cease fire

Iran-Backed Houthis Hold Huge Military Parade in Yemen

The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen held a massive military parade in the strategic port city of Hodeidah on Thursday – a display the United Nations found most unseemly, especially since the U.N.-brokered peace plan for Yemen is named after Hodeidah, and the plan specifically calls for the city to be kept free of “military manifestations.”

Huthi rebels stand at attention at the Saleef port on May 11, 2019, in the Red Sea port of

Kurds Claim Turkish Forces Immediately Violated Ceasefire Agreement

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reported on Friday morning that Turkish forces violated the five-day ceasefire agreement announced on Thursday afternoon almost immediately, as Turkish-allied ground forces continued to attack the town of Ras al-Ain with Turkish air and artillery support.

Turkish army soldiers drive towards the border with Syria near Akcakale in Sanliurfa provi

U.S. and Russia Announce Ceasefire for Syria After Trump-Putin Meeting

On Friday, as President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. State Department confirmed the two sides had reached a ceasefire agreement in Syria. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called it, “the first indication of the U.S. and Russia being able to work together in Syria.”

Turkish soldiers stand in a Turkish army tank driving back to Turkey from the Syrian-Turki

Iran Says U.S. Not Welcome at Syria Peace Talks

The post-Obama power axis in the Middle East continues taking shape. On Tuesday, President Obama’s respected negotiating partners in Tehran declared the U.S. would not be welcome at Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan next week.

The Associated Press

101 Years Ago Today, Christmas Truce Halted World War I

One hundred and one years ago, the Christmas Truce of 1914 was a spontaneous cease-fire and a day of Christian brotherhood for both sides of the No Man’s Land along the Western Front. The event was kept secret by senior military officers and government censors as an embarrassing breakdown in military discipline.

Originally published in The Illustrated London News, January 9, 1915. The Illustrated Lon