Damascus / AFP Syria’s regime agreed on Tuesday to a ceasefire deal announced by the United States and Russia, but there were widespread doubts it could take effect by the weekend as hoped. The agreement, announced on Monday, does not apply to extremists like the IS group and Al-Nusra Front, putting up major hurdles to how it can be implemented …

Moscow / AFP A ruthless and corrupt leader with his own private army who has carved out de facto independence for his restive region: Russia’s opposition on Tuesday lashed out at Chechen strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov in a new report. The report—authored by prominent opposition figure Ilya Yashin and entitled “National security threat”—alleges that Kadyrov has been allowed by President …

KUWAIT CITY / AFP The scene US forces encountered as they pushed into Kuwait in 1991 to end the Iraqi occupation could only be described as a hellscape. Hundreds of burning oil wells set ablaze by Iraq’s army had left sand sodden in an oily sludge and the skies overhead choked with thick black smoke. As they fled, Saddam Hussein’s …