Putin’s religiosity is a blessing to some in the
international community. The Eastern Orthodox Church has asked him to protect
Christians worldwide, and he has agreed. Russia’s controversial support of Bashar
al-Assad’s regime in Syria is due to Putin’s concern that the Christian
minority in that country will be persecuted if Assad is toppled. http://hollowverse.com/vladimir-putin/
Nasrallah: Hezbollah to
increase presence in Syria
Leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah
says his group is engaged in an existential battle against ISIL across all of
Syria.
The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah has said his fighters would expand their
presence in Syria, saying the group was engaged in an existential battle
against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged for the first time that his Shia group was fighting across all of Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's government.
He called specifically on his fiercest critics in Lebanon to back his intervention across the border, warning that their support for Assad's opponents would not save them from ISIL.
"The regime left this area in 2012, and then the Islamists came
in," he says. "When their propaganda started, all the Arabs in this
area turned against us. Our neighbours of 30 years changed within half an
hour." http://www.dw.de/christians-kurds-join-forces-against-is/a-18429178
ISIL
Iraqi soldiers and Shia fighters bolster efforts to
retake Ramadi, while Syrian forces launch air strikes on Palmyra.
