Hong Kong Protests: China Pushes Back Against U.S.

The Wall Street Journal

By CHARLES HUTZLER

Oct. 1, 2014 11:56 p.m. ET

In a rare public spat, China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, pushed back against U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the Hong Kong protests, with the Chinese official saying the U.S. should stay out of China's internal affairs.

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.