Syria crisis: Rebels 'leave Homs' under truce
Syrian rebels have begun evacuating the last area they hold in the city of Homs under a ceasefire deal reached with the government, a monitoring group has said.
The deal means the entire city returns to government control.
Those leaving are due to go to areas of Idlib province still in rebel hands.
Homs, in central Syria, was once dubbed the "capital of the revolution" and saw some of the first protests against President Bashar al-Assad, in 2011.
The first bus has left the rebel-held area of Al Waer in Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
About 800 people, including rebel fighters and civilians, are due to leave throughout Wednesday, the observatory said.
Under the UN-backed ceasefire, food aid has reached the neighbourhood for the first time in nearly a year.
The Machiavelli of Maryland
Military strategist, classical scholar, cattle rancher – and an adviser to presidents, prime ministers, and the Dalai Lama. Just who is Edward Luttwak? And why do very powerful people pay vast sums for his advice?
People contact Edward Luttwak with unusual requests. The prime minister of Kazakhstan wants to find a way to remove ethnic Russians from a city on his northern border; a major Asian government wants a plan to train its new intelligence services; an Italian chemical company wants help settling an asbestos lawsuit with a local commune; a citizens’ group in Tonga wants to scare away Japanese dolphin poachers from its shores; the London Review of Books wants a piece on the Armenian genocide; a woman is having a custody battle over her children in Washington DC – can Luttwak “reason” with her husband? And that is just in the last 12 months.
Luttwak is a self-proclaimed “grand strategist”, who makes a healthy living dispensing his insights around the globe. He believes that the guiding principles of the market are antithetical to what he calls “the logic of strategy”, which usually involves doing the least efficient thing possible in order to gain the upper hand over your enemy by confusing them. If your tank battalion has the choice of a good highway or a bad road, take the bad road, says Luttwak. If you can divide your fighter squadrons onto two aircraft carriers instead of one, then waste the fuel and do it. And if two of your enemies are squaring off in Syria, sit back and toast your good fortune.
The rise of Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen shows Ukip has failed in Britain
There are no second acts (and very few first acts) for vulgar racists in British politics
In France, the Front National surfs a wave of anti-Islam paranoia to dominate regional elections, and the prospect of Marine Le Pen being anointed Madame President in 2017 becomes that unnerving bit less remote. In the United States, Donald Trump ramps the Islamophobia up to 11 – and while there is no prospect of him and TTOHH (That Thing On His Head) becoming co-president, their candidacy for the Republican nomination remains viable. In the short term, in fact, their poll ratings will probably tick up.
Here in daft, dozy old Britain, meanwhile, pincered between countries succumbing to xenophobic surges, something rather wonderful has passed almost unnoticed. Last Thursday, in Oldham, Ukip died.
Subsequent events across both the Channel and the Atlantic suggest we examined that by-election result from the wrong angle. Was the Labour Party’s unexpectedly thumping win due to an unusually popular, talented local candidate, everyone wondered, or did it vindicate the choice of Jeremy Corbyn as leader?
Islamic State extends recruitment efforts to China with new chant
December 9, 2015 - 2:53PMPhilip Wen
China correspondent for Fairfax Media
Beijing: The Islamic State has released a new piece of propaganda specifically targeting Chinese-speaking recruits, urging Muslims to "take up weapons".
The extremist group on Sunday published a digital recording of a four-minute chant, or nasheed, sung entirely in Mandarin Chinese via its foreign-language media arm, Al Hayat Media Centre, through Twitter and messaging application Telegram, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks radical groups online.
The nasheed is similar to those previously released by the group in other languages, including English, Russian and Turkish. The recording in Mandarin signalled "yet another example of the IS seeking to broaden its reach and support base," SITE said.
While the lyrics speak of a "shameless enemy", and that "to die fighting on this battlefield is our dream", they do not mention a specific target.
Venezuelan opposition urges Maduro to quit 'crying,' start working
Amid the worst economic crisis in Venezuela's recent history, opposition leaders are calling on President Nicolas Maduro to focus on the country's food shortages and other issues instead of his candidates' defeat in recent elections.
CARACAS — Venezuela's opposition on Tuesday urged leftist President Nicolas Maduro to stop making excuses for his candidates' defeat in legislative elections and instead urgently tackle food shortages and free jailed politicians.
The worst economic crisis in the OPEC country's recent history has Venezuelan staples including flour, milk, meat, and beans running scarce. Shortages are particularly bad for the poor and beyond capital Caracas, with shoppers lining up for hours under the sun hoping a delivery truck will arrive.
"We urge the government to stop crying and start working," Democratic Unity coalition leader Jesus Torrealba said in a news conference under a sign reading 'Thank you Venezuela, we won!'.
Israel sentences female Palestinian lawmaker to 15 months
By JOSEF FEDERMAN
An Israeli military court has sentenced a female Palestinian lawmaker to 15 months in prison after convicting her of belonging to an illegal organization and incitement, the army announced Tuesday, drawing angry denunciations from Palestinian leaders in the West Bank.
The sentencing of Khalida Jarrar marked the culmination of a case that has attracted widespread attention. Jarrar is a popular figure in the West Bank and known for her fiery speeches against Israel.
Jarrar was arrested last April in a raid on her home for allegedly violating Israeli travel restrictions that barred her from Ramallah, the West Bank city where her family lives. She was subsequently charged with incitement and membership in an illegal organization.
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