War

The head of  Libya’s new unity government has turned down the offer of Western troops to help eliminate ISIS in the North African state. The move may come as a shock to some in the British establishment who were expecting a request for UK troops now that the war-ravaged state’s UN-brokered unity government has assembled in Tripoli. RT reports: A UK government source told the Times on Wednesday the request had not materialized. The source felt the force structure being floated – an Italian-led brigade of 6,000 with a 1,000-strong British component – would exacerbate internal divisions.

An officer from Pakistan accidentally pulled the pin from a live hand grenade to demonstrate to a judge in court how it worked, which then exploded in a courtroom, injuring five people – including the judge. GeoBeats News reports: There are certain things that are best not to demonstrate in a courtroom setting. Daily Pakistan is reporting that a police constable pulled the pin from a grenade and caused it to explode in a Karachi courtroom after a judge asked him how it worked.

A new study purports to show that the significant spike in military suicides is not at all related to combat deployments. Will this attempt to whitewash the permanent war its negative affect on military personnel succeed?

For over a week, huge nocturnal protest gatherings have spread across France, rising in number and which must by now, be starting to panic the government. Among those gathered are parents with babies, students, workers, artists and pensioners….. Common Dreams report: A police crackdown will not deter France’s burgeoning Nuit Debout (or ‘Up All Night’) movement that has swept across the country in recent weeks as the unifying call for change sparked protests in over 50 cities this weekend.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted for the first time that Israel has launched airstrikes inside Syria. He said that Israel has carried out “dozens” of attacks in Syria to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining weapons.