Britain sought to shame Russia on Friday for its deadly air strikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo, during a special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council called by London to set up a special inquiry into violations. "Russia, you are making the situation worse, not solving it,"...

(theguardian)- Speaking at the Conservative party conference last month Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, set out a vision of Britain as a “soft power superpower”, projecting values through influence, ideas and the power of persuasion. If ever there were a time and a place for exercising...

(BBC)- Islamic State (IS) militants have raided government buildings in and around the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. Iraqi media reported that suicide bombers had attacked police stations and a power station, but that security forces had repelled the assaults. A news agency affiliated to IS...

(middle east eye)- The United Nations hopes to carry out the first medical evacuations from Aleppo on Friday, if the "humanitarian pause" in the Syrian army's Russian-backed assault on the city holds. Russia announced the ceasefire earlier this week as a "goodwill gesture," amid growing...