Russia-Ukraine war recasts Turkish policies and priorities

Erdogan sees opportunity in Ukraine crisis, including enhanced global role and dramatic reset in ties with Israel, as he weighs next steps in Libya and elections next year.

Erdogan: Turkey will leave its mark on 21st century

“Turkey’s diplomatic isolation was the focus of excited punditry in recent years,” writes Amberin Zaman, “but today, Ankara is running out of red carpet as a deluge of foreign dignitaries knock at its door.”

UN: Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainians have fled country, as world watches in ‘disbelief’

Refugee agency praises neighboring countries’ compassion for ‘extreme plight’ of refugees; most of those who crossed borders to escape have entered Poland

Nearly 3.5 million Ukrainians have now fled the country following Russia’s invasion, the United Nations said Monday, praising neighboring countries for showing overwhelming compassion toward their “extreme plight.”

CENTCOM commander says captured fighters must be repatriated to avoid ‘ISIS 2.0’

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the outgoing head of U.S. Central Command, said that he wished during his tenure that CENTCOM did a better job of convincing countries to repatriate captured Islamic State fighters.

McKenzie spoke to reporters for the final time in his role on Friday morning, warning that a failure to repatriate captured ISIS fighters would ultimately lead to “ISIS 2.0 down the road.”

Islamic State takes advantage of Ukraine war to increase attacks

The Islamic State has recently intensified its activity against the Syrian government forces and its allies, setting up a number of ambushes in the Syrian desert and killing dozens.

The Islamic State (IS) regularly targets military bases and vehicles in the Syrian desert, which extends between the governorates of Homs and Deir ez-Zor on the border with Iraq, the area to which IS fighters have retreated since they lost their last stronghold in Syria in 2019.

Russia used hypersonic missile to show off new powers – analysis

The big question is what else Russia has up its sleeve, but may be running out of some other munitions. It has used cruise and other types of surface-to-surface missiles.

With Russian supply columns being struck by Ukrainian artillery and Ukrainian drones still flying, harassing Russia’s invasion, Moscow has turned to a new weapon to show that it, too, has unique capabilities.

DR Congo: Fourteen killed in machete attack in Ituri province

Seven children, including a two-year-old girl, and five women aged between 25 and 32 were killed, says Red Cross.

Fourteen people, including seven children, have been killed with machetes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Red Cross has said, as a community leader blamed a notorious armed group for the bloody attack.

Any concessions to Putin on Ukraine will mark end of the West, Skobov warns

The stakes in Ukraine are far higher than most people imagine, Aleksandr Skobov says. Putin’s war there is “only part of his global war against the fundamental principles of civilized relations among states,” and that means any agreement with him that accepts any of his demands will mark the end of the West and the world it created.