Politics

Turkish forces are in Syria to establish justice for the Syrian people and to put an end to President Bashar Assad’s rule, says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The Turkish president holds the Syrian president responsible for the death of nearly “one million” people in Syria’s civil war. RT.com reports: “We entered [Syria] to end the rule of the tyrant al-Assad who terrorizes with state terror. [We didn’t enter] for any other reason,” the Turkish president said at the first Inter-Parliamentary Jerusalem Platform Symposium in Istanbul, as quoted by Hurriyet daily.

The Syrian army is on the verge of fully liberating the “moderate rebel” stronghold of East Aleppo, causing a headache for western media, who have to report on the freedom of the city from years of war and tyranny through a biased perspective. A tale of two headlines Russia Insider reports: As the Syrian army continues to drive into the “moderate rebel” stronghold of East Aleppo, responsible western news outlets have been faced with the daunting, seemingly impossible task of turning the liberation of tens of thousands of civilians into a dark day for humanity.

British MP John Mann has revealed that Members of Parliament sexually harass young employees but go unpunished as their victims feel helpless. The Labour MP made his remarks at the House of Commons’ Standards Committee on Tuesday, saying that sexual assault by politicians at Westminster was a “major issue” that needed to be addressed. Mann said “In here [Westminster], there are alleged sexual assaults by current members of Parliament and nowhere for people to go, or they don’t feel confident in going.

Following yesterday's press reports that Steve Mnuchin and Wilbur Ross would be selected for two of the top economic posts in Donald Trump's administration, earlier today the two confirmed their nominations to lead the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Department, respectively. Mnuchin and Ross spoke on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Israeli fighter jets fired missiles on a government-held town west of Damascus according to Syrian state media. Some reports indicate that four missiles had hit Hezbollah militia targets near Al-Saboorah, a government-controlled suburb of Syria’s capital. No casualties were reported, though there have been conflicting reports over the initial target of the raid.