Current World Issues

Syrian civilians 'killed in Turkey's Afrin operation' At least 51 Syrian civilians have been reported killed since the Afrin operation began on January 20  At least eight civilians have been reported killed following Turkish air strikes near the Syrian enclave of Afrin, as Turkish-backed fighters accused the armed Kurdish group YPG of forcibly recruiting minors to fight. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fatalities, including five children from one family, were from the village of Kobla just outside of Afrin, which had been previously hit by Turkish bombardments. The latest civilian casualties bring to 51 the number of people killed in and around Afrin since the operation against the YPG began on January 20, the Syrian Observatory said. As of Sunday, at least five Turkish soldiers had also been reported killed in the operation, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the Turkey-Syria Border on Mond...

Syria offensive: Turkish troops 'capture villages' in Afrin Turkish forces have captured a number of villages in north-western Syria, on the third day of an offensive to oust Kurdish fighters, Turkish media report. Troops, accompanied by allied Syrian rebels, reportedly seized control of several areas in Afrin on Monday. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not "step back" in the assault following talks with Russia. Turkey considers the Kurdish YPG militia it is targeting in the region to be a terrorist group. "We are determined, Afrin will be sorted out," Mr Erdogan said in a live television broadcast in Ankara on Monday. "We will take no step back," he said, adding: "We spoke about this with our Russian friends; we have an agreement. The YPG, which controls much of north-eastern Syria, is believed by Turkey to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for three dec...

Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh and Myanmar agree repatriation timeframe Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionHundreds of thousands of Rohingya are living in refugee camps in Bangladesh Bangladesh says it has agreed a timeframe with Myanmar for repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled an army crackdown last year. Myanmar has agreed to accept 1,500 Rohingya every week, Bangladesh says, adding that it aims to return all of them to Myanmar within two years. Over 650,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since violence erupted in Rakhine state in August. Aid agencies have raised concerns about forcibly repatriating them. A spokesperson from the UN High Commission for Refugees said Myanmar also needed to address the underlying causes of the crisis and that refugees should only return when they feel it is safe for them to back. According to Reuters, the agreement did not specify when the process would begin but said Myanmar would provide temporary shelter to those r...

Trump just did something to calm tensions with North Korea Yes, really. By Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp zack@vox.com Jan 4, 2018, 1:10pm EST Some news broke about North Korea on Thursday morning — and, for once, it’s actually kind of reassuring. The US and South Korea jus announced that they would delay annual military exercises that were scheduled to take place during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongcheong. These exercises, which involve simulating operations that would likely be used in the event of war with North Korea, generally anger the North and could have provoked it to do something dangerous in response. The decision, which was apparently during a call between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-In, is surprising given Trump’s belligerent approach to North Korea. Analysts had predicted that the Olympic games in Pyeongchang, coupled with the exercises, might be an opportunity for North Korea to launch a high-profile missile test or do something else provocative. The ...