Worldcrunch
The internationally brokered ceasefire had a rocky start. While the first 24 hours passed relatively quietly, Russian and Syrian government air strikes picked up again on Sunday, with airplanes targeting towns and villages controlled by the Free Syrian Ar
DESPITE VIOLATIONS, SYRIA TRUCE STANDS Saudi Arabia accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its ally Russia of “ceasefire violations” yesterday, Al Arabiya reports. “We are discussing this with (the 17-nation) Syria Support Group,” co-chaired by Russia and the United States, said Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Despite the accusations of 15 ceasefire breaches of […]
TURKISH TROOPS HIT AGAIN IN DEADLY ATTACK Photo: Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua/ZUMA A Turkish military convoy in southern Turkey was targeted by a roadside bomb this morning, an attack that killed at least six soldiers and wounded another, Hürriyet reports. It came just hours after a car bomb in Ankara also targeted military personnel yesterday, killing 28 […]
In the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, tourists can no longer take photographs or roam under the 3rd-century Arch of Triumph. The terrorists of the Islamic State blew it up in October last year using dynamite.
Maya and Mehdi were seriously injured at Le Carillon café during the Paris attacks. Three of their friends (including Maya’s husband) were killed in front of them. Three months later, moving on is almost impossible.
A feeling has spread through the popular consciousness: The collapse is near, we’re living on the edge of implosion. But there is another way to look at our complicated world.
German behavioral scientist Johannes Siebert is on a Pentagon team researching the motives of ISIS followers. Not all are driven by religion, and some even see themselves as humanitarians.
-Analysis- PARIS — Defeated, the government doesn’t know what it wants! Defeated, the Socialist Party is again incapable of defining a clear line! Defeated, members of the center-right Republicans party are tearing each other apart as they seek to avoid the “trap” the Socialists are said to have laid for them. The staggering debate ongoing […]
SWEDEN — Stockholm-based daily Aftonbladet has identified and mapped an extensive list of Swedish citizens who have traveled abroad to support the terror group ISIS. “The Swedes Who Wanted To Die For Terror,” reads the front page of Scandinavia’s most read daily. Aftonbladet said it chose to publish the list, complete with names and photos […]
BOKO HARAM TORCHES VILLAGE Islamist terrorists from Boko Haram razed a small village in northwestern Nigeria, bombing and setting fire to huts in a horrific attack that killed at least 86 people, officials say. A survivor hidden in a tree told AP journalists he could hear children screaming as they burned to death. The six-year […]
Islamist terrorists from Boko Haram razed a small village and two camps nearby Saturday in northwestern Nigeria, bombing and setting fire to huts in an attack that killed at least 86 people, officials say. On its front page Monday, Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust features photos of a child after the attack, and those of charred […]
PRESSURE ON MERKEL MOUNTS In stark contrast to the popularity German Chancellor Angela Merkel has enjoyed for most of her 10 years in office, a full 40% of Germans now want her to resign over what they believe is her misguided open-door refugee policy, a poll published today shows. The survey was conducted before yesterday’s […]
BRUSSELS — With Belgium already on high alert after several of its citizens took part in November’s attacks in Paris, authorities in Brussels are raising new concerns about potential jihadist threats to nuclear safety. The Belgian daily L’Echo reports Thursday that authorities have confirmed that the brother-in-law of a jihadist, who himself had extremist Islamic […]
With six European Union countries instituting new border controls, the end of three decades of free movement comes with a heavy price.
MIGRANTS DROWN OFF GREEK COAST Eight children were among at least 21 migrants who drowned early this morning after their boats sank off the Greek coast, AFP reports. Dozens more are reported missing, but 48 survivors managed to reach the shore. The tragedy comes amid renewed debate about the European Union’s borders. “If Europe is […]
Even as Belgium has emerged as a hub of Islamic terror networks, a Belgian Muslim is the theatrical toast of the town as he tackles jihad, racism and culture wars with humor.
PUTIN “PROBABLY” APPROVED MURDER Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably approved” the 2006 assassination of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who later fled to Britain and worked for the MI6, a public inquiry in the UK has found. The report on the years’ long investigation was published this morning, saying that Litvinenko’s murder “was probably […]
GUNMEN STORM PAKISTAN UNIVERSITY, DOZENS FEARED DEAD A group of gunmen killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 50 as they stormed the Bacha Khan University in Pakistan’s northwestern Charsadda District this morning, The Express Tribune reports. A security official quoted by Reuters said the death toll could rise to 40. Police have […]
LIBYA ANNOUNCES UNITY GOVERNMENT As part of a UN-backed plan signed last December, Libya announced the formation of a unity government today to reconcile the country’s warring factions. In the process of negotiation, there were disputes over the distribution of ministerial posts, Al Jazeera reports. Two rival governments, one based in the capital of Tripoli […]
IRAN SANCTIONS LIFTED Some of the toughest International sanctions against Iran were lifted Sunday after inspectors verified that the country was complying with the nuclear deal reached last July, and after the Islamic Republic released three American prisoners, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian. “These things are a reminder of what we can achieve when […]
ISLAMISTS ATTACK SOMALI MILITARY BASE Gunmen from Islamist group al-Shabaab attacked a remote military base in Somalia, killing at least 61 Kenyan soldiers who were stationed there as part of an African Union force, Reuters reports. The assault, which happened 340 miles west of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, comes amid a week of deadly […]
ISIS CLAIMS DEADLY JAKARTA ATTACKS Photo: Veri Sanovri/Xinhua/ZUMA Indonesia’s capital of Jakarta was rocked by a series of fatal explosions and gunfire this morning in attacks that local police spokesman Anton Charliyan said were meant to imitate November’s deadly terror in Paris, The Guardian reports. At least seven people were killed, including five gunmen, around […]
“The Jews’ great concern,” reads the Thursday headline in French daily Aujourd’hui en France, above an image of a man wearing a skullcap. It comes after a teenager attacked and wounded a Jewish teacher who was wearing the traditional headgear Monday in Marseille, southern France. France is debating whether it’s still safe for members of […]
TURKEY DETAINS THREE RUSSIANS AFTER ISTANBUL BLAST In the wake of a deadly terrorist attack in Istanbul, Turkish authorities have detained three Russian nationals suspected of being linked to ISIS, Hürriyet reports. The arrests in the provinces of Antalya and Izmir follow a suspected suicide attack on Tuesday morning that killed 10 people, all German, […]
AT LEAST 10 DIE IN ISTANBUL BLAST Photo: Zeynep Cermen/Xinhua via ZUMA An explosion in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet tourist district killed at least 10 people and wounded 15 others today, CNN Türk reports. Local authorities have said they believe an ISIS suicide bomber caused the blast, Turkish daily Hürriyet reports. UN CALLS FOR EVACUATING 400 […]
-Analysis- ISTANBUL — Saudi Arabia silenced Ayatollah al-Nimr by executing him. He was an open critic of the Saudi royal dynasty and the cruelty against the Shia, while a longtime advocate for democratic elections. The Saudis lumped Nimr in with 46 al-Qaeda members who were charged with terrorism in order to ruin his reputation. You […]
LIBYA POLICE SCHOOL BOMBED At least 65 people were killed this morning after a truck bomb exploded at a police training center in Zliten, Libya, the BBC reports. Reuters reports that hundreds of recruits were gathered at the center when the explosion occurred. Martin Kobler, the UN’s special representative to Libya, characterized the blast as […]
Since the Jan. 7, 2015 killings, many humorists have been struggling to tackle the question of Islamic terrorism, security and freedom of speech. Most are undeterred.
L’Humanité, Jan. 7, 2016 “Always Charlie!” reads the Thursday front page of far-left French daily L’Humanité, as France marks the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Paris offices of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead. Eight staff members were killed by two gunmen who’d pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda’s branch […]
On Jan. 7, 2015, Chérif and Saïd Kouachi gunned down most of the Charlie Hebdo staff. It should have been a wakeup call that the number of radicalized Muslims in France is increasing at an alarming rate.
Since the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris, reams of new government safety measures and orders have been issued to schools, where teachers say the atmosphere is tense and their responsibilities overwhelming.
NOV. 13 ATTACKS COORDINATED IN REAL TIME The three terrorist commandos that carried out the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, killing 130 people, were being coordinated in real time by at least one unknown man in Belgium, Le Monde reports. The three groups were in contact with the coordinator throughout the night using cell phones […]
Shocked as we are by each new terror attack, we are no longer surprised. From Worldcrunch HQ in Paris, our editor weighs this troubling year with others before it.
TALIBAN SIEGE IN AFGHANISTAN Afghan forces are battling Taliban fighters today in a desperate attempt to protect the police headquarters in the town of Sangin, after a Taliban attack killed six U.S. soldiers yesterday, the BBC reports. The Taliban have laid siege to the southern town and have reportedly cut it off from the rest […]
Saudi Arabia, long a direct and indirect financier of religious fanatics, has declared war on Islamist extremism! It has 34 countries on board, some of which aren’t even aware that they’ve joined. The punchline? It’s not really abo
ISIS STRIKES BACK, BUT FAILS More than 300 ISIS fighters launched a vast attack against Kurdish forces in several locations near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, but their assault was repelled by the Kurdish fighters backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, The Washington Post reports. At least 180 jihadist fighters are reported to have been killed […]
The Somali community has solid roots in and around Minneapolis. But young people have increasingly been lured by jihadists.
Dawn, Dec. 16, 2015 People across Pakistan today are remembering the 144 victims of the Peshawar school massacre, one year after the Taliban attack that killed 122 children and 22 teachers. In its editorial, daily newspaper Dawn looks back at the changes the country has gone through after an attack that marked “a new, terrible […]
SAUDI ANNOUNCES ANTI-TERROR COALITION Saudi Arabia announced today that it is leading a military coalition of Arab countries against Islamic terrorism, the Saudi Press Agency reports. Other alliance countries include Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan and Gulf Arab and African states. A joint statement said that a joint operations center would […]
TALIBAN AIRPORT SIEGE FINALLY ENDS Afghan forces have broken the Taliban siege on the Kandahar airport more than 24 hours after the attack began, AP quotes the country’s Defense Ministry as saying. The assailants killed at least 50 people, among them 38 civilians, 10 Afghan soldiers and two police officers. The 11 gunmen who carried […]