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60,000 Syrian Kurds flee to Turkey within 24 hours amid ISIS advance
Some 60,000 Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours, fleeing Islamic State (IS) militants who are advancing on dozens of villages close to the border.
Turkey opened a stretch of the border on Friday after Kurds fled their homes, fearing an attack on the border town of Ayn al-Arab, a Kurdish commander on the ground said.
Local Kurds also said they fear a massacre in Kobani, whose...
Quarter of Americans want their states to secede from US
A girl holds a US flag next to a sculpture after a naturalization ceremony at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on July 22, 2014.
Amid the growing anger with Washington, nearly a quarter of Americans want their states to break away from the United States and become an independent country, a new poll has found.
The results of a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday show that 24 percent of Americans...
Fresh clashes erupt in east Ukraine leaving 7 dead
Fresh deadly clashes have erupted in eastern Ukraine, killing seven and injuring eight as representatives from Kiev and pro-Russia forces prepare to discuss the ceasefire violations.
Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said on Friday that two soldiers were killed and three others injured in the last 24 hours, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency reported.
A search...
Salmond resigns after losing Scottish independence referendum
Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) is resigning from office after losing Thursday’s independence referendum.
Scots voted to stay in the UK following an intense campaign. The ‘No’ campaign rallied 55 percent of votes against 45 percent ‘Yes’ votes.
“We lost the referendum vote but Scotland can still carry the political initiative,” he told...
Polls close, counting begins on Scotland independence
Polls have closed in Scotland’s referendum that will determine whether Scottish people maintain their union with the rest of the United Kingdom or secede.
The polls, which opened at 7 a.m., closed at 10 p.m. and around breakfast time on Friday, Scots will finally learn whether their land is to end its 307-year union with Britain and become the newest independent nation in the world or remain...
New Zealand PM doesn't rule out nation being spied on by NSA
Prime Minister John Key said Edward Snowden ‘may well be right’ in his claims that the NSA has access to communications from New Zealand. The politician, however, said he ‘did not believe’ mass surveillance was taking place.
Key was interviewed in the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s revelations on Monday published by The Intercept, in which he claimed he “routinely came across the communications...
Final-day push before historic Scottish independence vote
Campaigners on both sides of Scotland’s independence referendum are trying to sway over 4 million registered voters in a last-day push before the historic vote gets underway.
Voters in Scotland will head to polls on Thursday to decide whether they want to stay in the 307-year-union with the rest of the UK or become independent.
Turnout is expected to be massive, with 4,285,323 people having...
Another shelling kills two more civilians, injures 3 in Ukraine's east
At least two civilians have been killed and three others wounded in renewed shelling in Ukraine’s restive east, despite a truce between the Kiev government forces and pro-Russians.
Officials in eastern city of Donetsk said the deadly shell fire hit a residential neighborhood north of the city on Wednesday.
According to the Donetsk city council, the two civilians were killed near a market located...
Obama Sends 3,000 Troops to Ebola Danger Zone
When there is a major problem somewhere in the world, Barack Obama loves to show that he is “doing something” by sending a contingent of 3000 U.S. troops to the affected area. But is it really wise for Obama to send thousands of young American men and women into the Ebola death zone? What are our troops going to do – shoot the virus? Of course not. The UN already has 6,000 uniformed peacekeepers...
CIA estimates 20k-30k fighters in Syria, Iraq after Obama pledges to destroy ISIS
The Central Intelligence Agency believes the Islamic State militant group “can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters” throughout both Iraq and Syria, CNN reports.
If true, that would mean the Islamic State’s numbers have more than doubled compared to the agency’s last estimate, which pinned the group’s total amount of fighters at roughly 10,000.
“This new total reflects an increase...
Militants occupy Syria side of Golan Heights and steal UN equipment
Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Ja’afari says al-Qaeda-linked militants have occupied “all of the Syrian side” of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, driving out the troops from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
He said on Tuesday that al-Nusra Front militants seized UN weapons, uniforms and vehicles from peacekeepers in the Golan and established a “safe zone” to...
Ukraine hosts military drills led by US and joined by NATO
A total of 1,300 troops from 15 nations, either active NATO members or would-be members, have come together for a military exercise in western Ukraine – even as the fragile truce in the east of the country barely holds.
The exercise, code-named “Rapid Trident” has been an annual event since 2006, and has been organized by the Germany-based US European Command (EUCOM). It was initially planned...
Supreme Court justice warns of drones creating 'Orwellian' future
US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has voiced concerns that, without sufficient protections, the age of unmanned drones and ubiquitous surveillance will usher in an “Orwellian world.”
Sotomayor told faculty and students at Oklahoma City University last week that technological capabilities allow devices to monitor “your conversations from miles away and through your walls.”
“We...
Shelling kills 10 people in Ukraine
At least 10 people have been killed during fresh clashes in war-torn eastern Ukraine over the last 48-hours.
According to Donetsk city officials, four people were killed on Monday when a car repair shop was hit by an artillery shell and six civilians were killed in separate shelling incidents on Sunday.
The officials also said that 15 people were wounded by artillery shell shrapnel.
According to reports,...
Nationalist anti-immigrant party 'real winner' of Sweden election
The general parliamentary election in Sweden on Sunday was ‘something of a shock’ to the nation. The far-right Sweden Democrats party managed to table the third highest number of votes on the back of their strong anti-immigration policies.
The results of the vote saw a shift to the left after eight years of conservative rule. The Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, who was the chairman of the...