Residents of Madaya surviving on grass, cats and dogs

Residents of a besieged Syrian town of Madaya, situated just 15 miles from Damascus, and less than seven miles from the border with Lebanon, have no other go but to eat cats and dogs and grass to survive even as thousands of people face starving to death. The city of Madaya was, once upon a time, a popular holiday resort for Syrians. It is now under siege by forces who are loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 7 January 2016.

Thousands of people who are trapped have no food, water or electricity. Rice is sold in grammes because one kilogramme can cost up to £170 which they cannot afford. It has been confirmed by an unnamed aid worker that some residents were eating cats and dogs to survive, while others ate leaves and grass and drank water flavored with jam or spices.
Dr Mohamad Youssef, who acts as the manager of the medical council in Madaya, has informed that every day, there are two or three starvation deaths. Such deaths are mostly the elderly, the women and children.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hopes that it can get aid to all three villages in the next few days. It may be recalled that in mid-October, more than 20 lorries were allowed to deliver medical and humanitarian supplies but, since then, the situation has worsened.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has revealed that 10 people had died because of lack of food in recent weeks while 13 others had been shot by pro-government forces or blown up by mines while trying to find food. In the opinion of the UN, the apparent use of siege warfare has been used in clear breach of international laws.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Some more interesting links -

Moody gifts his neighbor a turban on his birthday (satire)

Lord Shiva’s solution for global warming – go under water (satire)

Didi discusses industries with Moo Cool and Omit Misra (satire)


Use online honey trappers to test the fidelity of the spouse

NASA developing hopping drones to explore Martian caves for human settlement

Cleanliness drive by Railways - collects Rs 58 lakhs in fine from Delhi Railway station


Kissing scenes in movies – why this fad has never caught on in Bollywood

All female pop-group Moranbong Band cancels China goodwill tour

“The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar” - Disney’s upcoming television movie


Christmas Day bushfire destroys 100 homes in popular tourist spot of Lorne in Victoria

Migrants ready to pay £1,200 to people smugglers for trip across Channel in UK-registered car

US airdrops 50-tons of ammunition for M-16s and AK-47 to Syrian fighters

ICAO issues alert to civil airlines after Russian missile strike in Syria

The International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO, the United Nations’ air-safety arm, has issued alert on Oct. 9 to all civil airlines that are carrying out commercial flying in the wider airspace around Baghdad, Damascus and Tehran. The alert has been issued after Russian missiles struck targets in Syria.
The alert is described as “the possible existence of serious risks to the safety of international civil flights” that are using the wider airspace in Iran, Iraq and Syria and over the Caspian Sea.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 11 October 2015.

Russia has admitted to firing cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea against Syrian targets—nearly 1,000 miles away. This was in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. and other Western countries have denounced the strikes and Russia has denied that some of the missiles fell short and landed in Iran.
ICAO is based in Cologne, Germany, and it has said that before the missiles reach targets in Syria. They have to traverse the airspace above Caspian Sea, Iran and Iraq, below flight routes which are used by commercial transport aircrafts.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-
Skywalk planned by UP tourism department to connect Taj Mahal with Agra Fort

Undaunted by a target of 200, South Africa romp home in Dharamsala with two balls to spare

After yoga, central government promotes outdoor sports like jungle safari, rafting


Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan to promote tourism in Bengal

Sunny Leone is a guest at the PETA US’ 35th anniversary gala at the Hollywood Palladium

X-Files, Scully and Mulder to return on January 24th after a 13-year-break


ISIS harvesting organs of healthy individuals to treat the injured jihadists

US airstrike targets a hospital in Kunduz instead of Taliban outposts – 9 Doctors Without Borders members killed

Russia carries out airstrikes in Syria – targets CIA-backed rebels instead of ISIS


Durga Puja is the busiest time of the year for Kumortuli

Puja Special issues of Bengali magazines

Durga Puja today is a commercial venture

Jordan Air Force bombs ISIS targets in retaliation of burning alive a Jordanian pilot

#KingAbdullahII #jordan #ISIS #MaazalKassasbeh It was a retaliatory action by Jordan against the ISIS militants due to their burning alive a pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh who had been captured by the militants in Syria as reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 6 February 2015. He was captured by ISIS in December following the crash of his F-16 fighter aircraft in Syria.
King Abdullah II was briefed on the attacks by the armed forces chief of staff – the attacks were carried out by the Jordanian Air Force eagles. It seems the aircrafts struck ISIS training camps apart from their weapons and ammunition stores.
Location of the targets have not been disclosed but, as per information, the targets were destroyed and the aircraft were safe, they have returned to base safely.
These news have come even as people were killed when rebels unleashed rocket fire on Damascus and the forces of President Bashar al-Assad retaliated.
King Abdullah II cut short his US visit and returned to Amman after the video of Kassasbeh's killing emerged. Later, he visited the family of the slain airman to pay his condolences.
The military of Jordan has vowed to not only destroy the ISIS but also ‘kill the evil in its own place’ and punish them for perpetrating the heinous act of burning the pilot alive.
The situation in Syria is a matter of concern for the world. In a recent spate of attacks, at least 66 people, including 12 children, were killed by regime air strikes and shelling on rebel areas around Damascus as revealed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The assault took place on the Eastern Ghouta region and occurred when the rebels fired more than 100 rockets at the city, killing 10 people including a child.
Incidentally, Jordan has been carrying out raids on a regular basis as a part of the US-led campaign against the ISIS Sunni extremist group and over 200,000 people have lost their lives ever since anti-government protests erupted in Syria in early 2011. There is destruction and death all over the country and, with the escalation of a multi-sided civil war, the jihadists got an opportunity to enter and create mayhem.

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

ISIS militants execute 70 Syrian Army officers in Idlib

ISIS militants slaughtered at least 70 Syrian Army officers in Idlib and Syria would have ended up by losing its second city to the jihadists of ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra timesofindia.indiatimes.com.

It seems hundreds of ISIS fighters stormed into the provincial capital, and captured the newly installed governor's office and then began to behead Syrian army officers. Reports indicate that by the time government troops recaptured the building, at least 70 soldiers had been executed. Many of them were senior officers and, as a result, one of the oldest cities in Syria was in utter chaos.
The officers were literally slaughtered before the army could declare Idlib saved.

Incidentally, the eastern city of Raqqa has been in the hands of ISIS for months, but Idlib was more strategically placed between Aleppo and the coastal city of Latakia — both of these are still held by President Bashar al-Assad's regime and the fall of Idlib would have been a disastrous for the government.

US hardens its stand on eradicating Evil – warns Syria over ISIS missions

President Barack Obama has authorized U.S. airstrikes inside Syria as part of a broad campaign to root out the Islamic State militant group news.fox.com. Of course strikes have not yet been launched but the United States has made it clear that it would retaliate against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's air defenses in case he decided to go after American planes that would be launching airstrikes in his country.
Officials have indicated that the U.S. is aware of location of Syrian air defenses, along with their command and control centers, and if Assad were to use those capabilities to threaten U.S. forces, it would mean inviting trouble and would put his air defenses at risk.
Incidentally, the rise of the Islamic State group to prominence has put President Obama on the brink of being drawn into a Syrian conflict that he has long sought to avoid. The situation is complex for the US to take direct action in foreign soil where the country is locked in an intractable civil war. Obviously, the conflict has created odd alliances, because both the U.S. and the Assad regime are now fighting a common enemy namely, the Islamic State militant group.
However, Obama does not want to strengthen Assad’s hand – rather, he wants to side with the rebels. He wants to train and arm the Western-backed rebels in Syria hoping that they can both fight the Islamic State and, ultimately, the Assad regime.
Some more popular news items ...
Rape and murder on the beach of Koh Tao island in Thailand br> Serial killers on the prowl in lonely roads of Russia – already 10 killed
UAE and Egypt carry out air-strikes against IS militants in Libya
Boko Haram militants seize Bama town in Borno, Nigeria
Seven Afghans sentenced to death for gang-rape in Kabul
ISIS militants do not want to die at hands of female PKK warriors
School days - A Principal with a cane
School days – A teacher who loved aero-modeling

Drying up of oil money forces ISIS to seek truce with moderate rebels in Syria

As a result of drying up of precious oil money, the jihadists from the Islamic State have reportedly agreed for a ceasefire with Syrian rebels in a suburb of the capital Damascus dailymail.co.uk. This important dead was agreed between ISIS and moderate and Islamist rebels in Hajar al-Aswad, south of the city, as per reports of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
It seems the ISIS are in dire straits since revenues from black-market oil sales have nosedived following flight of key engineers from the oil fields that had been captured by the terrorists in Iraq and Syria.
The terrorist group has seen revenues from its illegally-held oil fields halved after many workers abandoned the facilities. As per some estimates, the revenue had been nearly $3million per day in July from oil fields that they had seized during the conflict.
According to the deal arrived at, 'the two parties will respect a truce until a final solution is found and they promise not to attack each other because they consider the principal enemy to be the Nussayri regime.' Nussayri indicates the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs.
Incidentally, the ISIS had captured oil fields at Sasan, Ajeel and Sadid in Iraq apart from in Omar in Syria while large refineries have also been captured at Fallujah, Aksas and Tikrit – many of the staff were persuaded to stay on with pay rises or 'at the barrel of a gun.'
Some more similar news ...
New York City remembers 9/11 on its 13th anniversary
CIA estimates that Islamic State has over 31,500 fighters
The US tries to corner the IS militants – gets a teen girl to turn approver
Austria stops two teenage schoolgirls from going to Syria
Britain gifts £1.6million worth machine guns and ammunition to Kurdish forces in Iraq
Syrian rebel leader killed in suicide bomb attack in Ram Hamdan
Female jihadists from Britain working as ISIL’s female law enforcement brigade
British jihadists in ISIS are disillusioned – want to return home
US carries out air strikes on ISIS near Haditha Dam in western Iraq
UAE and Egypt carry out air-strikes against IS militants in Libya
US in a limbo – it wants to eliminate IS militants but without boots on the ground
Assad’s jets have struck a bakery run by the IS in Raqqa – 25 killed
Israel female soldiers of Caracal Battalion patrol the Egyptian borders
US troops in Iraq appear to be a confused lot since US policy is still not clear
ISIS militants do not want to die at hands of female PKK warriors
Iraqi soldier plays dead to survive execution by ISIS militants and escapes wearing civilian clothes
Obama to send 350 additional military personnel to Iraq to protect US interests
IS extremists behead second US journalist Steven Sotloff – warns Obama of more such deaths
Cameron outlines anti-terror plans to tackle IS militants – seize passports of suspects
Iraqi security forces break 2-month-long siege of Shiite town of Amirli
Obama warned – ISIS plans to target the US and kill with abandon
British Prime Minister warns that Britain is in the sight of ISIS fanatics
ISIS spreads chilling messages through videos that shows its thirst for blood
IS militants recruit children as fighters, put on public display bodies of those killed
US to fight terror with terror – spy flights to Syria would identify probable hot spots
Syria willing to work with western powers to check the advances of the ISIS
US has sounded the death knell for senior ISIS leaders in Syria
Hitler annihilated the Jews, the ISIS plans the same fate for Shias of Iraq
Britain must tie up with Bashar al-Assad if it wants to defeat the ISIS
America in jitters over the beheading of James Foley by IS militants
Black Beatle is the British jihadist of ISIS who beheaded James Foley, the American journalist
ISIS militants behead US journalist James Foley and post video on YouTube

Syrian rebel leader killed in suicide bomb attack in Ram Hamdan

Suicide bombing has killed Hassan Aboud of Ahrar al-Sham, the leader of an ultraconservative Syrian rebel group, in the northwestern town of Ram Hamdan in the Syrian province of Idlib foxnews.com.
He was believed to be the head of one of Syria's largest rebel groups – many more of his leading fighters were also killed in the attack. This attack is likely to aggravate the present situation and further weaken the country's already shaky armed opposition.
This has been reported by an activist collective called the Edlib News Network and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The Observatory usually bases its information from a network of activists on the ground.
Both the groups have revealed that other leading group members of the Ahrar al-Sham were killed after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in a meeting.
As per the Edlib News Network, a total of over 40 people were killed, including four other leaders of Ahrar al-Sham. However, the Observatory said "tens" people were killed but did not provide a specific number and such differing casualty figures are quite common immediately after any attack in Syria.
The Ahrar al-Sham had earlier fought against the extremist Islamic State group, which now holds a swath of territory across Syria and Iraq and had blamed the Islamic State group for the killing of Abu Khaled al-Souri, one of their leaders in February.
Incidentally, while Ahrar al-Sham advocates the implementation of an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam, it had worked with more moderate rebel groups trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad. Moreover, it had become the most prominent member of a broader rebel coalition known as the Islamic Front but it is facing loss of donor funding.
Some more similar news ...
Female jihadists from Britain working as ISIL’s female law enforcement brigade
British jihadists in ISIS are disillusioned – want to return home
US carries out air strikes on ISIS near Haditha Dam in western Iraq
UAE and Egypt carry out air-strikes against IS militants in Libya
US in a limbo – it wants to eliminate IS militants but without boots on the ground
Assad’s jets have struck a bakery run by the IS in Raqqa – 25 killed
Israel female soldiers of Caracal Battalion patrol the Egyptian borders
US troops in Iraq appear to be a confused lot since US policy is still not clear
ISIS militants do not want to die at hands of female PKK warriors
Iraqi soldier plays dead to survive execution by ISIS militants and escapes wearing civilian clothes
Obama to send 350 additional military personnel to Iraq to protect US interests
IS extremists behead second US journalist Steven Sotloff – warns Obama of more such deaths
Cameron outlines anti-terror plans to tackle IS militants – seize passports of suspects
Iraqi security forces break 2-month-long siege of Shiite town of Amirli
Obama warned – ISIS plans to target the US and kill with abandon
British Prime Minister warns that Britain is in the sight of ISIS fanatics
ISIS spreads chilling messages through videos that shows its thirst for blood
IS militants recruit children as fighters, put on public display bodies of those killed
US to fight terror with terror – spy flights to Syria would identify probable hot spots
Syria willing to work with western powers to check the advances of the ISIS
US has sounded the death knell for senior ISIS leaders in Syria
Hitler annihilated the Jews, the ISIS plans the same fate for Shias of Iraq
Britain must tie up with Bashar al-Assad if it wants to defeat the ISIS
America in jitters over the beheading of James Foley by IS militants
Black Beatle is the British jihadist of ISIS who beheaded James Foley, the American journalist
ISIS militants behead US journalist James Foley and post video on YouTube

Assad’s jets have struck a bakery run by the IS in Raqqa – 25 killed

Assad’s jets have hit a training camp and a bakery run by the Islamic State militant group in Raqqa – at least 25 people have died in the attack bbc.com. The dead include both civilians and militants alike as reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The fighters of the IS had joined up with the three-year civil war in Syria last year and have since pushed forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad out of Raqqa province – the city of Raqqa is now labeled as the headquarters of its so-called caliphate.
As per estimate, the IS militant group has taken over about one-third of Iraq and Syria and has established courts, a central bank as well as an administrative system.
The group has taken control over the whole of Raqqa province last month when it pushed government forces out of a final military base and the IS fighters have murdered dozens of solders after the takeover. Subsequently, the Assad government has launched a number of air strikes.
Some more similar news ...
UAE and Egypt carry out air-strikes against IS militants in Libya
US in a limbo – it wants to eliminate IS militants but without boots on the ground
Israel female soldiers of Caracal Battalion patrol the Egyptian borders
US troops in Iraq appear to be a confused lot since US policy is still not clear
ISIS militants do not want to die at hands of female PKK warriors
Iraqi soldier plays dead to survive execution by ISIS militants and escapes wearing civilian clothes
Obama to send 350 additional military personnel to Iraq to protect US interests
IS extremists behead second US journalist Steven Sotloff – warns Obama of more such deaths
Cameron outlines anti-terror plans to tackle IS militants – seize passports of suspects
Iraqi security forces break 2-month-long siege of Shiite town of Amirli
Obama warned – ISIS plans to target the US and kill with abandon
British Prime Minister warns that Britain is in the sight of ISIS fanatics
ISIS spreads chilling messages through videos that shows its thirst for blood
IS militants recruit children as fighters, put on public display bodies of those killed
US to fight terror with terror – spy flights to Syria would identify probable hot spots
Syria willing to work with western powers to check the advances of the ISIS
US has sounded the death knell for senior ISIS leaders in Syria
Hitler annihilated the Jews, the ISIS plans the same fate for Shias of Iraq
Britain must tie up with Bashar al-Assad if it wants to defeat the ISIS
America in jitters over the beheading of James Foley by IS militants
Black Beatle is the British jihadist of ISIS who beheaded James Foley, the American journalist
ISIS militants behead US journalist James Foley and post video on YouTube

IS militants recruit children as fighters, put on public display bodies of those killed

The UN has released a statement in which it has said that Islamic State militants have committed "mass atrocities" in Syria, including the recruitment of children as fighters bbc.com. Investigators have also reported that the IS is waging a campaign of fear in northern Syria by carrying out amputations, public executions and whippings. The bodies of those who are killed are put on public display for several days thereby terrorizing the local population. Other atrocities include women who have been lashed for not abiding by the dress code of the IS. In Raqqa, children as young as 10 are being recruited and trained at IS camps.
Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of the commission, has warned of grave implications for the entire region.
Moreover, the investigators have accused the Syrian government of using chemical agents in eight separate incidents in western Syria this year.
The Islamic State (IS) is now in control of areas of Syria and is believed to be one of the groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad. Statistics reveal that at least 200,000 have died since the conflict began in early 2011.
The UN findings are the result of six months of interviews and evidence that have been collected between January and July this year as part of an inquiry into human rights violations inside Syria. The period coincides with the growth of the IS group in Syria, which seeks to create an independent Islamic State in an area that stretches across Syria and Iraq.
One of the investigators, Carla del Ponte, has urged world powers to refer Syria's war crimes to the International Criminal Court, calling it an important first step as it was in Rwanda and the Balkans.
Some more similar news ...
UAE and Egypt carry out air-strikes against IS militants in Libya
US in a limbo – it wants to eliminate IS militants but without boots on the ground
Assad’s jets have struck a bakery run by the IS in Raqqa – 25 killed
Israel female soldiers of Caracal Battalion patrol the Egyptian borders
US troops in Iraq appear to be a confused lot since US policy is still not clear
ISIS militants do not want to die at hands of female PKK warriors
Iraqi soldier plays dead to survive execution by ISIS militants and escapes wearing civilian clothes
Obama to send 350 additional military personnel to Iraq to protect US interests
IS extremists behead second US journalist Steven Sotloff – warns Obama of more such deaths
Cameron outlines anti-terror plans to tackle IS militants – seize passports of suspects
Iraqi security forces break 2-month-long siege of Shiite town of Amirli
Obama warned – ISIS plans to target the US and kill with abandon
British Prime Minister warns that Britain is in the sight of ISIS fanatics
ISIS spreads chilling messages through videos that shows its thirst for blood
US to fight terror with terror – spy flights to Syria would identify probable hot spots
Syria willing to work with western powers to check the advances of the ISIS
US has sounded the death knell for senior ISIS leaders in Syria
Hitler annihilated the Jews, the ISIS plans the same fate for Shias of Iraq
Britain must tie up with Bashar al-Assad if it wants to defeat the ISIS
America in jitters over the beheading of James Foley by IS militants
Black Beatle is the British jihadist of ISIS who beheaded James Foley, the American journalist
ISIS militants behead US journalist James Foley and post video on YouTube

Syria willing to work with western powers to check the advances of the ISIS

Syria has expressed its willingness to cooperate with the international community and work with the US and UK in the battle against Islamic State (IS) militants because the very existence of Syria and its President Bashar al-Assad is threatened news.sky.com .
The ISIS fighters have captured the Tabqa air base in northeast Syria after days of fighting that cost more than 500 lives and the Sunni extremists have kept on grabbing large areas of Syria as well as parts of northern Iraq in recent months and has declared a "caliphate" that would straddle both countries.
Incidentally, the Western powers like the US and UK, have been extending support to more moderate rebel fighters in the three-year civil war against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al Assad. However, in view of the sudden appearance and rise of the ISIS, the US has indicated that it could extend the battle against the extremists into Syrian territory.
The US has already been carrying out airstrikes against IS in Iraq, and Syrian foreign minister Walid al Moualem has opened up the possibility of working with countries like the US, Britain and Saudi Arabia – they had supported the uprising against Mr Assad but now, Syria is keen to invite them in the battle against ISIS.
In the opinion of Mr al Moualem, Syria is geographically and operationally the center of the international coalition to fight Islamic State. He has added that the states must come to it if they are serious in combating terrorism. He has also clarified that US aerial raids against IS inside Syria would have to be coordinated with Damascus and anything outside that would amount to aggression.
Some more similar news ...
UAE and Egypt carry out air-strikes against IS militants in Libya
US in a limbo – it wants to eliminate IS militants but without boots on the ground
Assad’s jets have struck a bakery run by the IS in Raqqa – 25 killed
Israel female soldiers of Caracal Battalion patrol the Egyptian borders
US troops in Iraq appear to be a confused lot since US policy is still not clear
ISIS militants do not want to die at hands of female PKK warriors
Iraqi soldier plays dead to survive execution by ISIS militants and escapes wearing civilian clothes
Obama to send 350 additional military personnel to Iraq to protect US interests
IS extremists behead second US journalist Steven Sotloff – warns Obama of more such deaths
Cameron outlines anti-terror plans to tackle IS militants – seize passports of suspects
Iraqi security forces break 2-month-long siege of Shiite town of Amirli
Obama warned – ISIS plans to target the US and kill with abandon
British Prime Minister warns that Britain is in the sight of ISIS fanatics
ISIS spreads chilling messages through videos that shows its thirst for blood
IS militants recruit children as fighters, put on public display bodies of those killed
US to fight terror with terror – spy flights to Syria would identify probable hot spots
US has sounded the death knell for senior ISIS leaders in Syria
Hitler annihilated the Jews, the ISIS plans the same fate for Shias of Iraq
Britain must tie up with Bashar al-Assad if it wants to defeat the ISIS
America in jitters over the beheading of James Foley by IS militants
Black Beatle is the British jihadist of ISIS who beheaded James Foley, the American journalist
ISIS militants behead US journalist James Foley and post video on YouTube