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Frances Martel

Frances Martel

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Facebook/Jordan Matson

Americans Fighting Islamic State with Kurdish Forces Gear Up for New Year

American and other Western volunteers fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria recently told the Kurdish outlet Rudaw they were gearing up for a new offensive against the jihadists in the new year. One American volunteer recalled how thousands demanded photos with him on a routine visit to a mall in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Chinese fishing vessels Spratly islands AFP

Vietnam, Philippines, Japan Protest Chinese Jet Landing in South China Sea

The governments of Vietnam, the Philippines, and Japan have all condemned China for landing a plane on an artificial island in the South China Sea, constructed in what is widely regarded as sovereign Vietnamese territory. China rejects international claims in the sea and has begun constructing military facilities in the Spratly Islands.

TURKEY-PARLIAMENT-ERDOGAN

Turkey’s Erdogan Blames Pro-Hitler Comment on ‘Media Distortion’

A national debate turned to international scandal on Thursday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited Adolf Hitler’s Germany as the type of presidential system he would like to see established in Turkey. Now, the Turkish president’s office is claiming Erdogan’s comment was “distorted by the media.”

Kyodo via AP Images

State Media Begin Pushing China as Ideal ‘Mediator’ in Syrian War

Chinese state media are promoting a more prominent role for the communist country in resolving the civil war in Syria, with a column in the People’s Daily suggesting China could “build on the basic consensus reached by the international community that the Syrian crisis should be solved politically.”