Rebels in eastern Ukraine tell TIME’s Simon Shuster they lack the firepower to have shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Their recent record of surface-to-air attacks suggests otherwise.

The pro-Russia separatist leader was not in a mood to discuss the downing of a passenger plane over eastern Ukraine on Thursday. He had heard about it on the news – 280 passengers and 15 crew on a Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lampur – possibly shot out of the sky with a missile or some other projectile over the war-ravaged region of Donetsk.

[Read more…]

A fierce and violent conflict erupted on the outskirts of Qoryoley district in Lower Shabelle between joint African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops and Somali National Army soldiers (SNA) against Al-Shabaab.

The terrorist insurgents attacked an SNA and AMISOM military sitting in the town just outside Qoryoley when the battle initiated.

[Read more…]

The ethnic Palaung, also known as the Ta’ang, are a hill tribe people mostly living in northern Shan State. Like many other ethnic groups, they have waged an armed struggle against the Burmese government since 1963.

After the Palaung State Liberation Organization signed a ceasefire with the former military government in 1991 (and disarmed in 2005), another Palaung army known as the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) was established by the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) to continue the fight for equality and self-determination.

[Read more…]

Nikos Maziotis, the convicted leader of the Revolutionary Struggle leftist guerrilla group who has been on the run from police for two years, was arrested in central Athens following a shootout with police shortly after noon.

Police have been seeking Maziotis since July 2012 when he broke strict conditions, including a ban on leaving the prefecture of Attica, when he was released from pre-trial custody after serving the maximum legal time of 18 months on remand.

[Read more…]

Suspected members of the deadly Boko Haram Islamic sect on Monday attacked Dille village in Borno State, killed 45 people and torched several houses and shops and forced many people to flee into nearby hills for safety.

The terrorists, it was gathered, came in a convoy of over 20 vehicles and motorcycles.

[Read more…]

The Iraqi army has launched an assault to retake the rebel-held city of Tikrit, security officials said.

The operation on Tuesday is part of a two-and-a-half week long Iraqi offensive aimed at taking back the city, which fell to Sunni rebels led by the Islamic State group in June.

[Read more…]

Israeli war jets continued firing missiles at the Gaza Strip Monday on the seventh day of its relentless assault that has killed 176 Palestinians and injured nearly 1,300.

Israel said it shot down a drone from Gaza Monday, the first reported deployment of an unmanned aircraft by Palestinians, with Hamas saying it had sent several drones to carry out “special missions.”

[Read more…]