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Clashes erupt on Turkey’s streets, at least 31 people killed

At least 31 people have been killed and 360 others wounded in four days of violent protests in Turkey by Kurdish demonstrators. The demonstrators are frustrated by the government's lack of action to save the Syrian town of Kobane from a jihadist militant takeover.

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against a students in Ankara, namely those protesting in support of Syrian Kurds in Kobani at the Middle Eastern Technical University (ODTÜ) campus and at Ankara University. At least 25 people have been detained. Turkish troops and tanks were deployed to restore order. Curfews were imposed in five provinces.

However, the curfew was broken in the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Thursday night when clashes broke out between pro-Kurdish activists and their opponents. The rival groups attacked each other with pistols, rifles and axes, leaving at least 20 people injured.

Kurdish forces say they have stalled the advance of Islamic State (IS) militants in the town after more American airstrikes overnight.

Turkish forces are standing by near Kobane but the government in Ankara has refused to send them into action, or to establish a safe corridor to ferry fighters and supplies to the besieged Kurdish fighters. Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu commented on the situation "It is not realistic to expect Turkey to conduct a ground operation on its own,"

Washington has suggested that Ankara is not pulling it’s own weight, but the Turkish government resents this. Cavusoglu went on to say that "We are holding talks ... Once there is a common decision, Turkey will not hold back from playing its part."

NATO Summit 2014

Newport, the third-biggest city in Wales, is this year’s home for the annual NATO summit. Barack Obama, David Cameron and 59 other world leaders will convene in Newport’s Celtic Manor Hotel.

Anti-war protesters were welcomed by the police and were appreciated for carrying out mostly peaceful demonstrations. Memories of violence from previous NATO summits meant police were not taking any chances. Metal barriers were used to prevent protesters from reaching the Celtic Manor resort, and police greatly outnumbered protesters.

An armoured personnel carrier, a tank and an F-35 life-sized model were on display in the Celtic Manor golf resort. A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said that the displays were intended to showcase British defence capability as well as the country's defence industry.

Eastern European NATO members, including Poland, have appealed to NATO to permanently station troops on their territory to deter possible Russian attack. But not all NATO members agreed with the idea. This is thought to be because of expenses involved and this move would likely breach a 1997 agreement with Russia under which NATO committed to not permanently station large combat forces close to the Russian border. Leaders have agree instead to provide caches of military equipment and resources, in eastern NATO countries with bases ready to receive the rapid reaction force in times needed.

NATO's top official accused Moscow on Thursday of attacking Ukraine, and escalating the conflict. France is to suspend delivery of a state-of-the-art Mistral warship to Russia in protest at Moscow's continued role in unrest in eastern Ukraine. Speaking on the side lines of a NATO summit in Wales, Poroshenko said the ceasefire would be conditional on a planned meeting going ahead in Minsk on Friday of envoys from Ukraine, Russia and Europe's OSCE security watchdog. Poroshenko "At 1400 local time (12:00 noon BST on Friday), provided the (Minsk) meeting takes place, I will call on the General Staff to set up a bilateral ceasefire and we hope that the implementation of the peace plan will begin tomorrow," he told reporters. Oleg Tsaryov, a senior rebel official “in the past we had some ceasefire agreements Poroshenko didn't honour"

Prime Minister David Cameron has warned fellow NATO leaders that they must not pay the requested ransoms to terrorist kidnappers. It comes after he said Britain will not pay a ransom for the UK hostage who Islamic State extremists (IS) are threatening to kill. IS are threatening the life of British aid worker David Cawthorne Haines who has been taken hostage. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "I do believe the international community as a whole has an obligation to stop the Islamic State from advancing further."

How to stabilize Afghanistan when NATO forces leave at the year's end will also be up for discussion at the summit. Officials have commented that NATO leaders will set up a "spearhead" rapid reaction force, potentially including several thousand troops, that could be sent to a hotspot in as little as two days. 

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ISIS chemical and biological weapon documents found

A laptop containing plans for the production and distribution of chemical and biological weapons has been linked to a member of ISIS. The laptop and its more than 35,000 files providing valuable insight into the Islamist State's inner workings. Within these files contained a 19-page document on how to develop biological weapons, including the bubonic plague. "Use small grenades with the virus, and throw them in closed areas like metros, soccer stadiums, or entertainment centers," the document says, reported Foreign Policy. "Best to do it next to the air-conditioning. It also can be used during suicide operations." US officials said the presence of documents on building biological weapons does not necessarily add up to an actual capability to use them.

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Western action against the Islamic State continues

Shia Turkomans living in the Iraqi city of Amirli have been cut off from food and water for nearly two months by Islamic State militants. The city has fortified its position and has been fighting off Islamic State forces since June. The US delivered aid to Amirli and conducted air strikes in the surrounding area hitting three Humvee patrol vehicles, a tank and an armed vehicle held by militants in addition to a checkpoint held by IS. The air strikes cleared a route in which Iraqi troops rescued 12,000 residents of the city.

Tony Abbott, the Prime Minister of Australia, has agreed to assist the US in delivering weapons and humanitarian aid to Kurdish fighters in Iraq. Australia will join Canada, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom in a multinational effort to curb the advance of Islamic State fighters in the region. The Australian government is not providing weapons itself but will be delivering the equipment supplied by other nations.

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The Islamic State has set it's sights on expansion 

The Islamic state has pushed to secure the border between Turkey and Syria to act as a gateway for its recruits to enter the Caliphate. The Turkish government is being pressured by British politicians to put a stop to crossing of new Islamic State recruits. Islamic state fighters have begun to move up from Syria towards the Turkish border. They advance in columns of armoured trucks that were looted from abandoned Iraqi military bases. 

Dr Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi expert on Isis said "If [the Turkish border] is closed, it will cut three things: funding, an entrance for the foreign fighters and links to Europe which they are trying to open. If those plans are destroyed, they will aim for another gate to Lebanon." Islamic State fighters withdrew from areas north of Homs and have travelled east after a battle between themselves and Nusra Front, Syria’s branch of al Qaeda. The Islamic state has found opposition with western backed fighters in Syria and Iraq and also other Islamic militants like Nusra Front.

The paramilitary wing of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) - which was once declared a terrorist organisation by the U.S. - is now fighting alongside soldiers from Iraqi Kurdistan known as the Peshmega. The two forces along with U.S. air support have been successful in slowing the advance of Islamic State forces in some areas in Iraq.