By Gwynne Dyer - Take a moment, first, to celebrate the fall of a regime of surpassing evil even by the demanding standards of the Middle East. Father and son, the Assad regime oppressed and abused the Syrian people for 53 years, and now it is gone in a week. Even the American-backed regime in Afghanistan did not fall that fast.
A man has been executed by hanging in Iran following his indictment for his participation in the nationwide protests since the Sept. 16 death of young Mahsa Amini while in morality police custody for not wearing the veil properly.
The arrest in Spain of an infamous member of Islamic State from London who authorities thought had been killed in Syria has sparked fears among security officials that more foreign fighters survived the fall of ISIS-controlled territory than previously imagined.
Several European head of states will join a manifestation in Paris on Sunday, to express their solidarity following the recent attacks. France’s President Francois Hollande will be accompanied by an important number of leaders, including Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK David Cameron and Italy’s Matteo Renzi among others.
The terror attack that killed 12 people in Paris on Wednesday will have come as little surprise to Europe's police and intelligence services. For months, they've regarded the prospect of a mass killing in Europe by isolated gunmen or small groups of Islamist terrorists as a question of when rather than if.
President Barack Obama condemned on Friday the brutal murder of British captive Alan Henning on Friday, saying the United States would bring those responsible to justice.
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez defiantly claimed on Tuesday that financial, industrial and local political groups together with outside support want to remove her from office, and warned that “if something happens to me, don't look to the Mid East, look North” in clear reference to the United States.
The UK Parliament has backed British participation in air strikes against Islamic State extremists in Iraq. After a seven-hour debate, MPs voted for military action by 524 votes to 43. Bombing could start as early as Sunday according to defense sources.
Argentina's Security secretary Sergio Berni released on Monday information concerning an alleged terrorist threat from the Islamic State against President Cristina Fernández, (CFK) and assured that further measures had been taken to guarantee the head of state's safety.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron chaired a meeting of the government's emergency response committee on Sunday under growing pressure to sanction air strikes after an Islamic State video showed the beheading of a British hostage.