The flags of the Women鈥檚 Protection Units (YPJ) and Shengal Women's Units (YJS) were planted in the city centre of Raqqa, which had been the capital city of ISIS, on September 14.
Iran
Mass protests and strikes have erupted across Rojhilat (Iranian Kurdistan) since September 3, following the killing of two kolbers (cross-border porters who transport merchandise) by Iranian border guards the previous day. The Iranian regime has responded by militarising the area, attacking protests with security forces and pro-government thugs and making mass arrests.
Several Iranian Kurdish organisations and political parties have supported the uprising. They have called for unity between political forces in Rojhilat and with other progressive movements in Iran.
Newtown firefighters have once again set a fine example of international people-to-people solidarity by posting "Peace be with them" in Farsi on their noticeboard.
They are showing solidarity with 20 or more firefighters in Tehran, Iran, who sacrificed their lives fighting a fire in the 17-story Plasco building on January 20. The high rise was built in the early 1960s and was the tallest building at the time of its construction.
I came across members of the Iranian community who had come to thank Newtown firefighters for their solidarity.
When Donald Trump is sworn in as president on January 20, he will take over the running of the US intelligence agencies 鈥 the CIA, FBI, NSA etc 鈥 that have brought charges to discredit the outcome of his election.
The Electoral College has rubberstamped Trump鈥檚 election and Congress has ratified it. The storm over allegations of Russian聽interference in last year鈥檚 elections will pass as The Leader takes charge and cleans house in these agencies.
But there are some things that should be noted about this brouhaha.
Temperatures across the Middle East this week have soared in an unprecedented heat wave, forcing residents to stay indoors.
In the Iranian city of Basrah, located in the epicentre of the heat wave, temperatures exceeded 48掳C for the seventh day in a row on August 1.
On the same day, the Iraq capital of Baghdad sweltered through its fourth consecutive day of temperatures higher than 48 degrees. Governments from both countries have been forced to declare public holidays to protect people from the sweltering temperatures.
In 2011, when a wave of protest and rebellion swept the Arab world, the monarchical states making up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were not exempt from the unrest.`
Turkey has 鈥渏oined the war against ISIS鈥, according to US politicians and the corporate media after a July 23 deal between the US and the Turkish government. The deal gives US war planes and drones access to Turkey's Incirlik airbase from which to conduct air strikes in Syria and Iraq.
The deal between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Iran over the latter鈥檚 nuclear program lifts an ominous shadow from a region already ravaged by bloodshed and conflict.
The 鈥淚slamic State鈥 (IS) terror group attacks in Tunisia, Kuwait and France have grabbed global attention and condemnation. But the group's attack on Kobane in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) 鈥 and the fierce resistance 鈥 has been largely ignored.
鈥淚ran is not a safe space,鈥 Bahman, an Iranian refugee living in Australia and active in Iranian Workers Solidarity, told 麻豆传媒 Weekly.
Bahman was responding to Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop鈥檚 recent visit to Iran, where she tried to persuade the Iranian government to accept asylum seekers sent back to Iran involuntarily.
Rosewater
Written & directed by Jon Stewart
Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Kim Bodnia
In cinemas now
Written and directed by Jon Stewart of The Daily Show fame, Rosewater is a film set in Iran about the ever-present danger of an unaccountable government.
This film is based on Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari鈥檚 memoir And Then They Came For Me, detailing his jailing by the Iranian regime. While it focuses on the Iranian government, the film should also provoke reflection on the actions of Western governments, including Australia鈥檚.
The self-styled Islamic State (IS) may be one of the few unifying forces in the Middle East.
A range of mutually antagonistic regional and global powers and non-state groups have joined the fight against them. While Western politicians鈥 pronouncements that the IS has declared war on the world are clich茅d, they are echoed by the group鈥檚 own statements.
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