What's in the headlines?

Iran’s “real Iron Dome” air defence system

Iran has deployed its new national missile defence system. Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabifard, Vice Speaker of Iran’s Parliament dubbed the system the “real Iron Dome,” in reference to the joint US-Israeli Iron Dome missile shield, which demonstrated its capabilities in the recent conflict between Hamas fighters and the Israeli Defence force. Aboutorabifard went on to say “Today Iran's Air Defence System has provided our country with an Iron Dome in its real sense and Iran's airspace is the safest in the region,"

Iran first announced plans to create a mid-range and long-range national missile defence system back in August. However, Tehran has so far provided no footage that would prove the effectiveness of the air defence system. Aboutorabifard insisted that Iran's air defence system has “the highest deterrence power in the region.”

Iran’s military personnel and its scientists have been busy developing technology to further advance their strategic capabilities. Fars news agency reported that a UAV with abilities to evade missiles is in development, as well as testing a number of suicide drones (a type of cruise missile). Iranian Air Force spokesman General Hossein Chitforoush announced that Iran has started mass production of

Saeqeh (Thunder) fighter jets

What's in the Headlines?

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."

What's in the Headlines?

U.S. Air Marshal assaulted at Nigerian airport 

A U.S. air marshal was assaulted with a syringe containing an "unknown substance" at the Lagos airport in Nigeria on Sunday. There were fears that the syringe may have contained the Ebola virus that has claimed over 2,400 lives in western Africa. However officials have determined that the needle did not appear to contain Ebola or any other dangerous agent.

Officials from the Federal airports authority of Nigeria (FAAN) are in contact with U.S. diplomats to help with the investigation. Yakubu Dati, a spokesperson for FAAN said that a security team form the U.S. mission in Nigeria have reviewed CCTV footage and the Preliminary observation did not show evidence of the incident. The FBI continue to investigate the incident. 

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. 

What's in the Headlines?

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.

What's in the Headlines?

Germany has been caught spying on John Kerry

Der Spiegel have said that the German foreign intelligence agency recorded at least one of John Kerry’s phone conversations after “accidentally” picking up the phone call. German officials have condemned the U.S. for past surveillance carried out on the German population. BND (Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service) intercepted Kerry’s Middle East negotiations with the Israelis, the Palestinians, and other Arab states last year.

German security agents have also been accused of tapping a conversation held between Hillary Clinton and former U.N. chief Kofi Annan regarding negotiations in Syria. The conversation was tapped in 2012 when Clinton was Secretary of State and was later destroyed. German media retrieved the information from documents passed to the CIA by one of its informants inside the BND.

Regional broadcasters NDR said on Friday “apparently, phone calls by US politicians and from other friendly nations have been repeatedly recorded and submitted to the respective BND President as instructed”. A discovery of documents showed the German government had ordered the BND to spy on NATO partner states, these countries were not named. However, Der Spiegel revealed on Saturday that the BND had been spying on Turkey since 2009. The German government supposedly reviews its espionage program every four years but did not modify its priorities after the Edward Snowden-NSA scandal

What's in the Headlines?

Jay Nixon has chosen to escalate force in Ferguson, Missouri

Governor Jay Nixon signed an executive order early this morning to send the national guard into Ferguson to "help restore peace and order and to protect the citizens of Ferguson". The escalation in force has come after an autopsy report that Michael Brown was in face shot six times, including twice in the head. The police officer who shot Michael Brown has been named as Darren Wilson, after an alleged scuffle in Wilson’s patrol car.

Captain Ron Johnson said protesters had fired weapons and thrown petrol bombs at police officers before midnight when the Sunday night curfew began. More people have been injured as businesses have been looted and vandalised by some attending the protests, and police have continued to use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.  

Nixon declared a state of emergency at a press conference on Saturday. He imposed an overnight curfew that came into effect at Midnight. The move came after reports of a group of looters smashing windows and looting three stores on Friday night. Amnesty international condemned curfews as the tool of dictators and were in Ferguson to monitor the activity of Police and demonstrators.

Footage of Michael Brown stealing a packet of cigars was believed to have sparked the violence on Friday.

Police officers in riot gear and armed with assault rifles fired tear gas at the 200 protesters who defied the curfew on Saturday night. This came after Captain Ron Johnson from Missouri state highway patrol was quoted saying “We won’t enforce it with teargas.” Seven people were arrested for failing to disperse. A man was shot, and is in a critical condition, but police do not know who by. A police car was also shot at. Some protesters were seen destroying kerb stones to throw at police. Captain Ron Johnson later said that teargas was fired only because police received intelligence that people with guns were on the roof of a barbecue restaurant, awaiting officers.

What's in the Headlines?

Demonstrators clash with Police in Missouri 

Hundreds marched through the streets of Ferguson in Missouri demanding justice for the Police shooting of an unarmed 18 year old male. Police have withheld the name of the office involved with the shooting. Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer on Saturday in a Ferguson suburb.

Police officers equipped with riot gear and assault rifles cracked down on the protesters when glass bottles were thrown from the crowd on the fourth night of demonstrations. Police used tear gas and military-style tactics to disperse crowds and arrest a number of people.

Reporters from the Washington Post and the Huffington Post were among those arrested. A camera crew from al-Jazeera America said they were shot by rubber bullets.

Many other demonstrators were shocked at the excessive force used by the police. One protester said “This amount of force was unwarranted. This is an abuse of force. No one is firing guns at them or running at them. This is an overreach.”

Jay Nixon, Governor of Missouri has handed policing responsibility of the protests over to the Highway Patrol. Protesters have responded to the “softer front” of the Highway Patrol and tensions have died down. Although removed from protest duty St. Louis County Police have been tasked with investigating the Death of Michael Brown. 

What's in the Headlines?

Iraqi civilians will remain on Mount Sinjar

U.S. called off their military mission to extract Iraqi civilians from Mount Sinjar. Further analysis has revealed there are less civilians on Mount Sinjar than first estimated. The air strikes carried out on the Islamic State militants has been successful in drawing forces away from the civilian population. Air drops will continue to provide the Iraqi civilians with food water and medicine.  

David Cameron approves British military presence in the area “So what you need to do is have plans that are flexible enough to respond to that situation . . . That is why the Chinooks are there. That's why our Tornados are there.” Both David Cameron and Nick Clegg have agreed on plans to join France in supplying arms to Kurdish fighters. Nadhim Zahawi, a Conservative MP said “The Kurdish president has made it very clear to western allies that he doesn't need their boys and girls on the ground. He just said give us the weapons and the wherewithal and the air cover and they will take this fight to Isis.” Britain and U.S. will maintain a military presence in Northern Iraq for the foreseeable future.

Up to two million civilians who have been displaced by the Islamic State’s activities still remain in the Kurdistan region. The United Nations declared the situation a Level 3 emergency, which is its highest level of assessment.

What's in the Headlines?

Iraq

Obama has announced that the US is committed to intervention efforts in Iraq, favouring tactical air strikes over troop deployment. The US have felt it necessary to halt the activities of Islamic State fighters who have gained a reputation for killing civilians. Reports on Saturday suggested that forces from the Islamic State crossed into Lebanon from Syria.

The US have also taken a leadership role in delivering relief to civilians fleeing Islamic State fighters. 72 bundles of supplies, including more than 3,800 gallons of water and more than 16,000 packaged meals have been supplied so far. British military have so far stuck to a humanitarian role by providing airships to deliver relief to civilians. 

The Kurds of northern Iraq have taken in up to 1.2 million refugees since June. They have shown their support of the US intervention and have urged Obama not to let up in air strikes. The Guardian is following the story as there have been reports the US is planning to arm the Kurdish fighters.